U.S. alpine team brings new medals into '07

According to U.S. Alpine Director Jesse Hunt, plenty of good things are on the radar as he looks at the 2007 World Cup season and the Alpine World Ski Championships. After all, Olympic champions Ted Ligety and Julia Mancuso are back, along with reigning downhill and super G world champ Bode Miller and Lindsey Kildow, a three-time World Cup winner last season. In addition, there are former worlds medalists Erik Schlopy and Kirsten Clark, and a hefty handful of up-and-coming talent, headed by Megan McJames, who won three NorAm titles a year ago and 2006 Junior World Championships downhill champion Chris Beckmann. 
    ”I really like this mix of veterans and young guns pushing them. Nobody can sit back because everyone’s pushing to succeed,” Hunt said. “No question, this is one of our strongest teams in terms of talent and depth.
    ”The 2007 alpine squad includes 18 Olympians – 16 from the 2006 team in Torino.
     One of the key elements to the optimistic outlook is continuity, which Hunt and his coaching staff have developed with veteran athletes sticking around. Schlopy, at 34, is in his 12th season on the ski team. Miller, who turned 29 in mid-October, is in his 11th season. Clark, also 29, is in her 13th year on the Ski Team. All are three-time Olympians. At the same time, Mancuso and Kildow are each 22 and in their seventh year of World Cup racing. Resi Stiegler, who turns 21 in November, is in her fifth season.
     Miller, the 2005 World Cup overall champion and the winner of 21 World Cup races as this season opens, and Ligety, the Olympic combined champion who also won his first World Cup race in ‘06, head a men’s squad, which Hunt feels could have someone on the podium in every race. On the speed side, Miller is joined by, among others, two-time Olympian Scott Macartney, Steve Nyman, JJ Johnson, Marco Sullivan, Beckmann and 2006 NorAm super G champion Erik Fisher, who had two SG victories and a downhill win plus a Europa Cup DH podium. Kevin Francis is knocking on the World Cup door, too.
    On the tech side, Miller, Ligety and Schlopy get backup from Jimmy Cochran, a healthy T.J. Lanning and, among others, Tom Rothrock.
    Mancuso, Kildow and Clark have strong support, too. Although veteran gate-runner Sarah Schleper is taking the season off and Caroline Lalive is rebounding from injury, the women’s talent pool includes Olympians Stiegler, Stacey Cook, Libby Ludlow and Kaylin Richardson. Two-time NorAm GS champion Jessica Kelley is primed for a breakthrough, McJames has shown her skills in GS and super G while Caitlin Ciccone, the current U.S. giant slalom gold medalist, comes into the season looking for her first round of World Cup action.
     Keeping veteran athletes on the ski team is one ingredient for success, according to Hunt, and another is the continuity of top coaches.
    “We've been fortunate; the coaches know our system because they’ve been in it for so long, and the athletes get a consistent message; they’re not trying to adapt to a new coach every season,” he said.
     Phil McNichol is back for his 10th season with the ski team, his fifth season as men's head coach, while Patrick Riml is in his fourth year of leadership after coaching many of the women at the Europa Cup level for two seasons.
    The alpine World Cup season opens Oct. 28-29 with men’s and women’s giant slaloms in Solden, Austria. World Championships are scheduled for Feb. 3-18 in Are, Sweden.

PARK CITY, Utah – According to U.S. Alpine Director Jesse Hunt, plenty of good things are on the radar as he looks at the 2007 World Cup season and the Alpine World Ski Championships.
     After all, Olympic champions Ted Ligety and Julia Mancuso are back, along with reigning downhill and super G world champ Bode Miller and Lindsey Kildow, a three-time World Cup winner last season. In addition, there are former worlds medalists Erik Schlopy and Kirsten Clark, and a hefty handful of up-and-coming talent, headed by Megan McJames, who won three NorAm titles a year ago and 2006 Junior World Championships downhill champion Chris Beckmann.
    ”I really like this mix of veterans and young guns pushing them. Nobody can sit back because everyone’s pushing to succeed,” Hunt said. “No question, this is one of our strongest teams in terms of talent and depth.”
    The 2007 alpine squad includes 18 Olympians – 16 from the 2006 team in Torino.
     One of the key elements to the optimistic outlook is continuity, which Hunt and his coaching staff have developed with veteran athletes sticking around. Schlopy, at 34, is in his 12th season on the ski team. Miller, who turned 29 in mid-October, is in his 11th season. Clark, also 29, is in her 13th year on the Ski Team. All are three-time Olympians. At the same time, Mancuso and Kildow are each 22 and in their seventh year of World Cup racing. Resi Stiegler, who turns 21 in November, is in her fifth season.
     Miller, the 2005 World Cup overall champion and the winner of 21 World Cup races as this season opens, and Ligety, the Olympic combined champion who also won his first World Cup race in ‘06, head a men’s squad, which Hunt feels could have someone on the podium in every race. On the speed side, Miller is joined by, among others, two-time Olympian Scott Macartney, Steve Nyman, JJ Johnson, Marco Sullivan, Beckmann and 2006 NorAm super G champion Erik Fisher, who had two SG victories and a downhill win plus a Europa Cup DH podium. Kevin Francis is knocking on the World Cup door, too.
     On the tech side, Miller, Ligety and Schlopy get backup from Jimmy Cochran, a healthy T.J. Lanning and, among others, Tom Rothrock.
     Mancuso, Kildow and Clark have strong support, too. Although veteran gate-runner Sarah Schleper is taking the season off and Caroline Lalive is rebounding from injury, the women’s talent pool includes Olympians Stiegler, Stacey Cook, Libby Ludlow and Kaylin Richardson. Two-time NorAm GS champion Jessica Kelley is primed for a breakthrough, McJames has shown her skills in GS and super G while Caitlin Ciccone, the current U.S. giant slalom gold medalist, comes into the season looking for her first round of World Cup action.
     Keeping veteran athletes on the ski team is one ingredient for success, according to Hunt, and another is the continuity of top coaches.
    “We've been fortunate; the coaches know our system because they’ve been in it for so long, and the athletes get a consistent message; they’re not trying to adapt to a new coach every season,” he said.
     Phil McNichol is back for his 10th season with the ski team, his fifth season as men's head coach, while Patrick Riml is in his fourth year of leadership after coaching many of the women at the Europa Cup level for two seasons.
    The alpine World Cup season opens Oct. 28-29 with men’s and women’s giant slaloms in Solden, Austria. World Championships are scheduled for Feb. 3-18 in Are, Sweden.