Lake Louise (AB), Canada – Lindsey Vonn will start the three-race Audi FIS World Cup speed series beginning Friday in Lake Louise, the four-time Audi FIS Alpine World Cup overall champion has confirmed.
“You know if your body is ready or not and I know that mine is ready,” Vonn said earlier today. “Normally this is the first downhill of the year, so for me this feels like a normal beginning of the season. It feels pretty awesome.”
Friday will mark Vonn’s first World Cup appearance since severely injuring her knee in a crash during the World Alpine Championships super G in Schladming, Austria last February, and her first downhill race since she won in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy on Jan. 19 of last winter. Vonn resumed on-snow training despite partially re-tearing her right ACL in another crash, this time in training in Colorado last month. After a successful opening downhill training run Wednesday where she dialed in her race line, Vonn opted to not start the final training run today in favor of resting.
“My goal yesterday was to ski solid and to ski my race line and I did that,” she explained. “I knew that if I could accomplish all those things in one run, then I don’t need a second run. It’s the smart choice for me to not ski today in order to prepare for tomorrow.
“Lake Louise has always been really good to me and that’s why I really wanted to come back here.”
The Olympic gold medalist has won a record 14 times in Lake Louise, more victories at one venue than any racer in World Cup history.
While Vonn rested, other U.S. Ski Team athletes fine-tuned their lines on the legendary Lake Louise women’s downhill in preparation for this weekend’s double-header. U.S. Ski Team rookie Jackie Wiles (Aurora, Ore.) and Julia Ford (Plymouth, N.H.) charged from the back of the pack to lead for the USA, tying for ninth place.
“I wasn’t expecting that, to see a nine next to my name was crazy, very exciting. But I’ve got to do it in a race,” said Wiles, who will be starting only her second World Cup race on Friday. “I knew the course better today so I charged a little harder. Coming into ‘Fall Away’ yesterday I did not have a good position, and today I knew what I had to do it differently. I think I carried more speed coming into C turn and down to Gunbarrel. So if I can just send it again tomorrow, it’ll be good.”
“I changed skis,” Ford said to explain her results on Thursday. “I had some issues yesterday and today I went with a longer pair that works a lot better. It was more just being committed to that line and standing in a good position. This course is really smooth, but there are some ripples in places so if you’re standing in a good position you don’t get bounced around as much.
“It’s really nice and promising, but it is only a training run,” Ford acknowledged, adding, “It’s good to know that you’re doing something right out there. Tomorrow I just want to bring out my fastest skiing, tuck in some more areas and bring that enthusiasm I brought today.”
Racetime is 12:30 p.m. MST Friday and will be carried live on Universal Sports Network. The race schedule continues in Lake Louise with another downhill on Saturday and a super G on Sunday.