U.S. Ski Team Men’s Alpine Guide

By Published On: December 12th, 2014Comments Off on U.S. Ski Team Men’s Alpine Guide

The men shrug off early-season challenges to charge into winter

Home seems to suit the U.S. Ski Team just fine, judging from the recent events at Lake Louise and Beaver Creek. That would include Marco Sullivan leading the team with a fifth-place result in the downhill at Lake Louise, Steven Nyman snagging his fourth career podium on the Birds of Prey downhill track, Ted Ligety winning his fourth straight Beaver Creek giant slalom and David Chodounsky proving he’s no one-trick pony by skiing from Bib 66 to finish 17th in that same race.

Fans on hand in Alberta and Colorado might find it difficult to believe that the ski racing season began a bit differently for the American men. New Zealand’s solid tech camps were followed by challenging conditions in Chile that forced a change of venue and a loss in training volume. The fall was even tougher, with warm weather and fog disrupting plans in Europe. Like the rest of the racing world, the U.S. Ski Team team attempted to make the best of things, but Soelden and Levi were mostly a dud. The Speed Center at Copper Mountain got up and running — a half-month later than they had hoped.

Now, the Vail/Beaver Creek 2015 World Championships are just weeks away, with one long swing through Europe before the boys get to perform at home again. Here’s who we’ll be watching.

A TEAM: David Chodounsky

DavidChodounsky
Hometown: Crested Butte, CO
Birthplace: St. Paul, MN
Birthdate: June 25, 1984
Years on Team: 6
Club: Crested Butte Ski Team
School: Dartmouth College
Olympics: 2014
Worlds: 2011, 2013

Leading the Americans with a career-best 19th in the World Cup slalom standings, Crested Butte’s David “Daver” Chodounsky is one of a handful of U.S. racers expected to compete in his home state for the World Champs in February.

Clearly he likes the hill. At the Beaver Creek GS last weekend, Chodounsky, formally thought of as a slalom specialist, squeezed into the top 30 — starting bib 66 — from 29th after run one, and he took advantage of a much earlier start in the second run to finish 17th for his first-ever GS World Cup points.

While Chodounsky has yet to ski his best in a major event, the Dartmouth grad’s World Cup results have been on a steady rise. Stats include a pair of top-10 finishes, including a personal best seventh in the Val d’Isere slalom. Daver also earned the first Olympic start of his career in Sochi, where he did not finish.

Travis Ganong

TravisGanong
Hometown: Squaw Valley, CA
Birthplace: Truckee, CA
Birthdate: July 14, 1988
Years on Team: 10
Club: Squaw Valley Ski Team
School: Westminster College
Olympics: 2014
Worlds: 2011, 2013

Travis Ganong wants to do something no American man has ever done — win a World Cup downhill title. And he says the way to go about achieving that goal is to ski at 80 percent. That’s the way he likes to ski, he says, and that’s what has landed him on the podium.

Ganong has been making the rounds on the World Cup circuit since 2009 and has long been many onlookers’ pick to become the next great American speed skier. And in the second half of last season, Ganong really hit his stride, starting with a seventh-place result in Kitzbuehel. Aside from a couple DNFs, Ganong finished in the top 10 for the remainder of the World Cup season, including a third in Kvitfjell. Along the way, he also snagged a fifth-place result — roughly a tenth of a second off the podium — in the Olympic downhill in Sochi. He recently scored his best downhill race on the Birds of Prey course, fifth, which could bode well for Ganong in February.

Jared Goldberg

jaredgoldberg
Hometown: Holladay, UT
Birthplace: Boston, MA
Birthdate: June 15, 1991
Years on Team: 5
Club: Snowbird Sports Education Foundation
School: Westminster College
Olympics: 2014

These days, there aren’t many young racers who come out with a straight face and declare they’d like to be a four-event skier on the World Cup. Jared Goldberg is one of them, and his coaches concur: Nothing is off the table for this rising talent. Goldberg, who made a major statement last season finishing 12th in the Lauberhorn downhill in Wengen and 11th in the Kitzbuehel super combined — not to mention three top 20s in Sochi — will continue to focus on speed and giant slalom this season with his sights set on the World Championships in Beaver Creek.

