There were no surprises in Wednesday’s announcement of the U.S. Ski Team roster for the world championships at Beaver Creek, but the news did add intrigue to the days leading up to the two-week event which begins next Tuesday.
The headliners are Lindsey Vonn of Vail, Mikaela Shiffrin of EagleVail, Bode Miller and Ted Ligety. Also named to the team was Alice McKennis of Glenwood Springs, but that doesn’t guarantee she will get to race. Teams may enter only four athletes per race, and ski team coaches have some decisions to make.
Vonn and Julia Mancuso have guaranteed start rights in downhill because of their results on the World Cup this season. McKennis is one of three women who likely will compete for the remaining two spots in downhill training runs next week. Her competition will be Stacey Cook and Laurenne Ross.
“We have three very strong girls between Laurenne, Alice and Stacey,” said alpine director Patrick Riml. “I have to get together with my coaching staff on Friday when I get to Beaver Creek and we will determine if we are going to do a time trial, what that would look like.”
The other unknown is what the team will do with Miller, who had back surgery in November and has not raced this season. He did participate in at World Cup venues in Europe.
“I would say we are very lucky that Bode is able to ski,” Riml said. “You saw how he skied and how he progressed over the last couple of weeks. Every day is an important day for Bode to get back on snow, to get the feeling back, to get the ski conditioning back. He’s just got to see how the whole thing shakes out, how he’s feeling day by day. Then we’ll make a call where and if we’re going to put him into the race.”
This will be the third world championships for Vail/Beaver Creek (previously held there in 1989 and 1999), but this will be the first time the U.S. goes in with multiple medal favorites. and is the . Vonn is the and an with five world championships medals. Shiffrin is the reigning world and in slalom.
“It takes the pressure off us,” Riml said. “Bode’s coming back, but he’s getting there. Everybody else is skiing on a very, very high level. I think we are in a very lucky situation. We’ve just got to go out there and get ready, do a good job with the set-up prior to the championships the next couple of days and then give our athletes an opportunity to go out there and race their hearts out.”
John Meyer: 303-954-1616, jmeyer@denverpost.com or twitter.com/johnmeyer
U.S. team for the world alpine championships at Beaver Creek, Feb. 2-15
Men
Will Brandenburg, Spokane, Wash.
David Chodounsky, Crested Butte
Tommy Ford, Bend, Ore.
Travis Ganong, Squaw Valley, Calif.
Jared Goldberg, Holladay, Utah
Tim Jitloff, Reno, Nev.
Ted Ligety, Park City, Utah
Nolan Kasper, Warren, Vt.
Tim Kelley, Starksboro, Vt.
Bode Miller, Franconia, N.H.
Steven Nyman, Sundance, Utah
Brennan Rubie, Salt Lake City
Marco Sullivan, Squaw Valley, Calif.
Andrew Weibrecht, Lake Placid, N.Y.
Women
Stacey Cook, Mammoth Mountain, Calif.
Haley Duke, Boise, Idaho
Lila Lapanja, Incline Village, Nev.
Julia Mancuso, Squaw Valley, Calif.
Megan McJames, Park City, Utah
Alice McKennis, Glenwood Springs
Paula Moltzan, Lakeville, Minn.
Laurenne Ross, Bend, Ore.
Mikaela Shiffrin, EagleVail
Resi Stiegler, Jackson Hole, Wyo.
Lindsey Vonn, Vail
Jackie Wiles, Aurora, Ore.
