Val d’Isere, FRANCE — Bend’s Tommy Ford muscled through rapidly deteriorating conditions on Saturday at the infamously difficult La Face de Bellavarde track to finish 18th in a World Cup giant slalom ski race.

Ford’s result is his first top 20 of the season after a DNF in Beaver Creek, Colorado, and finishing 21st in Soelden, Austria. Ford boasted the seventh-fastest second run of the day, more than a second faster than the winner, Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt.

Ford was fortunate to have some of the last good light on the course, running earlier in the start list, given his first run finish in 25th. He skied on the cleaner side despite the bumpy ride from start to finish and put together enough fast turns to move up seven positions and into 18th.

“With the sun out, I know I didn’t take enough full advantage of the conditions. I had some strong skiing for sections, and then I would put on the brakes,” Ford was quoted in a news release by U.S. Ski & Snowboard. “In the end, I lucked out and got a decent result. It got really dark and gnarly there at the end. The snow was much grippier than expected and broke down a fair amount, making it tough for the guys in the back.”

As inclement weather rolled in, visibility began to deteriorate. Snow and dark, flat light eventually prompted the venue to turn on the stadium lights, and the event started to resemble a night race in the middle of the day.

Ford’s U.S. teammate River Radamus finished 17th, just ahead of Ford.

“La Face de Bellevarde is always the most difficult GS track on the circuit, and it really separates good skiing from great skiing, and I didn’t quite have enough today,” Radamus said.

The second and third positions on the podium were swept by Austria’s Patrick Feurstein and Stefan Brennsteiner.