U.S. Women Ready to Rock Lake Louise

LAKE LOUISE, AB (Dec. 4) - What a difference a year makes! Just 12 months ago, Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) was skiing on a bad knee and the number one women's speed team in the world was struggling. Today, the U.S. Ski Team is charging into Friday's Audi FIS Ski World Cup opener with optimism based on a strong preparation season and standout results in the three days of official training. Race time is 2:30 p.m. EST with live coverage on the Universal Sports Network.

Thursday's final training run saw Stacey Cook (Mammoth Mountain, CA) third fastest, followed by teammate Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, CA) and Laurenne Ross (Bend, OR) in fifth. Vonn was close behind in 13th. The four have been consistent all week and were joined by Alice McKennis (Glenwood Springs, CO), who was fourth in the opening training run. Nine women will start for the USA.

Needless to say, Austria will be a strong contender. Anna Fenninger led Thursday's final training while Slovenia's Tina Maze, who skipped training on Thursday, was Wednesday's leader. Austria's Mirjam Puchner could be a darkhorse, with second, third and tenth place finishes despite never cracking the top-20 in a World Cup. Norway's Lotte Smiseth Sejersted has also been strong.

New U.S. Ski Team Women's Speed Coach Stefan Abplanalp said the girls were ready following a strong prep season and that training results validated that. Now it's time to put it together on race day.

WHERE TO WATCH
2:30 p.m. EST - Live - Universal Sports Network

RESULTS
Women's Downhill Training 1 
Women's Downhill Training 2 
Women's Downhill Training 3