One of the biggest stories in ski racing this year leading up to the season has been Bode Miller leaving the U.S. Ski Team to train by himself. While FIS rules state that he must don the US Ski Team attire during races and official training, the break from the team has allowed him to live outside the recent rules, which many feel were geared towards reeling him in and policing his behavior.
Whereas I was a Bode fan for a while, I had certainly strayed from being a loyal supporter except for the fact he has represented the team and garnered many of our Nations Cup points. Whereas he has some great results and legions of followers, I’ll always have much more admiration for the likes of Daron Rahlves, who while shy and always seemingly the underdog, exemplified what representing ones’ country should be about. And while Daron decided to call it a career a couple years back after cementing himself as America’s winningest downhiller, a new generation is ready to step forward and take over.
While last year saw the emergence of Steve Nyman as a threat to the Austrians in the speed events, Marco Sullivan (Seen in above, on the right) captured his first career podium on Saturday at Lake Louise, Canada with a spectacular second place finish. And while Nyman rounded out the points scoring by coming in 15th, Miller, otherwise known as “Team America,” was a distant 20th after some fast training runs. Add those two impressive early season finishes with a constantly improving T.J. Lanning and the more technical oriented Olympic Gold Medalist, Ted Ligety, and The U.S. Ski Team should have a bright future ahead.
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