VAIL — Eileen Shiffrin remembers working out at a Vail athletic club while pregnant with her daughter, Mikaela, and watching in amazement while Sarah Schleper trained to be a World Cup racer.
Sixteen years later Shiffrin finds it “kind of mind-boggling” that Mikaela is a teammate of Schleper’s on the U.S. Ski Team.
“I remember being upstairs and being pregnant with Mikaela on the Stairmaster, trying to stay in shape, looking down into the racquetball court and watching Sarah do these amazing exercises — these one-legged squats that blew my mind she was so strong,” Shiffrin said.
Now Mikaela is challenging Schleper, a four-time Olympian from Vail, and the rest of the U.S. women in slalom.
“Mikaela is right there,” Schleper said after a recent team training session. “She’s pushing hard in slalom and I’m so, so pumped for that extra push. That’s what our team needs. I see a lot of myself (in her), even though she’s even a little bit more crazy about it than me.
“I’m so stoked to have her, and it doesn’t feel like the big age gap. She’s super mature, and we’re super kind of unmature. It balances out.”
Shiffrin, a resident of Eagle-Vail, made her World Cup debut at the end of last season. She is about to embark on her first full World Cup season, beginning this weekend in Aspen with giant slalom and slalom races before heading to Europe until March.
“I’m really excited,” Mikaela said. “Last (season) was my first World Cup, kind of breaking into the scene, but I wasn’t planning on making a huge entrance because I knew I wasn’t ready. But I’m feeling more and more comfortable with my skiing and where it can take me this year, and the following years. I’m very excited to get going with it, to really try to see what I can do and see where my skiing takes me. Hopefully I will be able to hang on for the ride.”
It’s sure to be bumpy, but she will have lots of help. Schleper has taken Mikaela under her wing, and Mikaela’s mother will spend the winter in Europe to be there when her daughter needs her.
“She really likes her teammates a lot,” Eileen said. “Nevertheless we just envision her getting over to Europe and all of a sudden realizing how much she misses having us around.”
They won’t be living together — Mikaela will be living with the team — but mom will be close by.
“Mikaela can come and stay with me whenever she wants to,” Eileen said. “I’m planning on hopefully having a cozy little apartment where we can get together and get some schoolwork done and try to bring some normalcy to her life over there, if possible.”
Mikaela likes the sound of that. “There’s always the bonus of her doing my laundry every now and then, home-cooked meals and the little things that make your stay so much better,” Mikaela said. “Going to Europe for three months is definitely going to be nerve-racking for the first bit of it. Having her around will really make it easy.”
Mikaela competed last season on the NorAm circuit, and her FIS points (a complicated formula used to rank racers internationally) compare favorably to the stars of the U.S. Ski Team — Olympic champions Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso — when they were her age. Mikaela won the U.S. slalom title at Winter Park in March, edging Schleper by a half-second.
Schleper has a 3-year-old boy, Lasse, who travels the tour with her and her husband, Federico. She has four career podium appearances on the World Cup circuit, including a slalom win in 2005, and still loves the sport despite hardships on her family.
“There’s days where I’m like, am I doing the right thing?” Schleper said. “Federico is itching to start working and making money, but my heart is still so much in the sport and I love my teammates so much. I love the travel, I love being on the snow and competing. I just love that feeling of knowing I’m one of the fastest girls out there. The goal is trying to get on the podium as a mom.”
Eileen is thankful that Schleper has taken an interest in Mikaela, seeing “a real maternal side” in Schleper. Mikaela is thankful for Schleper’s willingness to help.
“She has a huge heart,” Mikaela said. “She’s really kind of taken me under her wing, as have all the other girls, and helped me find my own way. My relationship with Sarah and all the rest of the girls is almost to the point of family.”
John Meyer: 303-954-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com
Generation gap
Mikaela Shiffrin was 8 months old when Sarah Schleper made her World Cup debut at age 16 on Nov. 18, 1995.
World Cup starts: Schleper 178, Shiffrin 2.
World junior championships medals: Schleper, silver in slalom in 1997; Shiffrin bronze in slalom this year.
ASPEN WINTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S WORLD CUP RACES
Saturday: Giant slalom, 10:15 a.m.; 1:15 p.m.
Sunday: Slalom, 10:15 a.m.; 1 p.m.
