Aspen WC Notebook: Course is holding up well

As the chief of race for the Aspen Winternational, Jimmy Hancock has what he called “a million worries” three days before racing begins.    
    The weekend weather forecast  — as of Wednesday — wasn’t one of them.
    Although Hancock and his crew battled temperatures in the 50s on Wednesday, a cold front is forecast to move in Thursday that will drop highs into the 40s and lows in the teens with little chance for snow.
    “That’s absolutely ideal for us,” Hancock said. “If they’re right, [the course] is going to lock up as firm as can be and hold really, really well.”
AS THE CHIEF OF RACE for the Aspen Winternational, Jimmy Hancock has what he called “a million worries” three days before racing begins.    
    The weekend weather forecast  — as of Wednesday — wasn’t one of them.
    Although Hancock and his crew battled temperatures in the 50s on Wednesday, a cold front is forecast to move in Thursday that will drop highs into the 40s and lows in the teens with little chance for snow.
    “That’s absolutely ideal for us,” Hancock said. “If they’re right, [the course] is going to lock up as firm as can be and hold really, really well.”
    “They” are, of course, the weather forecasters, a notoriously fickle bunch.
    “We’re extremely pleased with what we’ve been able to do given the pretty marginal snow and temperatures we’ve had here,” Hancock said. “We’ve had an incredibly efficient effort from the snowmakers, and we have really good coverage top to bottom, and we have a really good surface. … The heat actually hasn’t been bad. It’s been freezing pretty hard at night — we’re very optimistic we’re going to have a great surface.”
    The U.S. women’s team trained on the race hill Sunday without any problems, and World Cup women’s race director Atle Skaardal arrived in Aspen on Wednesday.
    “I think everyone is honestly pretty surprised we’ve been able to produce the amount of snow we have, and to get the coverage and the width with the temperatures we’ve had,” Hancock said. “So I believe everybody is pretty favorably impressed at the moment.”

Carter wins time trial to earn slalom start
    Laurel Carter, who was a special invitee to the U.S. team’s preseason training camps, beat out eight other racers in a time trial at Keystone to earn a starting spot in Sunday’s slalom.
    The 20-year-old Burke Academy graduate has impressed coaches during the preseason and will make her World Cup debut on home snow.
    “It was nine women going for one spot, and it was pretty competitive,” U.S. women’s head coach Patrick Riml said. “Laurel was pretty solid — she was like, four-tenths ahead in the first run and no one could catch her. Good for her. … It’s great she qualified and I’m excited she gets to make that first World Cup start in Aspen.”
    Carter joins Lindsey Kildow, Julia Mancuso, Resi Stiegler, Katie Hitchcock, Jenny Lathrop, Caitlin Ciccone, Kaylin Richardson and Jessica Kelley as slalom starters.    

Aspen hill reminds Stiegler of home
    Resi Stiegler got back on the training hill Sunday in Aspen after taking a few days off after returning from Finland, where she finished 10th in the World Cup slalom opener. She praised the GS course on Tuesday for its difficulty compared to other courses on the circuit.
    “A lot of other hills in Europe are pretty basic for women for GS,” she said. “I think this hill in GS is one of the coolest hills because if you look at other hills, like Maribor [Slovenia], the terrain doesn’t really take you anywhere.
    “This hill reminds me of Lienz, Austria, which is my hometown in the winter, and I really relate to the different rolls and how the hill changes direction a lot. The other thing is they put together such a good race there, the people who work on the hill. The snow conditions are amazing. This time of year there’s not a lot of snow, so it’s amazing how they get it together for us. I’m pretty excited to lay one down on hard snow.”

Mancuso is the same old Julia despite gold medal
    Asked on a conference call Tuesday what had changed in her life since winning the Olympic gold medal in GS, Julia Mancuso had an interesting response.
    “Uhhh, nothing,” she said.
    Asked to elaborate just a little more, the freespirited Mancuso did say she’s obviously reaped some financial benefits but little has changed for her on the race course.
    “I’m just going into the season with a little more confidence,” she said. “It’ll be very unique for me because I’m coming off hip surgery and not too much skiing in the prep period, so it’s kind of a relief for [last season] to be over. Not much has changed other than the fact that I know I’m capable of winning and I’m going to try and go out there and try to keep progressing.”

Mancuso downplays GS favorite role
    With Janica Kostelic sitting out the season, GS stalwart and last year’s Aspen GS winner Maria Rienda Contreras lost for the year with an injured knee, and World Cup overall champ Anja Paerson recovering from knee surgery, Mancuso was asked if she feels like the big favorite in GS this season.
    “Well, if we’re talking about operations I can probably join in the crowd with my hip operation,” she said. “I just go out there and do the best for me and myself. I’m not really picking favorites, I’m just picking every day as my favorite day.”
    Mancuso said she’s looking forward to competing at the World Championships in Are, Sweden, later this season. On Monday, the FIS announced that the World Cup Finals would return to Are in the 2008-09 season.
    “I love going to Sweden, it’s always fun,” Mancuso said. “The people are very enthusiastic. I have a great time there, so I’m excited.”
    As for her chances to win the World Championships gold in Are, Mancuso expects a dogfight.
“The thing about Are is the snow is great and it’s not super difficult, so I think anything can happen,” she said.