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U.S. women ready to race day Aspen's slopes during Winternational |
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Monday, November 21, 2011 07:47 |
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ASPEN – After winning the opening race of the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup season on Oct. 22, Olympic gold medalist and World Champion Lindsey Vonn, of Vail, will enter the Nature Valley Aspen Winternational this weekend wearing the giant slalom leader bib.
Vonn's victory in Soelden, Austria, etched a new line in alpine history as she became the first American woman (fifth international) to win in all five World Cup disciplines, according to a statement from U.S. Ski Team. Vonn now leads all Americans with 42 World Cup victories.
"Aspen is a very difficult race hill, a podium there is big, but a win is huge," said Vonn, who has been preparing with other U.S. Ski Team members at Vail Mountail. "Winning in Soelden was a huge boost for my confidence and I'd love to keep things rolling in Aspen."
Vonn's first GS podium came near the close of the 2011 season and put her soundly in position for a down-to-the-wire fight for the overall crown. A battle she had to forfeit by a mere three points when the final races of the season, a giant slalom, was canceled due to snow conditions.
The Nature Valley Aspen Winternational airs nationwide on NBC on Sunday at 11 a.m. (MST).
In addition to Vonn, the U.S. Ski Team will be represented at Aspen by three-time Olympic medalist Julia Mancuso, Vail resident and four-time Olympian Sarah Schleper, Resi Stiegler, NorAm overall champion Kiley Staples and 16-year-old Mikaela Shiffrin of Eagle/Vail. Oympian Hailey Duke will join the group with a slalom start.
"The snow in Colorado has been awesome," said Mancuso, who was top 10 in the opening race at Soelden. "We've had some of the best training of all time leading up to Aspen and hopefully we can put on a show for the home crowd."
See a schedule of events for the Winternational at the U.S. Ski Team website.
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