Soelden, Austria – The alpine World Cup ski racing season begins this weekend on the Rettenbach Glacier in Soelden, Austria, with the opening women’s and men’s giant slalom races. It will be the 20th time that the World Cup circuit has visited the glacier.
This season, all eyes will be on Lindsey Vonn, of Vail, Colo., who looks to return from a right knee injury she suffered in a brutal crash on February 5 at the world championships super G in Schladming, Austria, in her quest to defend her Olympic gold medal in the downhill. Vonn trained at the U.S. Ski Team’s European Training base in Soelden earlier in the week, but will not to start on Saturday. The six-time downhill champion will now return to the U.S. and she’s optimistic that she’ll be back in the starting gate in time for the World Cup races in Beaver Creek, Colo. at the end of November, the test events for the 2015 World Championships.
“While I physically feel great, I have decided to not race this weekend and instead will focus on returning in Beaver Creek,” Vonn said. “I am confident the extra month of training will ultimately put me in the best position to have a successful season.”
U.S. women competing in this weekend’s opener include Julia Mancuso, of Squaw Valley, Calif., and 18-year-old slalom World Champion Mikeala Shiffrin of Colorado, who last year became the youngest world slalom champion since 1974.
Two-time overall World Cup champion Bode Miller, of Franconia, N.H., one of U.S. skiing’s most popular yet polarizing figures, also hopes to return from a knee injury that sidelined him most of last season. He will be competing in Soelden for his first World Cup start since February 2012.
“My physical preparation is probably the best it’s been in a long time. In taking a year away from the World Cup, I’ve been able to let my knee heal completely,” said Miller. “I’m ready to return to the World Cup on a hill where I had one of the first wins of my career.”
Other U.S. men starting Sunday include Park City, Utah’s Ted Ligety, who has won three times in Soelden including last season by a remarkable 2.75-second margin. Last year Ligety went on to win all but two giant slalom races to win the fourth World Cup GS title of his career.
“Soelden is an incredible place to start the season,” acknowledged Ligety. “Fortunately we’re always able to get some good training on the glacier leading up to the weekend and it’s a hill I feel comfortable on. I have a good chance to win again, but I guess we’ll see on Sunday.”
“This season might be the pinnacle of U.S. skiing to date, at least in my lifetime,” commented Steve Porino, play-by-play announcer of Universal Sports Network, which will present extensive multi-platform coverage of the 2013-14 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup season both on air in the U.S. and at universalsports.com. “There is quite a mix of great veterans and very talented juniors. Lindsey Vonn is, without question, the biggest story ever in USA skiing; last year Ted Ligety made history by becoming the first man in 45 years to win three gold medals at one world championship; and Mikaela Shiffrin is the best young skier in at least three decades.”
Women’s racing gets underway on Saturday with the first run starting at 9:30 a.m. CET. Men’s giant slalom will follow at 9:30 CET on Sunday.
The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is the top international circuit of alpine skiing competitions, with men’s and women’s skiers competing in the slalom, giant slalom, super G, downhill and combined, a combination of downhill and slalom. This year’s events will take place in Austria, Canada, Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States.
U.S. SOELDEN STARTERS
Men
Ted Ligety (Park City, UT)
Bode Miller (Franconia, NH)
Tim Jitloff (Reno, NV)
Tommy Biesemeyer (Keene, NY)
Robby Kelley (Starksboro, VT)
Kieffer Christianson (Anchorage)*
Women
Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, CA)
Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, CO)
Megan McJames (Park City, UT)
*First World Cup start