U.S. women gearing up for Aspen Winternational

Can Resi Stiegler keep the momentum going? And can Stiegler’s U.S. teammates jump-start their seasons on home turf?
    Those are the two major questions as the women’s World Cup rolls into Aspen, Colorado, for the Winternational this weekend with a giant slalom scheduled for Saturday followed by a slalom on Sunday.

CAN RESI STIEGLER keep the momentum going? And can Stiegler’s U.S. teammates jump-start their seasons on home turf?
    Those are the two major questions as the women’s World Cup rolls into Aspen, Colorado, for the Winternational this weekend with a giant slalom scheduled for Saturday followed by a slalom on Sunday. With Stiegler — fresh off a 10th-place showing in the season’s first slalom earlier this month in Levi, Finland — Lindsey Kildow and Sterling Grant the only U.S. women with World Cup races under their belts so far, the bulk of the U.S. team will finally step into the start house this weekend.
    “You can only train for so many days, so many weeks, before you want to race and show how well you can ski. It’s about time for these girls to get a chance,” U.S. women’s head coach Patrick Riml said. “Lindsey, Resi and Sterling finally got a chance to race up in Levi, but now the other girls get their shot.”
    The U.S. team can start as many as 10 racers in both races, and Riml said that quota will likely be filled in GS but probably not in slalom. Grant, expected to make the second World Cup start of her career in Sunday’s slalom, won’t race after injuring her left knee and spraining her neck in a training crash last week.
    “It could have been a lot worse,” Riml said of Grant. “She could’ve been out for a long time but she should be back in a couple of weeks.”
    Expected starters in Saturday’s GS include Stiegler, Kildow, Julia Mancuso, Lubby Ludlow, Stacey Cook, Jessica Kelley, Katie Hitchcock, Caitlin Ciccone and Megan McJames. Slated for Sunday’s slalom are Mancuso, Kildow, Stiegler, Kelley, Hitchcock, Ciccone, Kaylin Richardson, Jenny Lathrop and Laurel Carter.
    U.S. racers have been training for nearly a month in Colorado at Keystone and Copper Mountain in Summit County, but those racing this weekend did get a day of training on the Aspen race hill Sunday. Stiegler called the hill “pretty challenging,” and Mancuso likes the varied terrain and tactical challenges the course provides.
    Riml praised the condition of the course and said he expects big things from all of his racers this weekend.
    “The race hill in is in great shape. The people in Aspen have done a hell of a job getting everything ready with the surface,” he said. “It’s going to be a good race.
    “Our hotshot in GS is Julia, the Olympic champion and the best GS skier we have. We expect something from her. The last couple of weeks in Keystone she skied well. From the other girls, I expect good skiing from Lindsey in GS. From the young ones — McJames, Ciccone, Jess Kelley — they did a good job in training and I’m looking forward to seeing those guys in the second run [this weekend].”
    Stiegler finished 16th in the slalom in Aspen two years ago, a result she said helped boost her confidence and propel her to a string of top-15 finishes in the event. And the GS course is one of her favorites on the World Cup circuit.
    “I love Aspen. I’ve always been a fan of challenging hills,” she said. “The GS there is so sweet, it’s rolling and the terrain changes. If you get the right person setting the course, you can really hammer it from anywhere [in the start order] and I don’t start up front so that’s a big deal for me.”   
    For Mancuso, the reigning Olympic gold medalist in GS, Saturday’s race will be her first since off-season hip surgery to repair a torn labrum she said was making it difficult to endure dryland training. Admitting that this season could be one of transition as her hip recovers, Mancuso nevertheless skied well in training and Riml expects her to vie for a podium finish this weekend.
    “… Julia is actually the master of difficult hills and this terrain suits her,” he said. “She’s a natural skier, she adapts to terrain pretty quick.”
    Kildow is coming off a disappointing effort in Levi, where she crashed in the second run. But Riml said the powerful skier known more for her prowess in speed events is more than capable of surprising in the tech events this weekend.
    “Lindsey, [unlike a lot] of top downhill skiers who don’t always have those [technical skiing skills], also has those gifts of a technical skier,” he said.
    It is certainly too early to expect a podium finish for McJames this weekend, but the 19-year-old who skied away with three NorAm titles a year ago has the talent to contend soon. McJames will make her first World Cup start Saturday in the GS, as will a few more of her teammates. Mancuso, who’s quickly gaining a reputation for skiing her best in the biggest events, said learning to dial in her best performances on race days is a lesson she hopes to pass along to teammates with less World Cup experience, including McJames.    
    “Something that’s unique about me and Resi is that we’re racers and not necessarily always the fastest in training,” Mancuso said. “I think for the younger girls it’s inspiring for them to be training with us and be like, ‘Wow, I can beat them in training, and now we’re in a race so what are they doing differently? How can I ski at the same level as them and at the same level in training.’ I just want to set an example and help out wherever we can.”

Aspen Winternational Training and Race Schedule

Thursday, Nov. 23
• Training on Little Nell, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. (more training lanes may be set at Snowmass)

Friday, Nov. 24
• Training, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Racers' freeski on race course, 10-11 a.m.
• Race course set, 11 a.m.-noon
• Public autograph signing with racers, 3-4 p.m., Gondola Plaza

Saturday, Nov. 25
• Giant slalom first run, 10 a.m.
• Giant slalom second run, 1 p.m.
• Public awards ceremony, 6 p.m., Gondola Plaza

Sunday, Nov. 26
• Slalom first run, 10 a.m.
• Slalom second run, 1 p.m.