Americans are leading, both men and women

By Marina Knight

In the race for the coveted overall World Cup, two Americans are leading the way.
Lindsey Vonn is in a deadlock with Austrian Nicole Hosp, and Bode Miller holds a 98-point lead over Austrian Ben Raich.

The men have 10 races left and the women have 11 before the season closes, giving each a chance to seal the deal against the Austrians.

Interestingly, both Miller and Vonn are dominant in speed events, while the second-place Austrians are better at tech events. Since there are about an even number of each left, it means that Miller and Vonn will have to ski better tech than their rivals do speed to keep the lead.


Vancouver’s on
the schedule

In about two years, the 2010 Olympic games will take place in Vancouver. In preparation this year, skiers on the World Cup will be making a stop at ski mecca Whistler, giving them a chance to start getting used to the courses and terrain there.
Whistler’s Creekside area will be the locale and both men and women will be racing — a rarity.

While the men’s track has been used before, most athletes on tour haven’t experienced it — there’s been no World Cup event at Whistler since 1995. The women’s course, Wild Card, is new.

A handful of athletes from the Canadian team grew up at Whistler, while lots of athletes from both the Canadian and U.S. teams have skied Nor-Ams there. Marco Sullivan has two Nor-Am wins on the hill, so he’ll be one to watch.

The women will race a downhill Feb. 22 and super combined Feb. 24, and men will ski super-G Feb. 21 and giant slalom Feb. 23.

In addition to skiing, fans who decide to make the trek will be treated to a slew of après activities. Bands like the Johnstones, K-OS and Hedley are scheduled to play, and a few requisite VIP parties are slated. Whistler is certainly a good party town, plus there will be plenty of skiing open to the public, creating what could be one of the best World Cup venues around.

At the very least, tune into the Canadian television station on local cable for great live coverage of the events.


Marshall is 8th
in Sestriere



Chelsea Marshall of Pittsfield stormed to eighth in a World Cup downhill at Sestriere this week.

It was her first time scoring World Cup points; the closest previous result was 34th at Lake Louise in the discipline last year. Marshall started the race in 40th position.

As she was racing down, teammate Lindsey Vonn was being interviewed at the finish. When Vonn heard the announcer scream that Marshall had a good split time going, she stopped and faced the jumbotron to watch. Vonn was holding the lead, and as Marshall crossed the line Vonn started jumping and screaming for her teammate.

“They must have thought I was crazy,” Vonn said later.

Marshall’s finish will help move her closer to the top 30 on the World Cup start list, helping her bid to become a regular top finisher on tour.