Janyk says "I want to be fastest on this hill"

Whistler is a spectacular place any time. It is regularly listed first among skiers as the premier destination resort. This week, with the World Cup men and women in town, the excitement in town is unprecedented.
    Much of that has to do with the Olympics just around the corner in 2010. These races this week, a super G and GS for the men and a downhill and super combined for the women, are test events for the big show. … And by the time the World Cup tour leaves after the women’s combined Sunday, the season will be a hen’s tooth shy of 80 percent complete. Titles will have been decided at Whistler and celebrations will be in order.
WHISTLER IS a spectacular place any time. It is regularly listed first among skiers as the premier destination resort. This week, with the World Cup men and women in town, the excitement in town is unprecedented.
    Much of that has to do with the Olympics just around the corner in 2010. These races this week, a super G and GS for the men and a downhill and super combined for the women, are test events for the big show. There is also the energy being generated by the best Canadian ski team in a generation or two. They get to strut their stuff before a home crowd in the middle of a season and they are relishing the opportunity.
    Aside from all that, by the time the World Cup tour leaves after the women’s combined Sunday, the season will be a hen’s tooth shy of 80 percent complete. Titles will have been decided at Whistler and celebrations will be in order.
    From the American point of view the principle interest should be on Lindsey Vonn and the women’s downhill on Friday. In Canada, the same race will focus more on local Britt Janyk and downhill squad coach Rob Boyd, who has helped turn it into a force to be reckoned with.
    Vonn can clinch the World Cup downhill title with a fourth-place finish or better. At the same time she will be putting pressure on Nicole Hosp, Maria Riesch and Marlies Schild to try and catch her for the overall title. She and Hosp are currently tied in the lead at 983 points. Riesch is less than 100 points (one win) back and Schild is at 847. Hosp and Schild are formidable slalom skiers and Riesch is a top-10 slalom skier herself. Vonn would like to come out of Whistler with a healthy lead.
    Between her and a win are the Canadians. Janyk lives at Whistler and has all her life. She and Boyd hiked the Franz’s Downhill this summer and plan to again next. “I want to be the fastest on this hill,” she told Toronto Star veteran columnist Randy Starkman. “And the rest of it, the energy of the town, I’m gonna use that to get me going.”
    Janyk will have plenty of competition from within her own team. Kelly VanderBeek has been particularly hot of late finishing second at Sestriere on Feb. 9. She had thought of herself as a super G skier earlier this season, but now sits fourth, one placing behind Janyk, on the downhill standings list. Emily Brydon is also a top 10 downhill racer this season, presenting a three-headed challenge for the competition.
    "It would be amazing to be on the podium here, that’s what I’m shooting for on Friday. I’m just going to have fun with it and enjoy the run,” said Janyk.
    “There are no words to describe the excitement. It’s not the same kind of nerves as it normally is, I think we’re all just so excited to be out there, to be finally on the track,” VanderBeek said on Tuesday. “This is our first run today and we’re going to be here for the Olympics and we have a World Cup this Friday. We’re all in the mix and that’s so fun."   
    If the men’s races this season area an indication, the super combined will present some opportunity for slalom skiers. The women have had just one combined so far this season, which Vonn won (with Riesch second). But given clear sailing the gate skiers may be able to make up some ground.

Men race GS for first time since Jan. 5
The men will test the super G hill and a GS. Remember men’s GS? No one on the men’s side has won two of them this season and three of the five that have been held were back in December. The most recent was Jan. 5 at Adelboden. Daniel Albrecht leads the standings, narrowly, over Benjamin Raich. Third-ranked Kalle Palander has left the tour after surgery and Ted Ligety, listed fourth, is just 23 points behind. Italian Manfred Moelgg and Massimiliano Blardone are also in the hunt.   
    First up, though, is men’s super G on Thursday. Didier Cuche holds a slightly more comfortable 47-point lead over Raich with Mario Scheiber and Marco Buechel close behind. Erik Guay and John Kucera hold the torch for Canada and both have shown to be particularly proficient on Canadian snow.
    The U.S. hopes pretty much begin and end with Bode Miller and he will be hitting the course with all guns blazing. Miller is in a tough battle for the World Cup overall title. He leads Raich in that tussle, but we’ve already mentioned Raich twice as being a contender in both the super G and GS. This is a battle among titans as Miller won the overall in 2005 and Raich in 2006. Miller has won the super G title twice and Raich the GS title twice. Either is capable of pulling an upset win as well. And all of this will happen at one of the most spectacular places on earth.