Our first North American World Cup race weekend is behind us and here are some of the Slytech highlights:

Saturday's Aspen Giant Slalom:

• saw an 8th Julia Mancuso with Slytech arm guards. She was so good after the first run, but then lost positions in the second. Good run for her
• 18th Sarah Schleper, (slytech-shred)She raced with the orange Brain with a blue flower on the helmet. really funny. The race wasn t so good for her, she can be faster!

Sunday's Aspen Slalom:

• 8th place Lindsay Vonn raced on Slytech shin guards. She seemed more self confident.
• 15th Michelle Gagnon: she raced with Slytech shin guards and had a fantastic 2nd.
• 25th Resi Stigler: The first race after the injury, she is happy to be back on the snow and she was pretty good considering that the Aspen conditions were somewhat sloppy for the slalom. She raced with her Slytech 2nd Skin Back Protector and Slytech Nervous Shin guards.

The Men's Lake Louise Downhill:

• 4th Silvan Zurbriggen: great race for him. He s in a good shape and really good in all the disciplines. In the downhill he used the Slytech Back Protector.
• 18th Feuz Beat: the young swiss guy is coming.

Men's Lake Louise Super G:

• 9th Silvan Zurbriggen. an other wonderful race for the swiss. really good week end for him in Canada. he raced with the slytech arm guards!
• 23rd Ted Ligety. Good race if we consider that speed events are not his races.

Next week's men's race will be in Beaver Creek, Colorado and the women head up to Lake Louise. Laters!

ASPEN, CO (Nov. 24) – Seven U.S. Olympians, including 2010 medalists Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) and Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, CA) will be in the start house this weekend when the Visa Aspen Winternational opens the North American swing of the women's Audi FIS Alpine World Cup on Saturday.

Vonn and Mancuso will start both Saturday's giant slalom and Sunday's slalom, along with Sarah Schleper(Vail, CO) and Megan McJames (Park City, UT).

Also racing GS will be Leanne Smith (Conway, NH) and Laurenne Ross (Klamath Falls, OR), while Hailey Duke (Boise, ID) and Resi Stiegler (Jackson Hole, WY) will jump into the slalom.

Resi Stiegler trains giant slalom on the women's World Cup slope in Aspen (Aspen/Snowmass - Jeremy Swanson)

Fans can catch the action with a full television broadcast package featuring coverage on NBC, Versus and Universal Sports. NBC will feature the giant slalom Sunday at 1 p.m. ET with a replay set for Saturday, Dec. 4 at 4 p.m. ET on Versus followed by the slalom at 5 p.m. ET. Universal Sports will air the races on its 24-hour TV network Dec. 6-7 at noon ET.

"I feel like we had great preparation leading up to Levi," said Vonn, who finished sixth in the Levi slalom despite a big second run bobble. "Besides that mistake, I had a great second run in Levi, so I’m really looking forward to Aspen and the next technical races to hopefully get some good points."

Mancuso opted to stay in Colorado in order to capitalize on the excellent training conditions. The result of which, she says, is already paying off.

"I feel like things are coming together really well for Aspen," said Mancuso. "I felt confident in my skiing after the Soelden opener and I've just continued to feel really good on my skis throughout this entire training period."

It will be Stiegler's first World Cup race in over a year and only her fourth start since late Dec. of 2007 when she when she fractured her left arm and tore ligaments in her right knee while competing in Austria. Her return was hampered further when she broke her right leg in late summer of 2008 forcing her to skip all of the 2009 season except the World Championships where she finished an incredible 19th in slalom.

After starting the first two World Cup's last winter, Stiegler was knocked out yet again with a fractured left tibia and fibia while training for Aspen just down the road in Copper Mountain, CO.

She has been running full-length courses since early November and was back in the race start gate to forerun the FIS slalom at Copper on Nov. 19.

"It felt awesome," said Stiegler. "I was able to put down two good runs, but I did it at Copper, almost a year to the day from the crash that ended my 2010 Olympic season. I'm still things in perspective though. It's still going to be a while before I'm back to where I was two seasons ago, but I'm being smart and patient with the process."

Resi Stiegler trains giant slalom on the women's World Cup slope in Aspen (Aspen/Snowmass - Jeremy Swanson)

Thanks to the support of Mother Nature and the Aspen race crew, Stiegler and the U.S. Ski Team were able to take a number of laps on the Aspen race hill last Friday and Saturday. Technical Head Coach Trevor Wagner reported the conditions as 'incredible' and is looking forward to seeing what his Team can do on the hill this weekend.

"It's not an easy hill by any means," he said. "It’s always pulling you in one direction or another, so the more you are on the course, the more you learn to master the tricky sections. To get on the podium here, you have to risk everything and have the confidence to do it."