Tim Jitloff

timjitloff
Hometown: Reno, NV
Birthplace: San Jose, CA
Birthdate: Jan. 11, 1985
Years on Team: 10
Club: Park City Ski Team
School: University of Nevada, Reno
Olympics: 2010, 2014
Worlds: 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013

According to his coaches, Tim Jitloff just keeps getting stronger and stronger. Jitloff is skiing GS as fast as anyone on the team, they say (relative to Ligety, of course). The 10-year team veteran made an unconventional switch to Stöckli during the offseason, and it’s slowed him down none, he says. For Jitloff, the focus will continue to be on GS, his best discipline, but super G will also become more of a priority this winter.

The 2014 season saw a Europa Cup win and then a handful of World Cup top 15s for Jitloff, including a fifth in Alta Badia, Italy, to match his career best. He went on to land 15th in the Olympic giant slalom and 18th in the World Cup GS standings, rounding out the best season of his career. Jitloff recently landed a top-10 GS result in Beaver Creek, ninth, and also secured an encouraging 24th in the super G.

Ted Ligety

tedligety
Hometown: Park City, UT
Birthplace: Salt Lake City, UT
Birthdate: Aug. 31, 1984
Years on Team: 11
Club: Park City Ski Team
School: The Park City Winter School
Olympics: 2006, 2010, 2014
Worlds: 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013

Ted Ligety again wowed the home crowd in Beaver Creek, picking up his fourth straight giant slalom win at the venue and remerging onto the World Cup podium ahead of Alexis Pinturault and Marcel Hirscher. In doing so, Ligety tied Swiss great Michael Von Gruenigen for second in the all-time GS win category, trailing only Swedish star Ingemar Stenmark with his 46 wins. Oh, did we mention he did it all with a recently broken hand?

That happened while training in Vail in November, after Ligety skied to an uncharacteristic 10th in Soelden. Still, he’s made no secret of his overall World Cup globe aspirations. The path to get there? That’s the question. It was previously thought hammering slalom gates would put him in the best position, but this November, before his injury, Ligety was seen training quite a bit of super G.

Bode Miller

bodemiller
Hometown: Franconia, NH
Birthplace: Easton, NH
Birthdate: Oct. 12, 1977
Years on Team: 16
Club: Carrabassett Valley Academy
School: Carrabassett Valley Academy
Olympics: 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014
Worlds: 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011

A few weeks ago, Bode Miller had some purple stuff taken out of his back. Yes, purple stuff. We’re not exactly sure what it is, but the doctor says it should alleviate back pain and make Miller feel more like himself. The timeframe for his return is just before Kitzbuehel, a race that still eludes him and is a huge motivation for Miller’s plan to be back on snow this season. He sat out of the World Cup GS opener in Soelden due to said back pain and didn’t get much time on snow during the summer. But if anyone can jump back on skis in the middle of the season and surprise the world, it’s Miller.

Andrew Weibrecht

andrewweibrecht
Hometown: Lake Placid, NY
Birthplace: Lake Placid, NY
Birthdate: Feb. 10, 1986
Years on Team: 11
Club: New York Ski Education Foundation
School: Dartmouth College
Olympics: 2010, 2014
Worlds: 2009, 2013

If anyone had forgotten about Andrew Weibrecht, they remembered right quick when he busted through the finish line in silver-medal position wearing bib No. 29 at the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. In what Weibrecht calls a “do-or-die season,” it was the second Olympic super G medal of his career; the other, a bronze, came four years earlier. Between those medals, it was a quiet Olympic cycle for Weibrecht, with just a single top-10 result (Beaver Creek 2011). But now, with momentum on his side, Weibrecht hopes to make his mark on this World Championship season.

B TEAM: Bryce Bennett

BryceBennett
Hometown: Squaw Valley, CA
Birthplace: Truckee, CA
Birthdate: July 14, 1992
Years on Team: 4
Club: Squaw Valley Ski Team

At 6 foot 7 inches, Bryce Bennett isn’t the most aerodynamic skier on the hill, but he sure can bend a ski. Bennett opened the 2013-14 season by winning the U.S. downhill title at Copper Mountain’s Speed Center in early December. He made a play for an Olympic bid with starts in Lake Louise, Bormio, Wengen and Kitzbuehel, but with a competitive men’s speed team, Sochi was a tough ticket to punch. Bennett then refocused on the NorAm tour and landed the downhill title, solidifying his World Cup start for the season.

