BEAVER CREEK — When a U.S. Ski Team racer finishes a World Cup downhill, he immediately gets on a walkie-talkie to give a “course report” to his teammates waiting their turn.
The course might be running faster or slower than it did in training runs. The early racer may have discovered a way to save critical fractions of seconds in a race where speeds reach 80 mph. Or, he might have made a tactical mistake he can help teammates avoid. Whatever insight he gathers becomes valuable, last-minute advice for those who follow.
“You’re telling people how to beat you,” veteran Scott Macartney said.
On the World Cup this season, that sort of self-sacrifice could be tougher than ever, because Olympic team spots are based on World Cup performance, and the U.S. downhill squad is deeper than ever. Realistically, six guys will be fighting for four spots in the Olympic downhill, and they’re all good.
“It’s scary,” said Marco Sullivan, the team’s second-ranked downhiller behind Bode Miller. “I’m really confident in myself right now. I’m healthy, I’m skiing well, I definitely think I’ll be there. But it’s tough to guarantee that.”
In a World Cup downhill last season in Val Gardena, Italy, five Americans finished in the top 10, led by Miller, who was second. Macartney was 15th — and was only sixth-best on his team.
“You look at that one result and you realize there could be someone who gets a top 10 in the World Cup that won’t make the Olympic team,” Macartney said.
Four years ago, Miller and Daron Rahlves were two of the top downhillers in the world — they’d gone 1-2 the previous year at the world championships — and three others qualified for the Olympic team by their World Cup performance. Macartney, Sullivan and Steve Nyman competed in downhill training at the Games for the other two spots. Macartney and Nyman won those spots.
“It was competitive, but there wasn’t a lot of guys who had World Cup success that were left off that team,” Macartney said.
This year figures to be much different, although the list of contenders was reduced by one Saturday when TJ Lanning was seriously injured racing in Lake Louise, Alberta. Based on the World Cup start list, the top four are Miller, Sullivan, Nyman and Erik Fisher. But Macartney has been on the World Cup podium, and Andrew Weibrecht was the top American in the Lake Louise downhill (12th).
Miller, Sullivan and Nyman all have won World Cup downhills. Weibrecht reminds people of Rahlves, who quit alpine racing in 2006.
“I really feel like it’s going to be an intriguing story,” Nyman said, “because it’s going to take podiums probably to go to the Olympics for the U.S. team, which has never been that way.”
Those who do make the team will have a better chance of winning than they do on the World Cup, because every other team is limited to four racers as well. Austrians who have won World Cup races are apt to be watching jealously on the sidelines.
“I feel like any of the guys who are making the Olympic team have the potential to win,” Nyman said. “If those young guys get it together and figure it out, they can do some pretty incredible things.”
Because they spend most of their season competing on a foreign continent, the U.S. racers compete hard but support each other when they’re not racing.
“As soon as I see my time,” Sullivan said, “I’m looking straight over to Nyman and Macartney and going, ‘How did you guys do?’ Our team is unique in that way. You don’t see the Europeans being as tight as we are, because they’re not staying with each other the whole winter. We are kind of a band of brothers.”
John Meyer: 303-954-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com
Depth on the men’s downhill team
The U.S. Ski Team went almost 31 years without putting three racers in the top 10 of a World Cup downhill. They now have now done it five times in seven years — and twice have had four in the top 10.
1. Beaver Creek 2002 3. Daron Rahlves 6. Marco Sullivan 8. Bode Miller
2. Beaver Creek 2004 1. Bode Miller 2. Daron Rahlves 7. Bryon Friedman
3. Beaver Creek 2006 1. Bode Miller 3. Steve Nyman 8. Scott McCartney 10. Marco Sullivan
4. Beaver Creek 2007 2. Steve Nyman 6. Bode Miller 10. Andrew Wiebrecht
5. Val Gardena 2008 2. Bode Miller 4. Marco Sullivan 7. Erik Fisher 9. Steve Nyman 10. TJ Lanning
How to make U.S. Olympic team
Olympic alpine skiers will be selected primarily by individual World Cup race finishes. The top two athletes, by selection criteria, have a guaranteed start in their respective events.
Selection period: Oct. 23, 2009 to Jan. 25, 2010
Top criteria (in order): 1. One or more top three World Cup finishes; 2. One or more top 10 World Cup finishes; 3. Total World Cup points in an event.
Source: U.S. Ski Team
BEAVER CREEK WORLD CUP SCHEDULE
Today: Super combined: downhill 11 a.m., slalom 2:30 p.m.
Saturday: Downhill, 11 a.m.
Sunday: Giant slalom, 9:45 a.m. and 12:45 p.m.
