World Cup schedule adds Alpine ski races at 2 more US sites

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — The World Cup circuit will be making two more ski racing stops in the United States by adding Alpine events at Palisades Tahoe in California and Aspen, Colorado.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard announced the new competitions Tuesday, which will join two American stops already on the schedule: Killington, Vermont, and Beaver Creek, Colorado. It's the most World Cup Alpine stops on American snow in a season since 1996-97.

“The expansion gives us a signature opportunity to bring more attention to the sport domestically and inspire the next generation of U.S. athletes,” U.S. Ski & Snowboard president and CEO Sophie Goldschmidt said in a statement.

The first World Cup stop in the U.S. this upcoming season will be when four-time World Cup overall winner Mikaela Shiffrin takes center stage over Thanksgiving weekend for a women’s slalom and giant slalom in Killington. A week later, Beijing Olympic super-G silver medalist Ryan Cochran-Siegle and the men's tour take part in a super-G and two downhills along the Birds of Prey course in Beaver Creek.

Typically, that’s where the U.S. portion of the Alpine racing slate ends as the World Cup tour returns to Europe. But this season the men will be returning. There will be slalom and giant slalom races Feb. 25-26 in Palisades Tahoe. That's followed by a men's super-G and downhill events March 3-5 in Aspen, according to a provisionally approved schedule by the International Ski Federation (FIS).

The last time the Palisades Tahoe venue hosted a World Cup event was March 10-11, 2017, when Shiffrin won giant slalom and slalom races.

The slopes in Aspen have hosted several World Cup events for men and women. It also was the site of the World Cup Finals in 2017, where Lindsey Vonn finished runner-up in the downhill and Shiffrin wound up second in a slalom.

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