ASPEN — Ski Club Vail product Lindsey Vonn is an exceptional “glider” who has won downhills on the course in Lake Louise, Alberta, that has favored gliders four years in a row — most recently Saturday in the season’s first downhill.
But that doesn’t mean she can’t excel on a more technical track. She posted the fastest time in both training runs here, and there’s no reason she can’t win the downhill today — or Saturday, if weather forces postponement.
“It doesn’t matter what (kind of course) it is,” said Patrick Riml, head coach of the women’s U.S. Ski Team.
Vonn came out of her tuck and skied upright on the bottom of the course in Thursday’s training run but still won the run.
“Just cruising,” Riml said. “Everybody was shocked she still had the fastest time. If everything is in her corner, she probably wins by a second. That’s the speed she has.”
Weather watch.
Everyone involved with the World Cup races scheduled here today through Sunday has been anxiously watching weather reports threatening huge dumps of snow that could cancel one or more races.
Chief of race Jim Hancock conceded Aspen “dodged a bullet” when only a few inches of snow fell Wednesday night, allowing the racers to get in the second of two scheduled downhill training runs Thursday.
Another storm is lurking to the west that could postpone today’s downhill — the first World Cup downhill scheduled in Aspen since 1994.
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center forecast 4-8 inches overnight in the Aspen area and another 4-8 inches today.
“It’s not very promising,” conceded Atle Skaardal, who runs the day-to-day operations of the women’s World Cup.
A super-G is scheduled for Saturday and a slalom for Sunday. If today’s downhill cannot be run, races organizers might move it to Saturday and cancel the super-G.
