U.S. women ratchet up intensity for WC opener

By Published On: October 21st, 2006Comments Off on U.S. women ratchet up intensity for WC opener

With the season’s first giant slalom races looming on the horizon (Oct. 28 and 29) in Solden, Austria, U.S. women’s tech coach Chris Knight says his team is taking on a new approach to training.|


WITH THE SEASON'S first giant slalom races looming on the horizon (Oct. 28 and 29) in
Sölden, Austria, U.S. women’s tech coach Chris Knight says his team is taking on a new approach to training.
    While on-snow camps in New Zealand and Chile allowed U.S. skiers to get reacquainted with the snow after a four-month hiatus, most of the U.S. team is primed and ready, and training time is largely spent simulating the intensity of race day.
    The intensity approaching the season opener is a beast unto itself, Knight said. While the team sends its mental readiness into high gear for its only appearance on home turf in Aspen, Colorado, or going into any other big races on the World Cup circuit, the opener is where the volume must be cranked the highest.
    “It’s a totally different type of intensity than going into Levi [Finland] or even Aspen,” Knight said. “You reduce the volume of training runs and up the intensity until it’s … way up.”
    Knight said it’s still uncertain exactly who from the women’s team will compete next weekend. He described Julia Mancuso’s on-snow session in Chile as “purely a return to ski” after the 2006 Olympic GS medalist underwent hip surgery in the spring. Although he said Mancuso “gets back to speed pretty quickly," it’s uncertain whether she’ll compete. Libby Ludlow and Stacey Cook are the only definites thus far, he said.
   Even Lindsey Kildow's start is in jeopardy after a Tuesday training crash.
   Early this preseason, each skier would typically take about six runs down the course. But in
Sölden, preparing for next weekend’s races, nobody takes more than three.
    “It’s basically tapering off,” Knight said. “We try to do some race simulation. There will be a time trial [to determine who on the C team will fill start slots]. It’s a confidence builder to go into a race like that with a couple of decent training sessions under their belts, especially if they can beat some of the top girls in training.”
    Dryland preparation tapers off as well. Rather than heavy lifting and extended aerobic workouts, the team will spin on the bike as a cool-down or warm-up, and play a bonding round of team sport simply to keep their muscles and senses alert.
    “Dryland right now is recovery sessions,” Knight said. “You might do a circuit recovery or dodgeball, soccer, some sort of game.”

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About the Author: Pete Rugh