They come round every four years and they are the zenith of every athlete's career. 2010 sees the Winter Olympics go to Vancouver with the alpine skiing events in Whistler and the ski cross, freestyle and snowboarding events at Cypress Mountain. So who will be the big stars of the next two weeks, who will be the heroes, just who will walk off with the three medals from each event? The talking has been done and now the action starts: Sit back, have a read and then set the TV up for some all night action if you cannot make it over to Vancouver. Lindsey Vonn, Anja Paerson, Manny Moelgg, Didier Cuche as well as Ed Drake and Chemmy Alcott have all given Racer Ready their views on who they expect to be challenging for the medals....

First up is the blue ribbon event itself: The men's downhill in Whistler. Didier Cuche has been in ominous form this season with his double win in Kitzbuehel being the pick of the wins. Is he unbeatable? No. Having had his thumb operated on due to his crash in Kranjska Gora on the last weekend of World Cup racing before the Olympics, will this hinder him out of the start gate? The man is powerful and this is unlikely to hinder him. Four years ago Michael Walchhofer was starting to give interviews in the finish expecting to hold the Gold when Antoine Deneriaz came down and stole the win. Walchhofer is in the twilight of his career and will want to sign off with the Big One! Picked out as a star for the future by Hermann Maier, Mario Scheiber has put injuries behind him and will be one to watch as well. On home ground the Canadians can never be discounted and while they have lost World Champion John Kucera to a broken leg, Manny Osborne- Paradis will, along with Erik Guay, be looking to start the Olympics off in great form for the host nation. Carlo Janka, winner in Wengen, the joker himself Marco Buechel and the Italians: This is an open field and with an on form and fresh Bode Miller taken into account this is a race that is there for the taking. One mistake and you let in your rivals! The weather could be the one factor that decides the outcome!

2006
Gold Antoine Deneriaz (FRA)
Silver Michael Walchhofer (AUT)
Bronze Bruno Kernen (SUI)

Still racing this time that placed in top 10 last time: Walchhofer (2), Miller (5), Buechel (7)

The Women kick off the next day, Sunday 14th, with the Super Combined. The one run of Downhill followed by a run of Slalom will see the first battle between Lindsey Vonn and her good friend Maria Riesch. Both are strong slalom skiers and well what can you say about Vonn in Downhill: Five consecutive wins in the first five races. It all looked over for the rest of the field at last years World Championships with Vonn leading after the downhill before she missed a gate in the slalom allowing Kathrin Zettel in for an unlikely Gold. With no Lara Gut to challenge this time, the freshness of the racers may see the leading two ladies on the World Cup this season fight it out reminiscent of the great Anja Paerson v Janica Kostelic battle of last time. Paerson goes again in her last Olympics. Chemmy Alcott has placed well in Super Combined on the World Cup and if she can put in a fast downhill run, she has strong slalom skills and this could play her into a strong finish.

2006
Gold Janica Kostelic (CRO)
Silver Marlies Schild (AUT)
Bronze Anja Paerson (SWE)

Still racing this time that placed in top 10 last time: Paerson (3); Zettel (4); Kirchgasser (6); Fanchini (10)

Tuesday 16 February sees the next alpine action with the Men doing the Super Combined. Svindal, Raich, Miller will all be challenging for the best all round skier. Miller won last time out in this format at Wengen yet Ivica Kostelic took the Kitzbuehel Combined. Miller has impressive pedigree and comes into the Olympic Games nursing a sore ankle yet knows that this time around, unlike 2006, he is better prepared mentally and physically. Is this Miller time? Carlo Janka again will figure highly but the masters of the big races Svindal and Raich will be looking to add to their medal hauls. Both Norway and Austria have strong traditions in the Super Combined. Julien Lizeroux is upholding the fine honour of the French in the Super Combined this year and with his good friend JB Grange one of the many absentees from the Olympics due to injury, he will be looking to this and the Slalom for a medal. With defending champion Ted Ligety coming back to form again, he may have to fight off Kostelic to defend his title and be the first man to defend this title since Gustav Thoni in 1972.

