Ski Racing - February 8, 2010

START HOUSE

BESTin Snow

Can you believe that some were saying Lindsey Vonn had a so-so weekend in St. Moritz with third, fifth and first place results? Wow. When finishes like that become ho-hum, expectations are off the charts; but nine wins so far this season will do that. Thank goodness she has a second home in Vail. The mantel in Park City has no room for the new 2010 super G globe.

Ted Ligety seems to be timing his peak for Vancouver as well. Ligety, who has been a force in Kranjska Gora for
several years, took over the red bib spot in GS with his first and third-place finishes at the Slovenian resort. Only a
slight miscue, an almost imperceptible straddle, kept him out of the top five in the final slalom before the Games.
Meanwhile the U.S.
nordic combined
team is one of the
strongest in the
world. Bill Demong,
Todd Lodwick and
Johnny Spillane
have more than solid
chances to medal.
In the Games, the
pressure on ath-
letes is enormous.
The Olympic Win-
ter Games are the
only time there is a
national audience
for outdoor winter
sports. In this coun-
try, sports fans everywhere recognize Olympic medalists, and while skiers certainly recognize that the pursuit of
the World Cup determines the best, this is not so among the majority in the United States. Fame is beating the
Olympic clock or impressing Olympic judges. Being the best on one given day in four years makes heroes all over
the United States. That’s pressure.

The disciplines governed by USSA look to be ready for Vancouver, save for the rather battered ski cross team and Bode Miller’s nagging ankle. USSA coaches and athletes learned valuable lessons from Torino, where the alpine team was rescued by Ted Ligety and Julia Mancuso’s unexpected gold medals. The teams have grown in experience and preparation methods. Put another way, the platform provided by Bill Marolt’s staff gives every team member a chance to be top on one day this month if they execute.

Are we going to be “the best in the world?” Technically, in my opinion, no. There are simply too many nordic medals beyond our reach. But our athletes will have the opportunity to come pretty darn close. It will be exciting to watch.

Meanwhile, despite the Olympic hype, in the rest of the world racing goes on as usual. Hank McKee and Shauna Farnell discuss the most recent two weekends of World Cup events in Europe. Shauna also talked with a number of women on the World Cup circuit to explore their Olympic motivation and dreams. Eric Williams travelled to the X Games and watched the U.S. ski cross chances nearly evaporate when Daron Rahlves crashed. Bryce Hubner checks in with the University of New Mexico coach on his winning team and updates the collegiate “power rankings.” In a further nod toward our Olympic-hosting neighbors to the north, Ski Racing’s Bill McCollom chats with Canadian masters who race on the USSA circuit. In this issue as well, Ski Racing editors have collected junior results from the Topolino shootout at Park City as well as races at Stratton, Stowe, Winter Park and Sun Valley. If you don’t see your races, make sure to send the appropriate links to hmckee@skiracing.com. We can’t print them all, but we will try to get results from around the country.

With the world focusing on Vancouver 2010 Games, Ski Racing editors will bring you an inside look at preparations, technical aspects and what goes on behind the scenes. We will also be bringing you up to date on the exciting Vail/Beaver Creek bid for the FIS 2015 World Alpine Championships, which, if successful, will bring big-time competition back to North America.

In the meantime, keep the Ski Racing website bookmarked as it will be changing frequently and will have the latest updates on the Games. On to Vancouver! — G.B. Jr.

The calm before the storm at Whistler Creekside.

EDITORIAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

SARAH TUFF

SENIOR EDITOR

HANK MCKEE

ASSOCIATE EDITORS SHAUNA FARNELL ERIC WILLIAMS CONTRIBUTING WRITERS PETER 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

SKI RACING
INTERNATIONAL, LLC
CHAIRMAN/CEO
GARY BLACK JR.
CONTROLLER
KRISTIN FARRELL

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SR UPDATES

Bryce Hubner’s NCAA Power Rankings have been getting lots of attention on SkiRacing.com. See what the fuss is about; voice your opinion.

In Vancouver, we’ll have more than one pair of boots on the ground. Check SkiRacing.com often and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for all the latest info on the 2010 Games.