TORINO: Alpine: Schlopy makes debut in GS; Will Kostelic race super G?

By Published On: February 19th, 2006Comments Off on TORINO: Alpine: Schlopy makes debut in GS; Will Kostelic race super G?

TORINO: Alpine: Schlopy makes debut in GS; Will Kostelic race super G?{mosimage}SAN SICARIO, Italy Monday will become a very busy day for Olympic alpine racing as both the men’s giant slalom and the women’s super G will be run.

As predicted, weather forced the postponement of the women’s super G when the resort was covered with thick fog at the finish area and heavy, wet snow fell.

The men’s race will run on a very tough GS course which has rolls and sharp dropoffs that will be made even more tricky by the new snowfall.

No one skier has dominated the giant slalom this season, so the contest should be one of the best of the XX Winter Games. Furthermore, there have been no world-class giant slalom races since Adelboden in mid-January.

Leading the World Cup in the discipline is Austrian Benni Raich, but by a scant margin over Italian Massimiliano Blardone. Still, there are a dozen competitors with the skills to reach the podium.

The United States will be led by Bode Miller, who holds the nation’s record for giant slalom victories. He will be challenged by his teammates Daron Rahlves and Erik Schlopy. Combined gold medalist Ted Ligety will be gunning for the podium as well.

Do not count out Austria’s Hermann Maier or Finland’s Kalle Palander. Canada’s Thomas Grandi has the credentials to reach the top, as does Blardone’s teammate, Davide Simoncelli. Finally, the grand old man of GS, Frederick Nyberg, could be a factor.

In the women’s race, the biggest question will be whether Croatian World Cup leader Janica Kostelic will participate. She chose not to race the super G and was not at the start Sunday. However, with the race moved to Monday, she just might give it a try. Kostelic has been battling flu and other ailments all week and indicated she was resting for Wednesday’s slalom.

Given her convincing gold-medal performance in the downhill, World Cup super G leader Michaela Dorfmeister has to leave the start house as the odds-on favorite.

Lindsey Kildow is the U.S. team’s ranking super G skier, though it was Julia Mancuso who surprised fans in last year’s Bormio World Championships super G when she laid down a bronze-medal performance. Veteran Kirsten Clark and Olympic rookie Libby Ludlow round out the U.S. squad.

Fellow Austrians Alexandra Meissnitzer and Andrea Fischbacher are a threat, while Switzerland’s Nadia Styger could challenge for the podium. Rounding out the field of favorites will be Sweden’s Anja Paerson, the bronze medalist in the downhill.

The San Sicario piste came under fire from competitors after the test event last season for being far too tame. While TOROC did a good job in adding terrain to the downhill, the women’s combined downhill which ran from Sunday’s super G start was tame and dull. Given the terrain available, the course setter will have a difficult time making the test challenging.

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About the Author: Pete Rugh