Welcome back to the 'Loaf: Weather or not, U.S. Alpine Championships begin Saturday

CARRABASSETT VALLEY — The U.S. Alpine Championships bursts out the gates Saturday morning with the men’s and women’s super-G national championships up for grabs at Sugarloaf.

After intermittent snow throughout Friday’s training day, race organizers expressed confidence that the weather — specifically the wind — would not be a detriment as some of the country’s best ski racers vie for national glory.

Many of the skiers competing in the U.S. Alpine Championships, which run through Tuesday, are here with something to prove.

The U.S. Ski Teams are divided into four tiers: A, B, C and D. Coach Sasha Rearick said he divides the men’s team into three levels of competition, based on where they race: World Cup for the A-Teamers and many of the B-Teamers; Europa Cup for the rest of the B Team and part of the C Team; and the NorAm for for other C-Teamers and the D team, also known as the Development Team.

“That’s kind of where your home is,” Rearick, in his ninth year as the U.S. men’s coach, said. “And that’s one of the things I’ve learned over the years is you need to have a home — that’s the level you’re competing at, that’s the level where … the expectation is you’re seeking the podium at that level.”

While many of the household names aren’t at Sugarloaf for the U.S. Alpine Championships, there are still several World Cup skiers competing for national championships in the three disciplines, slalom, giant slalom and the super-G. Some of these skiers have Olympic experience, and they still have something to prove.

“The national team has been on the whirlwind tour all winter, (some of them) come back to compete (at Sugarloaf),” Rearick said. “Some of those guys still need to prove that they deserve to be on the national team or need the world ranks to be able to be successful in the World Cup.”

“On the World Cup side, we have a few athletes who have some unfinished business to get done. I think you’re going to see some exciting racing by guys like Ryan Cochran-Siegle, and AJ Ginnis and Jared Goldberg. Those three guys in particular I think are guys that have some unfinished business that want to show that, hey, I am the national champion. So I think you’re going to have that high-end pace of those guys.”

Young’uns/Young guns

At the other end of the spectrum are the junior ski racers for whom the U.S. Alpine Championships are the Super Bowl.

“It’s a funny event in the sense where it’s the ultimate goal for all the junior racers and young racers aspiring to make the next level,” Rearick said “So you have competitions around the country going on to qualify for the U.S. Nationals, which is a great accomplishment to all those young racers to get there.”

U.S. Ski Team veteran Resi Stiegler said she’s chasing points at nationals, but it also provides an opportunity to “give back to the younger athletes.”

“I think it’s nice for the younger skiers to see what the World Cup athletes are doing and compare themselves and get inspiration,” she said.

Often, the young skiers stack up nicely.

“If they do well, they can beat us,” Stiegler said. “Like, they’re good skiers, and they get good points as well (at nationals). Sometimes they’re better than you think they are.

“I mean, I don’t like to get beat ever, but you appreciate someone who skis well, I guess.”

Event schedule

Saturday’s super-G will be followed by the men’s and women’s slalom on Sunday.

The giant slalom will be divided into two days. The women will go Monday, and the men will finish up the week with their slalom runs on Tuesday.

The background is a blur as CVA’s Sam Conzelman flies down Narrow Gauge trail at Sugarloaf as she and other competitors take practice runs Friday afternoon in preperation for Saturday’s Super G race, part of the U.S. Alpine Championships that continue through Tuesday.

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Complete coverage of the the U.S. Alpine Championships includes:

Race and skier stories
Live updates during the races
Race schedule
How to navigate the Narrow Gauge at Sugarloaf

A.J. Hoelke, from Stowe Vermont, an intern for the US Ski Team, waxes a pair of skis for Luke Winters Friday morning at the competition center at Sugarloaf in preperation for the upcoming U.S. Alpine Championships.Carrabassett Valley Academy’s Sam Conzelman takes a practice run on the GS course setup on Competition Hill Friday afternoon at Sugarloaf as she and two other female athletes from the local school will compete in the U.S. Alpine Championships starting Saturday at Sugarloaf.Race bibs hang in the competition center at Sugarloaf Friday morning, ready for racers to pick them up before racing starts Saturday morning at the U.S. Alpine Championships.Sugarloaf race crew member Greg Thompson, of Eustis, sets a pole on the Narrow Gauge trail to close it off after practice runs Friday afternoon in preperation for the U.S. Alpine Championships that start Saturday and run through Tuesday.Carrabassett Valley Academy’s Sam Conzelman takes a practice run on the GS course setup on Competition Hill Friday afternoon at Sugarloaf as she and two other female athletes from the local school will compete in the U.S. Alpine Championships starting Saturday at Sugarloaf.Carrabassett Valley Academy’s Emma Kearing takes a practice run on the GS course setup on Competition Hill Friday afternoon at Sugarloaf as she and two other female athletes from the local school will compete in the U.S. Alpine Championships starting Saturday at Sugarloaf.Carrabassett Valley Academy’s Rylee McCormack takes a practice run on the GS course setup on Competition Hill Friday afternoon at Sugarloaf as she and two other female athletes from the local school will compete in the U.S. Alpine Championships starting Saturday at Sugarloaf.Carrabassett Valley Academy’s Sam Conzelman takes a practice run on the GS course setup on Competition Hill Friday afternoon at Sugarloaf as she and two other female athletes from the local school will compete in the U.S. Alpine Championships starting Saturday at Sugarloaf.Sugarloaf volunteer, and resident of Carrabassett Valley, Steve Schaefer, hauls a line across the Narrow Gauge trail to close it off after practice runs Friday afternoon in preperation for the U.S. Alpine Championships that start Saturday and run through Tuesday.Sugarloaf volunteer Steve Schaefer, of Carrabassett Valley, unwinds rope on the Narrow Gauge trail to close it off after practice runs Friday afternoon in preperation for the U.S. Alpine Championships that start Saturday and run through Tuesday.The background is a blur as an unidentified competitior flies down Narrow Gauge trail at Sugarloaf as she and other competitors take practice runs Friday afternoon in preperation for Saturday’s Super G race, part of the U.S. Alpine Championships that continue through Tuesday.Carrabassett Valley Academy’s Emma Kearing takes a practice run on the GS course setup on Competition Hill Friday afternoon at Sugarloaf as she and two other female athletes from the local school will compete in the U.S. Alpine Championships starting Saturday at Sugarloaf.Carrabassett Valley Academy’s Rylee McCormack takes a practice run on the GS course setup on Competition Hill Friday afternoon at Sugarloaf as she and two other female athletes from the local school will compete in the U.S. Alpine Championships starting Saturday at Sugarloaf.