Tommy Biesemeyer

tommybiesemeyer
Hometown: Keene, NY
Birthplace: Plattsburgh, NY
Birthdate: Jan. 30 1989
Years on Team: 6
Club: New York Ski Education Foundation
School: University of Vermont
Worlds: 2013

Tommy Biesemeyer’s 2013-14 season was over nearly before it began. The upstate New Yorker failed to finish in Soelden, and a crash at the final downhill training run in Lake Louise resulted in a torn ACL and sprained MCL in his left knee. Biesemeyer was sidelined for the entire Olympic season but took the opportunity to put in a couple of semesters at the University of Vermont.

During the summer, Biesemeyer traveled to Munich to get outfitted with a high-tech knee brace. He was back on snow shortly thereafter in New Zealand but has since been dealing with tendonitis that has hampered his return.

Ryan Cochran-Siegle

RyanCochranSiegle
Hometown: Starksboro, VT
Birthplace: Burlington, VT
Birthdate: March 27, 1992
Years on Team: 5
Club: Cochran’s/Mount Mansfield Ski & Snowboard Club
School: Mount Abraham Union High School
Worlds: 2013

After sustaining an ACL-MCL injury during the downhill portion of the super combined at the 2013 World Championships, Ryan Cochran-Siegle fought back to win the overall NorAm title last season, finishing second in downhill and third in both the super G and giant slalom standings.

But then he was back on the operating table, repairing meniscus damage that had accumulated gradually throughout the winter. Then, in August, Cochran-Siegle underwent an osteochondral allograft transplantation, a procedure that replaces damaged cartilage in the knee with healthy cartilage from a human cadaver. All told, Cochran-Siegle didn’t get off crutches until earlier this month and is scheduled to stay off snow until next August.

Mark Engle

markengel
Hometown: Truckee, CA
Birthplace: Folsom, CA
Birthdate: Oct. 1, 1991
Years on Team: 2
Club: Sugar Bowl Academy
School: University of Utah

Tech specialist Mark Engle struggled with back pain and failed to make criteria in 2012, so rested his body and exercised his mind, attending the University of Utah. Less on-snow prep and more time in the gym proved to be a good combination for Engle, who finished ninth in both the GS and slalom NorAm standings. And now, he’s back on the team.

Engle is gunning for a full season on the Europa Cup, hopefully with a couple World Cups tossed into the mix. Giant slalom, he says, is his best discipline at the moment. He fell a little short in the Levi World Cup time-trail qualifier but did race the Europa Cup races there.

Tommy Ford

tommyford
Hometown: Bend, OR
Birthplace: Bend, OR
Birthdate: March 20, 1989
Years on Team: 8
Club: Mt. Bachelor Ski Education Foundation
School: Dartmouth College
Olympics: 2010
Worlds: 2011

Tommy Ford is another American who’s recently spent more time on the sidelines than on the ski hill. The U.S. Ski Team first took notice of Ford when he landed four gold medals at the 2006 U.S. Junior Championships. He went on to score World Cup points in his rookie season and then grab a spot on the 2010 Olympic team for giant slalom.

Ford sat out the entire 2014 Olympic season while still recovering from a major freeskiing crash he suffered in France at the end of the 2013 winter. The injury required both installation and removal of a rod in his leg. But after skiing in Corralco, Chile, and Copper Mountain, Colo., he’s back to a point where he can ski and push hard. Now, it’s just a matter of getting more power.

Colby Granstrom

ColbyGranstrom
Hometown: Lake Stevens, WA
Birthplace: Everett, WA
Birthdate: Sept. 21, 1990
Years on Team: 6
Club: Mission Ridge Ski Education Foundation
School: Westminster College

Washington State’s Colby Granstrom made a statement at the 2003 Whistler Cup races, winning both the slalom and giant slalom at age 12. While he didn’t hit his 2014 goal of competing in Sochi, Granstrom made the best of his time on U.S. soil and grabbed up the NorAm slalom title, solidfying his slalom start for the 2015 World Cup season. But back problems meant that he did not make a start in Levi.

Nolan Kasper

NolanKasper
Hometown: Warren, VT
Birthplace: Morristown, NJ
Birthdate: March 27, 1989
Years on Team: 7
Club: Burke Mountain Academy
School: Dartmouth College
Olympics: 2010, 2014
Worlds: 2011

After missing nearly all of the 2013 season because of an ACL-MCL injury, Nolan Kasper was back in 2014. He found his rhythm in Kitzbheuel, finishing 18th to earn a start in Sochi, where he improved to 13th as the top American slalom finisher at the Games. Kasper went on to pick up World Cup points in Kranjska Gora. But so far this winter the Burke grad DNFed at the World Cup slalom opener in Levi and at three Europa Cup events. He did, however, manage 32nd in the last of four Europa Cups in Levi.

