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North America's top alpine series kicks off Saturday at Loveland |
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Friday, November 25, 2011 09:13 |
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By GEOFF MINTZ, SUMMIT DAILY NEWS
The North American Cup, which has opened its season at Loveland since 1998, got a serious boost this year. For the first time in a long time (roughly 15 years by most accounts) the series will offer substantial prize money for the top three finishers.
NorAms are essentially the gateway to the World Cup for U.S. athletes. It is the highest North American series, corresponding to the Europa Cup across the pond as a second-tier circuit, right below the World Cup.
The Loveland races (two slaloms per gender over four days) are particularly elite because, with World Cup races in Aspen, Lake Louise and Beaver Creek, the ski racing season hasn't yet transitioned over to Europe.
The women's races follow the World Cup technical events in Aspen, so they draw many of the top female skiers in the world — an elite pool that USSA expects will be even better with the added prize money this year.
On the men's side, the top speed athletes will be in Lake Louise for the downhill and super-G races, but several members of the U.S. Ski Team will nonetheless be looking to improve their ranking and score some cash at the early-season event.
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