2006
Gold Ted Ligety (USA)
Silver Ivica Kostelic (CRO)
Bronze Rainer Schoenfelder (AUT)

Still racing this time that placed in top 10 last time: Ligety (1); Kostelic (2) Bank (6); Berthod (7); Fill (9); Jansrud (10)

Wednesday 17th sees the girls back in action in the downhill. This should be Vonn time again but with the last race in St Moritz she has shown that she is fallible as she was beaten. The Olympics are a race that nerves will play a huge part and only happening once every four years there is no chance to put to rights any mistakes. OK in the downhill the racers will have had the chance to learn the course with the training runs but these are special days. Maria Riesch will be looking to stop the Vonn juggernaut but then look also for Anja Paerson, Ingrid Jacquemod, Emily Brydon and Nadja Kamar to all be challenging: six different nations battling it out!

2006
Gold Michaela Dorfmeister (AUT)
Silver Martina Schild (SUI)
Bronze Anja Paerson (SWE)

Still racing this time that placed in top 10 last time: Paerson (3); Mancuso (7); Vonn (8); Fanchini (10)

Friday 19th and it is Men's Super G time. One inspection run and one race: Nothing could be more cut throat and pressured. Will the course be set more for the downhiller or for the classic Super G ski racer? Kjetil Andre Aamodt won his last major medal four years ago yet it would be no surprise if his countrymen placed high after the race. Aksel Lund Svindal and Kjetil Jansrud are both in form and skiing fast. Yet so to are a whole heap of other skiers: Heel, Innerhofer and Staudacher from Italy; Cuche, Janka and Hoffman from Switzerland; Miller, Ligety and Macartney are all going well from the Americans. Kroell, Walchhofer and Scheiber from the Austrians can also not be discounted. The strength of the field means that this will be a keenly contested field and yet watch out for a realistic top 15 chance for a certain E Drake from Great Britain!

2006
Gold Kjetil Andre Aamodt (NOR)
Silver Hermann Maier (AUT)
Bronze Ambrosi Hoffman (SUI)

Still racing this time that placed in top 10 last time: Guay (4); Svindal (5); Buechel (6); Macartney (7); Reichelt (10)

After the men come the women in the Super G. Could this be Gold number 3 for the lady from Vail, Lindsey Vonn? Vonn went to Val d'Isere in 2009 looking for five golds and walked away with two and then the rails came off in the Super Combined. The superlatives will be out in force if she can pull off the feat of more than two medals. Is it Possible? Yes, very much so. Who will challenge her? Yet again it will be her good buddy Maria Riesch but also expect the Swiss (Nadia Styger) to be up there along with the young French girls in the form of Marie Marchand-Arvier and then of course there is a certain Swedish racer, Anja Paerson who will always be in contention. Outside of the top seeds a certain Chemmy Alcott will be looking to spring a surprise. A top ten result would be great and very attainable.

2006
Gold Michaela Dorfmeister (AUT)
Silver Janica Kostelic (CRO)
Bronze Alexandra Meissnitzer (AUT)

Still racing this time that placed in top 10 last time: Vonn (7). Recchia (8); Brydon (9)

The second week of the Olympic Winter Games sees the technical events happen. Sunday 21st is men's Giant Slalom day. This is the classic confrontation. Two runs and full gas; this is the hardest race to get right. Benni Raich will be looking to be the first man since the great Alberto Tomba to defend his title in 1992. Can he do it? Yes but the likes of Hirscher, Blardone, Moelgg, Cuche and World Champion Carlo Janka will all be going all out to knock the Champion of his perch. Add to that the likes of Ligety, Svindal, Jansrud and Simoncelli and you have the makings of a great and classic Olympic event and we haven't even mentioned Miller and his fireworks that he can bring to the event. If you are going to stay up into the night for one race this has to be it. If not for the high speed technical wizardry then for the tortoises at the back! Cheer them on and then ask if you could do better down a very icy steep course! The winner will not be the one who skis the prettiest but the one who takes the most risks and carries his speed the best! Carve those turns....

