US Ski Team confirms 8 Soelden starters

By Published On: October 21st, 2015Comments Off on US Ski Team confirms 8 Soelden starters

SOELDEN, Austria – All eyes turn to the majestic Rettenbach glacier in Soelden on Saturday for the 2015-16 Audi FIS Ski World Cup opener, where at least two American women will start followed by six men on Sunday.

The U.S. Ski Team lineup includes veterans and rookies alike, along with two athletes who will make their World Cup debut at the opener. Last year’s Soelden winner Mikaela Shiffrin and giant slalom Olympic and World Champion Ted Ligety headline the American roster.

“I think my setup is good. I made a lot of adjustments this year and I feel like I’ve made a good step forward, so we’ll see,” Ligety told the media on Tuesday in Soelden. “It’s the same thing with your skiing – you don’t really know until you test it in a World Cup, so it’s still a little bit of a mystery.”

Though Ligety said it’s possible fans will enjoy a duel between him and Austrian powerhouse Marcel Hirscher, he was quick to note others who are likely threats – including the Attacking Viking duo of Norwegians Aksel Lund Svindal and Kjetil Jansrud, Frenchman Alexis Pinturault, and even the young Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen.

Shiffrin enters Soelden strong but with a target on her back as her first and only giant slalom victory was achieved a year ago on the glacier. The slalom star has been training in nearby Pitztal, Austria, and she hopes to move into more GS and speed this season.

“Oh, my gosh, I’m so excited, I really can’t wait to race,” Shiffrin told the Denver Post in a recent interview. “Soelden went well for me last year, but I almost felt like a lot of those girls just made really big mistakes at the worst time on the course and I just happened to be the girl that made the least amount of mistakes.”

Veteran Julia Mancuso announced that she’s sitting out Soelden this year to continue resting a nagging hip injury. Vonn, who suffered an ankle fracture while training this summer, is in Soelden but has not yet decided on whether she will start on Saturday.

As of Wednesday, the U.S. Ski Team confirmed two women for Saturday’s opening GS and six men for Sunday’s race, including first-time World Cup starts for Nick Cohee and Hig Roberts.

Universal Sports Network will cover the action live starting at 6:30 a.m. EDT on Saturday and 7:30 a.m. EDT on Sunday.

Men

Women

*World Cup debut

Release courtesy of USST

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