St. Anton the birthplace of skiing

St. Anton bills itself as the "birthplace of skiing." Few would challenge the claim.
    From a quaint mountain village of 2,500 folks, more than 80 cable cars and ski lifts carry skiers up to any of 200-plus miles of trails. The Arlberg Ski Club was formed in 1901 and the first race held in 1904. Folks had been skiing above St. Anton long before that.
    The women of the World Cup have not tested the snows of St. Anton since the World Championships in 2001 when the late Regine Cavagnoud won her final race claiming the gold medal in super G. The downhill winner of that meet, Michaela Dorfmeister, has retired and they have also switched the course so past records are of little help in predicting winners in 2007.

ST. ANTON BILLS itself as the "birthplace of skiing." Few would challenge the claim.
    From a quaint mountain village of 2,500 folks, more than 80 cable cars and ski lifts carry skiers up to any of 200-plus miles of trails. The Arlberg Ski Club was formed in 1901 and the first race held in 1904. Folks had been skiing above St. Anton long before that.
    The women of the World Cup have not tested the snows of St. Anton since the World Championships in 2001 when the late Regine Cavagnoud won her final race, claiming the gold medal in super G. The downhill winner of that meet, Michaela Dorfmeister, has retired and organizers have also switched the course so past records are of little help in predicting winners in 2007.
    "This isn't the women's downhill from 2001 — it's the men's and it's definitely a challenging downhill," says U.S. coach Patrick Riml. "We've had blue sky days, just beautiful weather, and if the forecast is right, that should continue. But, if it gets cloudy, and the light gets flat, that will be a very different course. It's bumpy and in the flat light, it will be even more of a challenge."
    Though it is likely challenge enough anyway. The course sports a couple of dropaway sections like the Eisfall, where just as the racer gets to full speed and enters the forested track, the ground suddenly falls away beneath the feet. The course keeps coming at the skier and is technically demanding and requires plenty of courage.
    The training results have not provided enough consistency to support predictions. Only one skier has been among the top six on all three days of training, and that is Kelly VanderBeek of Canada, hovering between the fifth- and sixth-place finishes.
    Lindsey Vonn was fourth in the opening test, won the second, and then missed a gate in the third run. Five time World Cup downhill champion Renate Goetschl — the silver medallist in St. Anton in 2001 — has placed third, declined to run the second test and then placed fourth in the final of the training runs. Maria Holaus won the opening test, placed second in the middle run and then next to last in the third.
    Picking favorites based on training runs is a risky venture, but these should be the favorites, and two among them are a touch surprising.
    VanderBeek considers herself a strong glider and the run down the Karl Schranz slope has a lot of pace and not much glide. She's got the technical ability to handle the course as her training results prove, but the result from St. Moritz, 22nd, raises doubts.
    Holaus is also an interesting possibility. She's on a personal high, having just celebrated her 24th birthday. Although her home of Brixen is well across Austria, St. Anton still feels like home because the course is among her two favorites (Zauchensee being the other) and she has never won, so she feels no pressure to perform.
    The women will also test a super combined at St. Anton, the first of their season. There have been just two women's World Cup combined events held at St. Anton. One was won by Janica Kostelic. The other was won by a first time winner, an 18-year-old Austrian girl named Renate Goetschl.