BLACK DIAMOND: U.S. downhillers gear up for time trial

BLACK DIAMONDS: U.S. downhillers gear up for time trial{mosimage}TORINO, Italy – There are some old piles of dirty snow around some of the piazzas, but with no mountains in sight, some dull gray sunshine and a fair amount of construction going on, it hardly seems like winter’s quadrennial showcase is launching in 72 hours.

It seems less biting but not mild in this Italian industrial center for this time of year. If it were not for the scores of Olympic volunteers in black-accented jackets, a series of snowflake lights hanging over the via Nizzia and a monster souvenir tent occupying a goodly portion of the Piazza Veneto, there are only subtle signs that one of the world’s great sporting events is about to commence.

That is until one arrives at the monstrous MMC – the Main Media Center – housed in the old Fiat factory that the Agnelli family gave to the city a number of years ago. The center, which is fenced and heavily policed, covers about seven to eight full New York City blocks. Here one can feel the pulse of the Games starting to build. There are press conferences with athletes, camera crews and information centers. Three full restaurants, numerous snack bars, a laundry service and massage deck are all available for the fourth estate.

It is, however, Italy. Italian Telecom has run out of monthly Wi-Fi cards and the hapless volunteer manning the Wi-Fi desks hasn’t a clue when he could get more. ‘We were overwhelmed’ he laments. ‘We sold over 100 yesterday.’ Only in this affable, laid-back nation would the country’s largest telecommunications company be surprised by the demand generated when 20,000 media types descend. And, being Italy, the enterprising can go online, buy a day card, surf the Wi-Fi Web site and purchase a seven-day deal for $2 a day less than is offered to the press.

Not that this preliminary week won’t have some excitement. For the first time in modern memory, the U.S. alpine squad is going to have downhill time trials to see who starts the big race. Bode and Daron have qualified, but Scotty Mac, Steve Nyman and Marco Sullivan are vying for the last two start slots. The fastest of these three in Thursday’s training run gets a bib. And of the two remaining, the fastest in Friday’s training gets the nod to go. We may not be the Austrians, but by golly, we are beginning to resemble them.

Phil McNichol just wants the course workers to ice the hill. He is thinking of his DH gun, Rahlves, who likes tacks which are gnarly and wicked. The Borgata course won’t be really harsh, Rahlves says, but it will be a challenge. A “clean’ line and getting the ‘most out of the terrain’ will be key, he says. And D should know. He was the winner in the 2004 World Cup Finals here and the men have not been back since.