"This weekend marks the end of the first European leg and it's important for both programs to finish strong going into the holiday break," said U.S. Ski Team Alpine Director Jesse Hunt. "We've done that in the past at these races and it's something we're looking to do again."
In the last two seasons, American men have hauled in four podiums in Val Gardena with 2007 victories by Steven Nyman (Provo, UT) in the downhill and Bode Miller (Franconia, NH) in super G. Last season Miller was second in super G with Scott Macartney (Crystal Mountain, WA) third in downhill.
Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) has accumulated three podiums in St. Moritz with a second in downhill last December as the most recent.
"We're ready, the girls know this hill and now we have to execute," said U.S. Ski Team women's Head Coach Jim Tracy. "This is one of those places where you can't worry about what's going on around you. Everything is above tree line, so you have to ignore the conditions. If there's wind, if there's bad light, you just have to forget about it and focus on what you can control."
In the second downhill training day in Val Gardena, U.S. men blitzed the top 10 Thursday with Marco Sullivan (Squaw Valley, CA) leading the way in third. TJ Lanning (Park City, UT) who was third in training Wednesday, finished fifth ahead of Macartney in sixth and Miller in eighth.
"Val Gardena is a great place for us," said Macartney. "The town is great, the hotel we stay in always makes us feel at home and the course has such a great feeling to it. I'm feeling really comfortable on my Nordica skis and hopefully we improve and continue to be fast tomorrow."
According to Lanning, it's all about flow. "This hill has such a good vibe to it and if you get the flow dialed, you're going to have a really good time. It was cold last night and the hill firmed up really well. It's going to be sweet for the super G, then I'll change gears and work on getting it done in the downhill," he said.
On Sunday, St. Moritz will host a super G, while the men's World Cup jumps a valley to Alta Badia, Italy for what U.S. Ski Team Head Coach Sasha Rearick calls "'the holy grail' of giant slalom." Monday, Alta Badia will also host the pickup slalom from last Sunday's canceled race in Val d'Isere, France.
Reigning World Cup giant slalom champion Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) leads the charge in Alta Badia with two slalom podiums over the last two years. Miller has three podiums dating back to a giant slalom win at the giant slalom in 2002. Jimmy Cochran (Keene, NH) has also done well there with an eighth in slalom and 10th in giant slalom at the Italian technical races.
