Lindsey Vonn, who has won five straight times at Lake Louise, begins defence of her title as the World Cup shifts to the Canadian Rockies for the first women’s downhill of the season.
The spotlight is firmly on the reigning World Cup overall champion Vonn but the American will face a stiff challenge from a handful of skiers hoping to knock her off her perch and steal one of the three Alpine speed races this weekend.
“I always like this hill, it suits my style well,” Vonn said. “It has some flats and great jumps and I love the terrain.
“For me knowing that I have won it in the past builds up a lot of confidence every year. So I have a lot of confidence in skiing here.”
Swedish veteran Anja Paerson, German star Maria Riesch and Italian Elena Fanchini, who is a making a comeback after missing all of last season, are seeking to grab spots on the podium.
They are also hoping that strong results in Lake Louise will boost their confidence ahead of the 2010 Winter Games which will take place in just 10 weeks time on the western seaboard city of Vancouver, British Columbia.
American Vonn said if she can win a few races over the next two months that will put her in the right frame of mind for the Olympic downhill in the ski resort of Whistler, British Columbia.
“I am always thinking about where I am right now and how I will be in Vancouver,” said Vonn who finished eighth in the downhill at the 2006 Turin Games. “The best thing for me is to prepare myself for Vancouver is try to build up as much confidence as I can from the World Cup.”
The majority of the skiers wore tape on their face in training runs this week to protect from frost bite as temperatures in the Canadian Rockies reached around minus-20 Celsius.
Vonn said the key in Friday’s
“Fallaway is the key turn on the course and I know that that is where I get all my speed for the flats on the bottom. I am usually able to do that,” she said.
There has been speculation that this might be the last year on the World Cup circuit for
Paerson pondered retirement but is now looking forward to this year and will sit down with her coaches next March and decide what her future holds.
“It is hard for me to keep up the aggressiveness I had when I was younger,” Paerson said. “But I enjoy the training and being around my team more now than I did before. I stepped back into the Swedish team and the girls and I have a really good atmosphere. I love every moment when I ski with them.
“So on race day I really psyche myself up and try to do a little more and be more aggressive like I was five or six years ago.”
The 24-
Fanchini, who also has a sister on the circuit, Nadia, is showing no lasting effects from the crash this week, finishing second in her first downhill training run since starting her comeback.
With the Vancouver Olympics just 10 weeks away, Nadia Styger has Canadian bragging rights over the 60-women field going into the Winter Games. The 31-
Styger won a World Cup women’s downhill on the Whistler course in February 2008.
Her best result in Lake Louise was a fourth in the downhill two years ago.
Both Friday and Saturday’s downhills are scheduled for 12.30pm (7.30pm UK time) while Sunday’s season opening
Alpine Skiing World Cup Lake Louise:
Women’s Downhill — Friday 7.30pm LIVE on British Eurosport (Sky 410 / Virgin Media 521) & Eurosport Player
Women’s Downhill — Saturday 7.30pm LIVE on British Eurosport (Sky 410 / Virgin Media 521) & Eurosport Player
Women’s
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