U.S. alpine women home in Colorado for preseason fine tuning

The U.S. Alpine Women’s Ski Team is convening this week in Colorado for some last-minute, fall training prior to the intense competitive schedules on the World Cup, NorAm and Europa Cup tours.

A technical camp is already underway in Vail, while the speed team arrives in Copper Mountain Thursday to begin and on-snow camp. “For the first day of training, it was awesome,” said Lindsey Vonn yesterday. “It was exactly what I needed. It wasn’t too icy. It was just a perfect feel-good day.”

“It will be all fine tuning of technique and equipment and we’ll be working on all the little stuff and race prepping,” said U.S. Alpine Women’s head coach Alex Hoedlmoser from his home in Austria. “We will be practicing race runs as well.”

Hoedlmoser has his fingers crossed that weather will cooperate in the Aspen area so that his athletes can take vantage of the only women’s World Cup races on American soil (GS Nov. 27 and slalom Nov. 28).

“We really hope the Aspen hill is going to be ready early enough so we can train on it. That is what is nice about racing at home, you have the advantage of training on the race hill,” said Hoedlmoser. “In the last couple years we have been struggling with that because it’s so early and the slope has not been ready.”

A FIS rule prevents any training on a race hill during the five-day period leading up to race day, narrowing the window of opportunity following the World Cup slalom opener in Levi, Finland Nov. 13. 

Apart from his top guns (Vonn and Julia Mancuso), Hoedlmoser is happy with the progress he is seeing amongst the younger racers. According to Hoedlmoser, Megan McJames, who switched to Fischer skis this summer, is loving her new gear but still has a few hurdles to overcome. “Her biggest thing is transfering training results to race day. Sometimes it’s a mental thing, we are working on it,” he said of McJames. “She is a very fast skier, she just needs to show it on race day.”

The coach is also pleased with the level of focus being demonstrated by Mancuso, who spends her summers in Maui. “This whole prep period, she was very focused, had fun in what she was doing and was very motivated,” said Hoedlmoser of Mancuso, who again shocked the ski racing world by winning her second and third Olympic medals after failing to reach a World Cup podium in two calendar years leading up to the 2010 Games. “Now she is very goal-driven and doing all she can to get ready for the season.  She is training with the speed team now, enjoying it and doing a great job.”

Yet to be unleashed are the U.S. women’s speed skiers, who are anxiously awaiting their season opener in Lake Louise, Canada in early December.

“Over the last couple of years we have seen steps in the right direction, the young ones are progressing, having Lindsey (Vonn) there has been great for them. We have a couple up-comers like Alice McKennis on the World Cup for the first time last year,” said Hoedlmoser. “It will be Laureene Ross’ first full season with the speed team. They are very talented girls, joining girls like Chelsea Marshall and Leanne Smith with new eqipment and motivation. There is some good stuff going on there in training. I really expect a lot out of this group.”

Gate skier Resi Stiegler is heading back to Colorado looking for redemption. The 25-year-old broke her leg a year ago while training at Copper Mountain. That injury was the latest of a chain of injuries that have kept the Jackson, Wyoming native out of competition for nearly three years.

“She is doing great. She was in the gaes for the first time a couple weeks ago in Saas Fee (Switzerland),” said Hoedlmoser of Stiegler, who he calls a natural slalom skier. “It’s her and the ski team’s goal for her to be in better shape than ever before, before she starts racing so that there is no risk of injury anymore. She will be in Colorado for training and testing and we’ll see if she is going to be ready in Aspen.”

The 2011 U.S. Alpine Ski Team will also be announced this weekend at an event presented by Vail Resorts. The event opens to the public Saturday (Nov. 6)  at 4:30 p.m. MT with music, videos, complimentary hot chocolate and cookies in Vail Square in Lionshead. Complimentary cheer cards, pom poms and other items will be available for fans to help welcome the U.S. Ski Team. Following the presentation, fans are invited to meet Vonn, Miller and the Team during an autograph session.

For those who can’t make it to Vail, www.UniversalSports.com will carry a free LIVE webcast of the event from 5-6 p.m. MT.

Vail Mountain opens to the public on Friday, Nov. 19. The annual American World Cup event for women as well as the Aspen Winternational is set for Thanksgiving weekend, while the men will race Dec. 3-5 in Beaver Creek on the Birds of Prey downhill.