Vonn says Whistler DH track full of challenges

As Lindsey Vonn  tries to clinch the downhill World Cup title this weekend, and take the outright overall points lead, she figures to have a good comfort level with the challenging terrain. After all, she won at Whistler in 1997 while competing in the Whistler Cup series for skiers 11-12 years old.
WHISTLER, B.C. — As Lindsey Vonn  tries to clinch the downhill World Cup title this weekend, and take the outright overall points lead, she figures to have a good comfort level with the challenging terrain. After all, she won at Whistler in 1997 while competing in the Whistler Cup series for skiers 11-12 years old.
    "Oh, that was a while ago," she laughed Wednesday, referring to her giant slalom victory. "Actually, our warmup trail this week is where we raced. It seemed so steep to me then, but now it's kind of flat."
    At the same time, Franz's Downhill — where the women's race will be held Friday on the second of four days of men's and women's World Cup races — is a complete package of challenging skiing, Vonn said. "It's a fun course. It has everything — sidehills, banked turns, jumps and air, flats, rolls."
    The last World Cup races at Whistler were a downhill and super G early in the 1995 season. Friday, Vonn leads the charge in her bid to join childhood idol Picabo Street as the only Americans to have won a World Cup DH title. Saturday, the men have a giant slalom with that title very much still in play among several racers, and the women conclude the weekend Sunday with a super combined.
    Bode Miller already has clinched the super combined World Cup title and is leading the overall with 11 races remaining. Ted Ligety is in the thick of the battle for the giant slalom championship with three events left, including Saturday at Whistler. The top five GS skiers are just 31 points apart; Ligety is fourth,

The expected U.S. starters, by event:
Friday (women's DH) – Vonn, Julia Mancuso (Olympic Valley, CA), Stacey Cook (Mammoth Mountain, CA), Libby Ludlow (Bellevue, WA), Leanne Smith (Conway, NH) and Chelsea Marshall (Pittsfield, VT)
Saturday (men's GS) – Miller, Ligety, Nyman, Erik Schlopy (Park City, UT), Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, NY), Jimmy Cochran (Keene, NH) and Kevin Francis (Bend, OR)
Sunday (super combined) – Vonn, Mancuso, Cook, Ludlow, Smith and Marshall

Head coaches Phil McNichol (men) and Patrick Riml (women) said their athletes are "psyched and motivated" about getting to compete on the Olympic hill.
    "The organizers are all set — they've got 700 volunteers and they're prepared to go. Now, we need to have the weather cooperate It got a little warm today, but there's no extreme weather predicted, so we should be good to go," McNichol said Wednesday night.
    He was particularly pleased with Schlopy's return. The veteran has been off the tour as his wife, Olympic swimming champion Summer Sanders, delivered their second child, son Spider, last month. "It's good to have him back and, really, with so few giant slaloms, this will be a chance to perform. It's all about the weather and if we get some cooperation from Mother Nature, we could have some outstanding racing."
    Riml agreed. "The girls are excited and they're ready to go on the Olympic hill," he said. "This is a technical run, which should be good for our girls. Lindsey, for sure, will do well on any course at this point – she's so confident and skiing so well — and the others should do well here. There are some great turns, some good air. Whistler could be an awesome downhill."
    All races will be webstreamed live on WCSN.com. In addition, live interval timing also will be available daily. The schedule for pre-Olympic test races (all times ET):

Friday – Women's downhill (1:45 p.m. on WCSN.com)
Saturday – Men's giant slalom (first run – 1 p.m., second run – 4 p.m. on WCSN.com)
Sunday – Women's super combined (super G at 1:45 p.m., slalom at 4:45 p.m. on WCSN.com)