Ski Racing - January 25, 2010

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GreatExpectations

EDITORIAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

SARAH TUFF

SENIOR EDITOR

HANK MCKEE

ASSOCIATE EDITORS SHAUNA FARNELL ERIC WILLIAMS CONTRIBUTING WRITERS PE TER Q. GRAVES BRYCE HUBNER BILL MCCOLLOM JACK MOORE

SALES/MARKETING
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
NANCY MERRILL
SALES AND MARKETING
COORDINATOR
AMY DOXEY

ART ART DIRECTOR RAND PAUL PHOTOGRAPHERS JONATHAN SELKOWITZ JULIE SHIPMAN

Bode Miller gave all ski fans a thrill with his first win since March of 2008 and then kept fans cheering in the famed Lauberhorn race the following day. Miller, whose late commitment to racing this season left him a tough task to get back in World Cup shape, seems to be peaking at the best time. He has Kitzbuehel to go and then the next speed event is on the Dave Murray track in Whistler during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Miller could give U.S. fans more thrills.

Not much was decided over this past weekend in terms of who is going to represent the United States in Vancouver. While Lindsey Vonn had a tantalizing giant slalom effort in Maribor, Slovenia, the result was frustrating. After her personal best first run, to go out several gates above the second-run finish was — to put it mildly — exasperating for her. And perhaps exasperating was the theme of the following day’s slalom, where no American qualified for a second run. It has been a while since the U.S. women have been blanked after run 1. Maria Riesch had a great weekend, countering Lindsey Vonn’s three-peat in Haus to take over the women’s overall World Cup lead. In her humble way, Riesch made nothing of her solid Maribor weekend and rightly pointed out there was a lot of racing left. Still, having the two friends battle back and forth is exciting to follow.

Looking down the road, the jury is still out on how well the U.S. will do at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. One has to hope that Vonn, Miller and Ted Ligety will be able to perform at podium level in Whistler. As any Olympic fan knows, anything can happen at the Games, and results have a tendency to not follow true to form. That provides some optimism that the other members of the squad will step up on that particular Olympic day. As for the other disciplines, the nordic combined squad looks poised to contend as do the cross country sprint athletes. The freestyle squad looks to be a possibility for medals in moguls but it looks like our athletes will have to dig deep in the aerial events. Still, the Olympic Winter Games are a one-off event where very often medals are won by athletes who you would least expect. That’s what makes it fun.

In this issue, Ski Racing editors report on every discipline’s World Cup activities. Shauna Farnell, who has been traveling with the women’s alpine circuit, writes on Haus, Flachau and the stop in Maribor. Furthermore, Farnell takes a look at what makes Lindsey Vonn more than just a good skier in the “ Parenting” section. With hope, moms and dads out there will take note on what going a step further adds to an athlete’s character and success. Hank McKee brings us Bode’s return to the podium’s top step at the 80th running of Wengen’s classic Lauberhorn races; he also reports on the races at Adelboden and Zagreb. Peter Graves dives into the nordic pool — where U.S. enthusiasm is especially high right now — and introduces an up-and-coming sprinter. Meanwhile, Deer Valley hosted a World Cup freestyle contest, which was extremely important to solidifying spots on the U.S. Olympic team. Eric Williams was there and analyzes what went on and who made the squad. He also took time to sit down with former downhill great and Lindsey Vonn mentor Picabo Street. Read what she had to say starting on page 38.

Next issue brings you the Super Bowl of alpine ski racing, the storied Hahnenkamm (in its 70th running), and the complete lineup of which athletes will be representing the U.S. in Vancouver. In the meantime, our website will be the most up-to-date and detailed spot to find ski competition news and videos. It is going to be a whale of a week or two! — G.B. Jr.

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INTERNATIONAL, LLC
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GARY BLACK JR.
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KRISTIN FARRELL

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