| _______________ |  | Inside Scoop on the Aspen Winternational | | ASPEN, CO (Nov. 22) – It's been a month since Olympic downhill – yes downhill – champion Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) arced the first Audi FIS Alpine World Cup giant slalom victory of her career. So, what do we have to look forward to when the Nature Valley Aspen Winternational rolls into Aspen this weekend – NBC Olympics analyst and 1984 Olympic giant slalom champion Christin Cooper has a few thoughts… | |
| _______________ | | SmartWool Extends Partnership with USSA | | PARK CITY, UT (Nov. 21), – The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA), the national governing body for Olympic skiing and snowboarding, has extended its partnership with ski sock manufacturer SmartWool, for an additional eight years, as its official sock provider. As a part of the partnership SmartWool® PhD® Ski, Nordic and Snowboard socks will don the feet of U.S. Ski Team and U.S. Snowboarding athletes in alpine, freestyle, nordic and snowboarding sports programs. SmartWool has been a USSA partner since 1996. | |
| _______________ | | Stage Set for Thrilling Aspen Winternational | | ASPEN, CO (Nov. 21) – After winning the opening race of the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup season on Oct. 22, Olympic gold medalist and World Champion Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) will enter the Nov. 26-27 Nature Valley Aspen Winternational wearing the giant slalom leader bib. | |
| _______________ | | Randall Leads USA in XC Relay | | SJUSJOEN, Norway (Nov. 20) - The U.S. Ski Team's Kikkan Randall (Anchorage) skied to second in her leg, recording one of the fastest times of the day, as the USA finished ninth in the 4x5k mixed technique relay in Sjusjoen. Randall, skiing the second classic leg, was 13.5 seconds back. Liz Stephen (Montpelier, VT) was sixth fastest in her third leg (freestyle). The U.S. men were 11th, less than a minute out. Norway dominated both the men's and women's relays. Action now moves to Kuusamo, Finland next weekend for a full-on nordic opener with ski jumping and nordic combined and cross country, including the season opening sprint. Randall finished third in the World Cup sprint standings and led during the mid-point of the season. | |
| _______________ | | Randall, Stephen Open With Career Bests | | SJUSJOEN, Norway (Nov. 19) – The U.S. Ski Team's Kikkan Randall (Anchorage) scored a career best non-sprint finish as the FIS Cross Country World Cup opened in Sjusjoen. Randall, who was third in the season-long World Cup sprint standings last year, was eighth in the opening 10k freestyle technique race. Liz Stephen (Montpelier, VT) matched her career best in 18th. Norway's Marit Bjoergen won the women's 10k while Swede Johan Olsson won the men's 15k. The World Cup openers were moved to Sjusjoen, near the 1994 Olympic city of Lillehammer, because of low early season snow in Beitostolen. The weekend continues Sunday with relays. | |
| _______________ | | USSA Names National Team Suppliers | | PARK CITY, UT (Nov. 18) – The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association has named 60 different brands as suppliers to the U.S. Ski Team, U.S. Snowboarding and U.S. Freeskiing. The broad cross section of brands represent the leading companies in the skiing and snowboarding industry, who provide equipment and services to national team athletes and teams. | |
| _______________ | | Beaver Creek Cleared for Birds of Prey | | BEAVER CREEK, CO (Nov. 18) – Citing the best preparation in years, the Audi Birds of Prey races set for Dec. 2-4 in Beaver Creek, home of the 2015 Alpine World Ski Championships, received the official go ahead Friday morning from International Ski Federation (FIS) Men's Chief Race Director Guenter Hujara. The announcement comes a full two weeks in advance of the event. | |
| _______________ | | CO NorAm Series to Feature Prize Money | | DENVER, CO (Nov. 18) – Businessman and ski racing enthusiast Dan Leever, CEO of MacDermid Inc, is throwing his company's support behind the Colorado NorAm alpine technical race series, which opens the season-long NorAm tour on Nov. 26 in Loveland. | |
| _______________ | | Aspen Winternational Gets Go Ahead | | ASPEN, CO (Nov. 17) – The Nature Valley Aspen Winternational was given the official green light Thursday as International Ski Fedration (FIS) Technical Events Race Director Markus Mayr consulted with Aspen officials on the snow flush World Cup race hill in Aspen. | |
| _______________ | | Stiegler Wins FIS Slalom at Copper | | COPPER MOUNTAIN, CO (Nov. 17 - Ski Racing Magazine News Service) - The field was filled with World Cup regulars in Thursday's U.S. Ski Team FIS women's slalom at Copper. American skier Resi Stiegler, who after finishing third in the first run, returned to take the lead overall with a combined time of 1:24:14. | |