Steven Nyman

stevennyman-2
Hometown: Sundance, UT
Birthplace: Provo, UT
Birthdate: Feb. 12, 1982
Years on Team: 13
Club: Park City Ski Team/Sundance Ski Team
School: University of Utah
Olympics: 2006, 2010, 2014
Worlds: 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013

When Steven Nyman skied to a podium at Birds of Prey earlier this month, fans might have found it hard to believe he was coming off a “mediocre” season, according to the team. But last winter, his best result was 19th at Lake Louise. After being named to the Sochi team by coaches’ discretion, Nyman had to fight for a downhill start by skiing fast in the training runs, which he did, and then finished 27th in the Olympic event. Looking back to December 2013, Nyman picked up a stunning win in the downhill at Val Gardena, the second of his career at the venue. His other World Cup podiums all happen to be from Birds of Prey. These results obviously bode well for Nyman heading into the World Alpine Ski Championships, which will be held on that very same hill in February.

Brennan Rubie

BrennanRubie
Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT
Birthplace: Salt Lake City, UT
Birthdate: April 08, 1991
Years on Team: 4
Club: Snowbird Sports Education Foundation
School: Westminster College

After a long rehab from a fractured leg in 2013, Brennan Rubie broke back onto the World Cup scene, racing giant slalom throughout the season, but failed to reach the finish line in every event. He’ll get another crack at it. With strong early-season NorAm results last year, Rubie finished second in the GS rankings and is guaranteed a World Cup berth in that event for the entire winter. Like Ligety and Jitloff, Rubie had to relocate his fall training to Saas Fee. He opened the season with a DNF1 in Soelden.

Marco Sullivan

MarcoSullivan
Hometown: Squaw Valley, CA
Birthplace: Truckee, CA
Birthdate: April 27, 1980
Years on Team: 15
Club: Squaw Valley Ski Team
Olympics: 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014
Worlds: 2003, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013

Four times an Olympian and five times a World Championship racer, Marco Sullivan, 34, has been around the block. There isn’t much he hasn’t seen during his 15 years on the team. With solid results last year, Sullivan proved he can still rip, especially at places such as Kitzbuehel and Wengen, where it matters most. He made the commitment to race in 2015 while riding the lift at Squaw Valley during the U.S. Alpine Championships. The decision seems to be working out for him. Sullivan finished in fifth place at the World Cup downhill opener in Lake Louise.

C TEAM: Nicholas Krause

nicholaskrause
Hometown: Northboro, MA
Birthdate: May 12, 1993
Years on Team: 3
Club: Stratton Mountain School

One of handful of U.S. national team athletes from Vermont’s Stratton Mountain School, Nick Krause has international experience already in the bag and a smattering of FIS race podiums. Now he’s climbing the U.S. Ski Team rungs with his eyes set on the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. Last year, Krause had an excellent season going with solid top 10 consistency at the NorAm level, then steamed right into the Junior World Championships and slammed a top 25 in super G. His confidence was high during the downhill, but he crashed and was knocked out of competition for the remainder of the 2014 season — the second straight season an injury prematurely ended his winter.

D TEAM: Erik Arvidsson

Hometown: Woodside, CA
Birthdate: Sept. 03, 1996
Club: Squaw Valley Ski Team

Ronnie Berlack

Hometown: Franconia, NH
Birthdate: April 21, 1994
Club: Burke Mountain Academy

AJ Ginnis

Hometown: Waitsfield, VT/Kaprun, Austria
Birthdate: Nov. 17, 1994
Years on Team: 1
Club: Green Mountain Vallley School
School: USSA TEAM Academy

Sam Morse

Hometown: Carrabassett Valley, ME
Birthdate: May 27, 1996
Club: Carrabassett Valley Academy

Kipling Weisel

Hometown: San Francisco, CA
Birthdate: March 26, 1995
Club: Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation

The U.S. Ski Team Press Office contributed to this report

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About the Author: Geoff Mintz

Geoff Mintz is a former alpine ski racer who cut his teeth at Ragged Mountain and Waterville Valley, N.H. After graduating from Holderness and UVM, he relocated to Colorado, where he worked on the hill prior to pursuing a career in journalism. Mintz served as associate editor for Ski Racing Media from 2011 to 2015. He later reconnected with his local roots to manage all marketing and communications for Ski & Snowboard Club Vail before resuming work at SRM as editor-in-chief.