Loveland Ski Area hosting alpine World Cup teams

Loveland Ski Area hosting alpine World Cup teamsAs Colorado prepares to host seven World Cup alpine ski races beginning November 26th, national ski teams from Austria (AUT), Canada (CAN), Croatia (CRO), Great Britain (GBR), Finland (FIN), France (FRA), Japan (JPN), Norway (NOR), Slovenia (SLO) and the United States (USA) are seeking snow at Loveland Ski Area for crucial early season gate training.

This season Loveland Ski Area is expecting appearances from the top three slalom skiers in the world, Rainer Schoenfelder of Austria, Kalle Palander of Finland, and Benjamin Raich of Austria. Top-ranked female skiers expecting to train gates at Loveland include, Marlies Schild, Elisabeth Goergl and Nicole Hosp of Austria, as well as Kristina Koznick, the American racer competing independently this year. Other well-known skiers scheduled to train at Loveland include 2003-2004 giant slalom champion Bode Miller, 2004 overall World Cup winner Hermann Maier. Among Americans who may appear on snow at Loveland are Erik Schlopy, Daron Rahlves, Sarah Schleper and many others.

‘Loveland Ski Area offers teams a quality early-season product’ said Loveland Ski Area race director Bill Gooch, listing the privacy of the training arena, convenience of parking at the lift and access to video equipment as features. ‘The facilities here at Loveland are in such demand that teams from around the world book a year in advance. We are proud to host this early season sneak peek of what we can expect to see from these world-class athletes during the 2004-2005 season.

Loveland Ski Area will host international race teams through December 3, 2004.