2006
Gold Benni Raich (AUT)
Silver Joel Chenal (FRA)
Bronze Hermann Maier (AUT)

Still racing this time that placed in top 10 last time:
Raich (1); Svindal (6); Miller (7)

Wednesday 24th will see the next alpine action in the girls Giant Slalom. And we may just have an outside hope of a medal in this race. This will be Chemmy Alcott's best hope of a medal. Julia Mancuso has slowly been coming back to form this winter and like Raich in the men's race she will be desperate to hold onto her title. Yet with the likes of Tanja Poutiainen, Kathrin Hoelzl, Maria Riesch, Kathrin Zettel as well as Lizzi Goergl and the Swedes (Paerson and Pietilae Holmner), this will be a great race. You can never count Denise Karbon and the rest of the Italian team either. No one racer will say they have it in the bag and you cannot count anyone out until the 30th girl on the second run has gone down. If the snow holds up and the weather stays cold so that the conditions can be hard and icy, this will see the strong, fast and technically gifted racers come to the fore. Why no mention of Vonn yet? This is the one race that she admits is her week link in the goal of five golds. Yes she could win but there are stronger candidates for gold than her.

2006
Gold Julia Mancuso (USA)
Silver Tanja Poutiainen (FIN)
Bronze Anna Ottosson (SWE)

Still racing this time that placed in top 10 last time: Mancuso (1); Poutiainen (2); Paerson (6); Zettel (7); Pietilae Holmner (10)

Friday 26th sees the girls round off their competition with the slalom. Expect Marlies Schild to put the aggravation of not racing last year to bed with going for the win. She will not want to see all the Gold medals in the house belonging to Benni after all! She has been in great form this season but so to have the likes of Susanne Riesch and older sister Maria, Kathrin Zettel, Tanja Poutiainen, Anja Paerson, Sandrine Aubert and the outside bets Michi Kirchgasser. For those that have done more than two events, this could have sapped the energy and allow the slalom specialists in to claim the gold. With races cleverly spaced out, this should allow the multi event skiers an opportunity to snag a medal or two. Fifteen medals will have been decided by the time the last racer crosses the line over the previous two weeks. Unlike in 2006, this will not be a night slalom. It will still be hot on excitement...

2006
Gold Anja Paerson (SWE)
Silver Niki Hosp (AUT)
Bronze Marlies Schild (AUT)

Still racing this time that placed in top 10 last time: Paerson (1), Schild (3), Kirchgasser (5), Poutiainen (6); Borssen (9)

Men's slalom and undoubtedly the most memorising night in Winter Olympic history for any British Ski Racing fan. The moment that Bode Miller skied out in 2002 and Alain Baxter was assured of Bronze seems a long time ago now. Eight years on and with no member of that 2002 Men's team racing, it will be left to the new members of the team to relight the fire.

In pole position for winning the Gold will be Reinfried Herbst. Herbst has been dominant in the men's Slalom World Cup yet is susceptible to skiing out on the second run if leading. With Manfred Pranger the World Champion and a certain Benni Raich also looking to defend his title, the choice of the Austrian team is exciting on its own. Julien Lizeroux will be looking to avenge the loss from the Games of his good buddy JB Grange. Manny Moelgg will be holding the hopes of the Italians following the retirement of Giorgio Rocca just prior to the Games yet he will be in good company as Giuliano Razzoli and Patrick Thaler have also been skiing fast. You can never count out Ivica Kostelic and likewise Silvan Zurbriggen. As for the North Americans, Ted Ligety has been fast but has yet to put two solid runs down, this could be his day? For the Canadians, racing on home snow may bring the likes of Mike Janyk and Julien Cousineau to the front. Both have taken top five results in the races leading up to the Games and on the day anything can happen. And what about Felix Neureuther? After a win in Kitzbuehel, can he better his father's two fifth place results from 1976 and 1980? Stranger things have happened!

2006
Gold Benni Raich (AUT)
Silver Reini Herbst (AUT)
Bronze Rainer Schoenfelder (AUT)

Still racing this time that placed in top 10 last time: Raich (1); Herbst (2); Minagawa (4); Myhrer (5); Kostelic (6); Yuasa (7)

And after all this it will be back the final week of the World Cup ....

By Neil McQuoid
FISalpine.com
Tuesday 9 February 2010

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