Super Series races kick off at Keystone, Winter Park

The Chevrolet Super Series opens Monday at Keystone with a strong field of World Cup skiers prepping for races later in the week while women get rolling Tuesday at Winter Park Resort.
THE CHEVROLET SUPER SERIES opens Monday at Keystone with a strong field of World Cup skiers prepping for races later in the week while women get rolling Tuesday at Winter Park Resort.
    “These are very important races for us,” said U.S. Alpine Director Jesse Hunt. “They give us the additional international experience we’re looking for with our athletes … and that’s why we’ve been scheduling them in recent years in connection with World Cup races — so we can go up against World Cup skiers whenever possible.
    “It’s so nice to get beyond the training and finally get into some races, but it’s time. These offer us a valuable experience which that next level of skier, looking to get up to the World Cup, must have to succeed,” Hunt said.
    The World Cup races during the Visa Birds of Prey events at Beaver Creek, beginning Wednesday, mean European tech skiers will be part of the field at Keystone, lifting the level of competition, as Hunt indicated.
    The schedule includes men’s giant slaloms Monday and Tuesday followed by back-to-back slaloms Wednesday and Thursday at Keystone. Start times are 10 a.m. MT each day for first run, 1 p.m. for second runs.
    The women’s lineup at Winter Park — with defending NorAm overall, GS and super G champion Megan McJames heading the list of competitors — has slaloms Tuesday and Wednesday with a GS Thursday and Friday. Start times for the runs also are 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. each day.
    The Chevrolet Super Series represents NorAm Cup races in the United States each winter as racers move up toward the World Cup tour. The top two skiers in each discipline (slalom, GS, super G and downhill) earn automatic start spots in all World Cup races during the 2008 season.
    “These races help mark the next star coming up,” Hunt said. “Ted won at Keystone last season and look how his winter turned out — an Olympic gold medal, a World Cup victory… and the Super Series is a great stepping stone for the U.S. athlete. We see great potential for Megan, too. She didn’t surprise us by being so dominant last winter, but the surprise came in her doing it so soon, while she was just 18, but that’s what can happen with the NorAms and the Chevy Super Series races. They give you confidence and experience.”
    The Keystone races follow nearly four weeks of training by U.S. skiers on North Peak under an exclusive arrangement between the resort and the U.S. Ski Team.
    “We’ve had great training all this month at Keystone under our new agreement with them, and it’s been all that we were looking for … and Winter Park’s done its usual outstanding job in course prep for the Super Series races,” Hunt said. “These should be terrific races.”