World Championships Kick Off in Vail/Beaver Creek

VAIL/BEAVER CREEK, CO (Feb. 2. 2015)—On Monday, February 2, the opening ceremonies signified the highly anticipated beginning to the 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Vail/Beaver Creek, CO. This year’s competition marks the fourth time in history that the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships will be held in America, and the third time the competition returns to Vail/Beaver Creek, CO. The first event of the World Championships will be Tuesday, February 3, when the women super G racers race down the world-renowned Birds of Prey course.

A stack lineup of women racers representing the U.S. Ski Team will slide into the start gate on Tuesday at 1 p.m. EST. Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO), Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, CA), Stacey Cook (Mammoth Mountain, CA) and Laurenne Ross (Bend, OR) will all be gunning for a World Champs podium.

“Today, I had a lot of great memories of the 1999 World Championships [in Vail, CO] being a course-slipper,” said Vonn after Monday’s downhill training runs. “I saw all the kids out there and I remember being in the exact same position. Everything has come full circle. I am back here, in my hometown, racing in the World Championships. That’s something most athletes never get a chance to do, and I am just very grateful and looking forward to trying my best.”

Mancuso, a five-time medalist, is also excited to be stateside and competing in front of American fans.

World Championships kicks off in Vail with Opening Ceremonies. (Getty Images-Doug Pensinger)

“I am excited to go race, go as hard as possible, and try to win a medal,” said Mancuso. “Everyone is doing really well [this season]. I am excited to see all the girls smiling at the end of races.”

The U.S. Ski Team was able to race on the World Championship super G track earlier this season, and the time spent getting familiar with the terrain was important going into Tuesday’s race.

“Raptor is a tough hill,” said Mancuso. “It’s steep in the middle and you have to have guts. It was nice to get back because my first experience at the test event [in December] wasn’t great. I was definitely intimidated and being able to get those few days of training on there I realized there’s nothing to be intimidated about.”

Added Vonn: “During training I was trying to get a feel for the snow and the terrain. The course is pretty similar to what we trained on in December. It’s a little more grippy than I would have thought, but it’s perfect.”

Tune into the live coverage on NBCSN and watch the post-race coverage 60 minutes after the race on Universal Sports. Follow @usskiteam on Twitter for live updates.

HIGHLIGHTS

• 2015 is the fourth time the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships has been held in America. Other hosts are Aspen, CO in 1950 and Vail, CO in 1989 and 1999.
• More than $50 million in fundraising and sponsorships went in to year’s competition.
• Live television broadcasts and live streams online are available throughout the two-week event. Click here for more information about the broadcast schedules.
• The U.S. Ski Team has 26 athletes in this year’s World Championships—14 men and 12 women.
• Vonn currently has 64 World Cup wins in her career, the most ever. She presently leads both the downhill and super G World Cup standings and is third overall, one spot behind Mikaela Shiffrin.

Vonn warms up at the start of the downhill training run. (Getty Images-AFP/Fabrice Coffrini)

QUOTES
Lindsey Vonn
I just tried to relax and get a feel for the terrain. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow. It’s a great atmosphere here; everyone is coming out and cheering for us. During training I was trying to get a feel for the snow and the terrain. The course is pretty similar to what we trained on in December. It’s a little more grippy than I would have thought, but it’s perfect. 

It’s been a long two years, but I don’t think about the past at all. I’m really happy to be here, to be healthy, and to be skiing well. I’m really just enjoying the moment. I think I’m a lot more relaxed and a lot happier than I have been. Because of the injuries, I enjoy everything a lot more, I appreciate everything a lot more. Today, I had a lot of great memories of the 1999 World Championships [in Vail, CO] being a course-slipper. I saw all the kids out there and I remember being in the exact same position. Everything has come full circle; I am back here, in my hometown, racing in the World Championships. That’s something most athletes never get a chance to do, and I am just very grateful and looking forward to trying my best.

Julia Mancuso
Training here in December was great because it got me familiar with the terrain. Raptor is a tough hill. It’s steep in the middle and you have to have guts. It was nice to get back because my first experience at the test event [in December] wasn’t great. I was definitely intimidated and but after those few days of training on there, I realized there’s nothing to be intimidated about. I am excited to go race, go as hard as possible, and try to win a medal. Everyone is doing really well [this season]. I am excited to see all the girls smiling at the end of races. It was a tough season for most of us this year, so we’ve taken a big step forward. It’s nice to have Lindsey back. I definitely know you’ll be seeing some medals out of this group over the next few races.