A Very Harsh Winter Likely for U.S. Ski Team

It’s off to Europe now for the Alpine World Cup troupe, and the going isn’t likely to get any easier for the U.S. ski team, which left its star performer in Vail, Colo., on crutches.

With Picabo Street out for the season and Hilary Lindh still hampered by a sore back, the only question remaining is whether the once-potent American men’s speed squad has recovered enough from injuries and just plain slow skiing to provide at least one or two shining moments in an otherwise bleak winter.

The answer was supposed to have come last weekend at Whistler Mountain, Canada, but both of the scheduled races were wiped out by a snowstorm, then by fog, followed by more snow.

Here is the outlook for the top three American male skiers going into the downhill and super-giant slalom Saturday and Sunday at Val d’Isere, France:

--Tommy Moe, 26, the 1994 Olympic downhill champion, says he is “100% again� after struggling last season to recover from reconstructive surgery on his right knee in March 1995, but his willingness to take risks is still to be determined.

--AJ Kitt, 28, missed nearly all of last season after injuring his left knee during training at Val d’Isere in early December, then broke his collarbone in a motocross accident last spring, but he says: “I heal quickly.�

--Kyle Rasmussen, 28, the cowboy from Angels Camp, Calif., finished no higher than sixth last season after winning two World Cup downhills the previous winter, and now he says he wants to “get some good results early.�

They’ll be needed. After five events, the only U.S. racer in the men’s overall standings is slalom specialist Matt Grosjean, who is 54th with nine points.

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The long weekend of racing in France begins with the women competing in a giant slalom and super-G Thursday and Friday, and if anyone intends to stop Katja Seizinger from winning her second consecutive overall title, it’s time to make a move.

The 24-year-old German widened her lead over runner-up Pernilla Wiberg of Sweden to 61 points after placing second in the downhill last Saturday at Vail.

Lindh, who said her back “has been acting up a lot,� finished 23rd. Asked before the race if Street’s season-ending knee injury has put more pressure on her, she told the Associated Press: “I think it kind of frees things up for me, actually. I look at this as a great opportunity to get in there.�

Street, whose left knee was also injured in 1989, plans to begin her rehabilitation at home in Portland, Ore., and hopes to be skiing all out well before the Winter Olympics open at Nagano, Japan, on Feb. 7, 1998.

In the meantime, she told AP, “I feel like this is a timeout for me. It gives me a chance to catch up on everything that’s been going on in my life the last four years and to see how I want to approach the rest of my career.�

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The first Freestyle World Cup meet of the season produced significantly better results for U.S. skiers.

Liz McIntyre, the 1994 Olympic silver medalist, came back from a knee injury that kept her out nearly all of last season to win the parallel moguls event last weekend at Tignes, France. Anne Battelle was second, and Donna Weinbrecht, five-time World Cup champion and 1992 Olympic gold medalist, tied for fifth.

In the men’s race, Garth Hager led a 2-3-4 American finish.

Additionally, Steve Roxberg placed second in acro-skiing (formerly ballet), and Eric Bergoust was fourth in the aerials competition.

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Mixed-up weather created a few problems at Southland ski areas Tuesday.

High winds caused a power outage that temporarily shut down Mountain High West, and heavy rains kept Snow Valley closed until expected colder temperatures arrived overnight. Bear Mountain and Snow Summit continued to operate despite the conditions.

It has been snowing steadily throughout the High Sierra, and as of early Tuesday, Mammoth Mountain had received up to 10 inches of powder, Kirkwood up to 18 inches and Heavenly up to 12 inches. Squaw Valley limited its operations to the cable car because of the storm.

Skiing Notes

The American Snowboard Tour, with $155,000 in prizes, gets under way this weekend at Hunter Mountain, N.Y., and will make stops at Mammoth Mountain and June Mountain on Feb. 6-8 and at Snow Summit on Feb. 21-23. . . . The International Snowboard Federation World Tour will visit Bear Mountain on Feb. 14-16 and Heavenly on Feb. 25-March 2. . . . Alpine Meadows is welcoming snowboarders this season for the first time.

Tommy Moe will be interviewed by Bob Beattie on “Chevy Truck Ski World� today at 1 p.m. on ESPN. . . . Aspen, Colo., is celebrating 50 years of skiing this winter and will reenact the opening of its Lift One on Jan. 11. . . . After four World Cup ski jumping events, Dieter Thoma of Germany leads newcomer Kristian Brenden of Norway by one point.