Lake Louise: U.S. racers wage battle for WC start

LAKE LOUISE, Alberta —  U.S. coaches will use a downhill training run Friday to determine the final starting spots for World Cup weekend races — the first speed events of the young 2007 season — at Lake Louise where it has snowed almost every day or night this week.

LAKE LOUISE, Alberta — U.S. coaches will use a downhill training run Friday to determine the final starting spots for World Cup weekend races — the first speed events of the young 2007 season — at Lake Louise, where it has snowed almost every day or night this week.
    "We've got four guys chasing two spots Saturday for downhill," head coach Phil McNichol said Thursday night after the second day of official downhill training, "and five are going after two places in super G on Sunday. It's going to be pretty competitive."    
    The U.S. Ski Team will have eight starters in the downhill, seven in super G. Already assured downhill start places are reigning world champion Bode Miller and Steve Nyman, who led Thursday's training run, plus Scott Macartney, JJ Johnson, Chris Beckmann — the junior world champion in DH, and Marco Sullivan. Assured a SG start are Miller, Sullivan, Nyman, Macartney and NorAm champion Erik Fisher.
    Fisher will be competing against Olympic combined champion Ted Ligety, Kevin Francis and Bryon Friedman for the two places in downhill. In super G, Friedman, Ligety, Johnson, Beckmann and Francis will be after two spots.
    "We've got great conditions. They had a solid course and then they got about two feet of snow Tuesday, so there's more snow, but it's a little soft and the light is tricky … but we'll certainly take the snow," McNichol said. "The organizers have been doing a tremendous job staying up with the snow."