Club: Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation
Equipment: Fischer, Swix, Shred, Slytech,
Booster Strap
Résumé: When you’ve been on the national
team for four years and you’re 21 years old,
you are a star in the making. Ford got his first
World Cup starts last season, beat out a series
of veterans for a spot in the Olympic GS and then made good on a
goal of winning the national GS crown.
Outlook: “I was psyched to close the year so strong and [am] looking forward to getting a shot at my first World Championship,” says
Ford.
Travis Ganong
Age: 22
Hometown: Squaw Valley, Calif.
Years on team: 5
Club: Squaw Valley
Equipment: Atomic, Leki, POC, Slytech,
Booster Strap, Ortema
Sponsors: Truckee Tahoe Medical Group,
Squaw Valley
Résumé: Ganong got his first World Cup starts
last season and scored his first points in March
with a 28th in super G at Kvifjell. He won both
the downhill and super G national titles last
season as well.
Outlook: He threw himself into summer training, moving to Salt
Lake City so he could power through workouts at the Center of Excellence. With added strength and agility, he anticipates being able
to demonstrate improvement.
Tim Jitloff
Age: 22
Hometown: Reno, Nev.
Years on team: 6
Club: Park City Ski Team
Equipment: Fischer, Leki, Uvex, Ortema,
Booster Strap
Sponsors: Grand Sierra Resort and Casino, Susan G. Komen
Résumé: “Jit” can be
remarkably fast and
often on the tougher hills — he scored
twice at Kranjska Gora
last season — but
he feels he’s missing
some component and
is out to find it. He tried expanding into slalom last season, and it seems to have cost
him some GS prowess. “I had great expectations but things didn’t necessarily go the
way I planned,” he says.
Outlook: A bit of a different approach this
time around as Jitloff will concentrate solely on GS. “I think it will be
the best way to start the next phase of my career,” he says.
Nolan Kasper
Age: 21
Hometown: Warren, Vt.
Years on team: 3
Club: Burke Mountain Academy
Equipment: Rossignol, Swix, Uvex, Slytech,
Booster Strap
Résumé: Five World Cup starts — including two top- 30 scoring finishes at Kitzbuehel
and Schladming’s slaloms — brought him an
Olympic uniform and a head full of confidence.
“I thought it was going to be a long, hard year, but I kept plugging
at the NorAm level [and Europa Cup] and the coaches gave me
another shot at Kitzbuehel,” says Kasper. “It was sweet to take advantage of that opportunity and perform at a big event and then to
turn around and do it again in Schladming.”
Outlook: “Sure those were big races, and so is the Olympics, but
it’s just skiing, plain and simple,” he says. “Now I have to take all
that knowledge and keep moving in the right direction.” He had better off-season preparation this year and is still improving.
Cody Marshall
Age: 28
Hometown: Pittsfield, Vt.
Years on team: 4
Club: Burke Mountain Academy
