|
KEYSTONE, Colorado — Early season training on Keystone's North Peak is working out even better than hoped for, U.S. Alpine Director Jesse Hunt said Tuesday night, with solid conditions and a full-length course for giant slalom and slalom.
"It's great. We control the surface conditions, which is something we've wanted, and Keystone has given us great support," he said. Coaches and staff injected the Starfire run with water to make the snow harder and more icy, just as racers will find throughout the season, especially on the World Cup, and that's paying a quick dividend as U.S. men and women head north of the Arctic Circle to Levi, Finland, for slalom races this weekend.
"We've got everyone here, men and women, from the A Team to the Development Team, and we've been able to get our World Cup skiers onto the full course, so they should be ready to roll in Finland."
"It's pretty sweet," said Olympic combined gold medalist Ted Ligety. "It's really an ideal situation. We have our own run, our own high-speed lift on North Peak. It's nice to be treated so well. Keystone's doing a great job for us."
Ligety broke a bone in his right index finger during glacier training in Pitztal, Austria, last month before the originally scheduled season opener was rained out in Sölden, Austria. He's been adjusting to the situation and has taken some runs with only a pole in his left hand, working on his balance for slalom, although he plans to be skiing with two poles Sunday, he said.
"Ted's been so athletic, coming down one-handed, so when he gets that other pole back this weekend, he should be quite a guy," Hunt said. "He's been more and more impressive as the days have gone on — the speed he's been carrying and his ability to stay in balance have been amazing."
NorAm triple champion Megan McJames echoed Hunt. "We got to see some really good slalom skiing by the guys…and Ted, with only the one pole, was pretty impressive…
"Injecting has helped it set-up really hard, which is good."
McJames, the NorAm overall, super G and GS champion from last season, gets her first World Cup start during the Aspen Winternational GS and slalom Nov. 25-26. "This terrain has a couple of pretty steep pitches and just rolls down the hill; it's really good."
"That's part of the good synergy we've been able to create at North Peak, the younger skiers getting to watch the veterans … and all of them sharing space," Hunt said. "The women have jumped into the men's course, and it's all been what we wanted. Our agreement with Keystone gives us North Peak exclusively, so the athletes really appreciate that. They can let it rip without worrying about any collisions; there aren't other teams here, aren't gates all over the hill — they can see the course and there's plenty of room to get things done."
One other big plus, Hunt said, is the ability to have a full-length course for training. "This is our final prep period, and we're able to do what we couldn't do, especially on the glaciers in Europe, and that's get a full-length course. That's so rare, and we're doing race simulation now, really getting ready to go," he said.
"It's all been so positive to this point, and we're looking at taking advantage of this week or 10 days — the World Cup group will head to Aspen in the middle of next week to get ready for their races over Thanksgiving [Nov. 25-26]. "I'm really pleased, though, with both the quality and the quantity of training we're getting here. It's what we wanted. It's been so positive for us."
|
