Eurosport columnist Kristian Ghedina, a winner of 13 World Cup races in his illustrious career, looks ahead to the season as the racers head to North America this weekend for the first downhill of the campaign.

The racers have two focuses this season, the World Cup and the Olympic Games.

In one-off races there are many factors which affect the result such as the weather conditions, the light conditions, the lay-out of the course and the number on your bib.

But the World Cup rewards the best skier during the whole season.

This year, I cannot look past Aksel Lund Svindal, Benjamin Raich and Didier Cuche for the Crystal Globe.

The Swiss is 35 but he had a great opening to the year in Soelden in such a technical and difficult discipline as giant slalom which is strange for someone of his age.

If he succeeds in keeping this level in technical disciplines, he could be a tough rival for Svindal and Raich, since he will be very competitive in Downhill and Super-G, which require less reactivity and so are more suitable for ”old” racers.

As for Bode Miller, he is still a star but I do not consider him for overall World Cup victory. He lacks consistency and he can be a loose cannon in the World Cup.

I’m sure he is already focused on Vancouver.

It is the first season without Hermann Maier and we will miss him a lot.

I really respect his decision to retire from the business at his best before he made a fool of himself. It would have been impossible for him to train properly due to his physical problems.

When your body does not respond to training, it is frustrating and it is most of all too dangerous in our sport.

I did more or less the same, retiring when I was number 10 in the world and number one in Italy. I felt too much pain in my back and I knew I would have not been so competitive as in the past.

There are a bunch of improving young skiers to look out for this year, the most interesting one is Carlo Janka who is ready to become a star.

And watch out for the Canadian team. They have adopted a winning strategy in my opinion by getting rid of older racers and backing the new generation who will gain experience in the World Cup in order to be ready for their home Olympic Games.

There’s great enthusiasm in that team, and enthusiasm is a very important factor.

As for the women with Nicole Hosp injured it will be a clear head-to-head between Lindsay Vonn and Maria Riesch.

Julia Mancuso’s hopes have faded. I think it was too hard to accept the team leadership of Lindsay Vonn and it was a blow for her morale.

Alpine Skiing World Cup Lake Louise:

Men’s Downhill — Saturday 6.30pm LIVE on British Eurosport (Sky 410 / Virgin Media 521) & Eurosport Player

Men’s Super-G — Sunday 6pm LIVE on British Eurosport (Sky 410 / Virgin Media 521) & Eurosport Player