BEAVER CREEK, Colo. — After Marco Sullivan’s speed dazzle at Lake Louise, there were no U.S. podiums in the Birds of Prey downhill or super G. But both Steve Nyman and Andrew Weibrecht finished well above their start numbers, while both Sullivan and Travis Ganong scored points. It’s a step in the right direction for Americans that’s partially attributable to an Austrian.

Meet Andreas “Andi” Evers, one of the world’s most successful downhill coaches and a remarkably soft-spoken genius of fast ski racing. When head U.S. men’s coach Sasha Rearick announced his hiring of Evers last spring, he raised a few eyebrows. But something needed to be raised. Without the incomparable Bode Miller in the picture, the U.S. men topped out last season with a trio of 12th-place finishes, two from Erik Fisher and one from Ganong. No matter how you measure, that is not good.

Read the full article here.