MountainZone.com | US Ski Team: Alpine

» Climbing » Hiking » Mountain Biking » Skiing » Snowboarding » Adventure » Mountain Peaks

Check Out

Sponsored Links

(photo: Art Wolfe)


	Olympics Home

Snowboarding Preview What It Is Halfpipe Giant Slalom Terje Boycotts
Skiing Preview Technical Events Women's Downhill Men's Downhill Austrian Men Hermann Maier US Preview
Nordic and Jumping Preview Scoop on Skinny Skis

	Boarding Bios


	Skiing Bios


	Mountain Zone

The Mountain Zone presents Cybercast Coverage of

Alpine Skiing Preview

The White Circus
There is an air of anticipation as temperatures plunge, and leaves fall in the mountainous countries of the world. As snow again arrives on the high peaks, work begins in earnest for the "White Circus." Ski racers are fine tuning their conditioning and training for the big and biggest ski events. There are two goals this winter: the multi-event World Cup, in its 31st year, with its bigger prize money and glass globe championships and the XVIII Winter Olympic Games in Nagano.

Americans Looking For Repeat

Americans will be focusing especially hard on the Olympiad because of their stellar performances in the 1994 Lillehammer Games.

Super-G Gold Medalist Diane-Roffe-Steinrotter has retired, but men's downhill winner Tommy Moe of Girdwood, Alaska and women's downhill Silver Medalist Picabo Street of Portland, Oregon, will be back.

Tommy Moe

Moe, also the Super-G silver medalist, is just returning to form after almost two seasons of rehab. More tore knee ligaments late in the '94-'95 season. But, after going under the skilled knife of Dr. Richard Steadman, of Vail, Colorado, Moe started to show good results. Late last season, he had a couple of top 20 finishes. His season ended after the infamous Kitzbuehl, Austria, race when he severely cut his right hand on a beer bottle in the equally infamous Londoner pub. The Londoner is famous for raucous parties where racers get hammered and bartend — Oops.

Tommy says he is now healthy and focused as he heads into this season; and he's shooting to medal again in Nagano. Moe could well get back on the the World Cup podium as well — if he stays away from the pub.

Picabo Street

Picabo is also coming back from major knee damage. She sailed the final jump in training for the Vail Downhill last fall, doing an "endo" into the fence at 60mph — another Steadman rebuild job. And a good one, too; she was training in the gym within six weeks.

Street worked out vigorously and was skiing at Mount Hood, Orgeon, at the spring USSA training camp and went to Chile this summer with the US team. She stayed home during the fall camp in Austria, though, because she can't go full speed yet and needs to build more strength in her knees and legs.

Picabo Street is always "way focused" and wants another medal in Nagano to go with her World Downhill title, the two World Cup globes and her Olympic silver. It could be a stretch though for her knee to be ready by then. But, if any athlete on the planet can pull it off, she can.

Megan Gerety

Her teammate, Megan Gerety, of Girdwood, Alaska, and Tommy Moe's longtime squeeze, is a long shot for the Olympic podium. Megan has shown flashes of brilliance, like the 5th place in the Vail Downhill last season and the 5th place at the Worlds in Sierra Nevada in 1996. But, she is inconsistent and seems easily discouraged by poor results.

Too bad current World Champ Hillary Lindh of Juneau, Alaska, retired to be a student. She could easily win gold on the flat Japanese downhill course.

Other Americans?
Kyle Rasmussen of Angels Camp, California, has won World Cup downhills and Super-Gs, but didn't do much last season except tear up his knee in Wengen, Switzerland. But, on the day, he could uncork one.

AJ Kitt of Boulder, Colorado? Probably the most talented male downhiller ever on the American team, Kitt has lost his mental edge after getting screwed out of World Cup wins in Aspen, Colorado, and Lillehammer two seasons ago, then trashing his knee at Val d'Isere.

Technical guys Matt Grosjean, of Aliso Viejo, California and Daron Rahlves, of Truckee, California, are long shots at best.

Overall, with the rotten medical luck the USA has had for the past few years, ONE medal at Nagano would be an achievement.

— Eric Moffitt, Mountain Zone Correspondent