2010 Visa Aspen Winternational

Saturday, November 27
10 a.m. RACE START: Women’s Giant Slalom Run 1 - Strawpile
1 p.m. RACE START: Women’s Giant Slalom Final – Strawpile
6:30 – 8 p.m. Bud Light Hi-Fi Concert Series featuring Blind Melon Upper Gondola Plaza
8 – 8:15 p.m. Awards Ceremony for Giant Slalom Winners and Presentation of
Bingham Cup – Concert Stage
8:15 p.m. Fireworks Extravaganza - Little Nell

Sunday, November 28
10 a.m. RACE START: Women’s Slalom Run 1 - Strawpile
1 p.m. RACE START: Women’s Slalom Final – Strawpile

Sarah Schleper trains giant slalom on the women's World Cup slope in Aspen (Aspen/Snowmass - Jeremy Swanson)

Sarah Schleper trains giant slalom on the women's World Cup slope in Aspen (Aspen/Snowmass - Jeremy Swanson)

Ever seen Sarah Schleper psyche herself up in the start gate before a race? That patented "rooooooooaaaaaaaar" has kept her going all these years and keeps her coming back for more. Named to the US Ski Team once again, Sarah now straps on her Slytech Back Protection and Nervous Shin and Arm Guards... here her racer profile:

Name: Sarah Schleper

Sport: Alpine Skiing

Hometown: Vail CO

Birthdate: Infinity

Best Results: World Cup Podiums, World Cup Win

About Me: Sarah Schleper made her World Cup debut at home but three years later was injured when the World Championships came to her hometown in '99. She's been to three Olympics, been ontop of a World Cup podium and won 4 U.S. championships. She likes that view from a podium.

Skiing Magazine called her "the great blonde hope -- part Rasta, part Harpo, part Medusa, all Sarah." In her free time, she likes to see her brother Johnny play live concerts with the MTHDS and surf. Schleper is frequently recognized by her thicket of long, curly blond hair, which can be unruly, bringing about mystical qualities.

Twelve years after her World CUp debut, Sarah wed Federico Gaxiola de la Lama of Mexico. The two welcomed Lasse to the world in early 2008. With citizenship in both the United States and Mexico, Lasse has become one of the World’s youngest locals. The three of them have traveled to and from continents and countries racing in the Alpine Ski World Cup. Lion like, Schleper “roared” back at a fourth trip to the Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Schleper's father, Buzz, raised Sarah and her younger brother as a single parent. In 1972, Buzz was a self-proclaimed ski bum who moved from Minnesota to Vail with a van and $1,000 in cash. Upon arrival, he worked in a local ski shop and later opened his own store. "She literally grew up in my shop," Buzz says of Sarah. "I think she learned you have to work for everything you get." As a child, Sarah would beg her father to ski, then head to the shop afterwards and fall asleep under one of the ski-tuning benches. When Buzz got done with his shift at midnight or later, he would carry his sleeping daughter to the car and drive her home. Sarah began skiing at age 2 after receiving a pair of skis for her birthday. She was racing by age 11. Schleper won five Junior Olympics gold medals and was Junior Skier of the Year for "Ski Racing" in 1995; she also was Whistler Cup slalom champ in '94 and made her World Cup debut at Beaver Creek, Colorado, in November 1995 at age 16. In '97, Schleper was slalom silver medalist at World Juniors.

- Paul Robbins (Friend of Alpine Ski Racing)

Website: in progress

TV: Truth in Motion. Rocky Mountain News 'Vail's Olympic Mom'

Something You Think Everyone Should Try In Their Lifetime: meditation

Craziest Dream: all my dreams are crazy. But I tell you this: my living waking dream is my fantasy. I am happiest when I'm counting my blessings and living with an open heart. The forces are strong to pull you about, but if you can surrender and be yourself, no matter what, that is what it feels like to be free.

Age You Learned to Shred: I was born shredding.

What Excites You: Yes people, let's do it together. Make changes. One love. Care for our home, care for our brothers and sisters. Let's live in peace. Accept the unaccepted and expect the unexpected.

Hard-charging Leanne Smith joins the Slytech team! For those of you who don't know her, here's a little introduction.

BIOGRAPHY
Olympian Leanne Smith followed her older sister Laurel into skiing, latched onto racing and has kept shaving microseconds from her time. A NorAm champion and topflight junior skier, she inked a spot on the World Cup elite after finishing 23rd in her career first World Cup start, which also happened to be the first downhill of the 2008 season.

Coming back from injury is never easy, but it didn't slow Smith in 2010. After missing the latter half of 2009 with a torn ACL, this Granite Stater linked World Cup points in seven races (scoring in downhill, super G and super combined) and notched a Europa Cup downhill win en route to three top five finishes at her first Olympic Winter Games. Then she won the U.S. downhill title.

Early summer, she was nailing the Center of Excellence with a bit of rehab following a minor knee scope and a procedure to remove a screw from her ACL surgery, but all things are pointing in the right direction and Smith was full speed by New Zealand.

LEANNE SAYS
It was definitely cool to be a part of the Olympics for the first time, but I didn't want to just be a part of the team, I wanted to kick some butt and I think I could have skied a lot better.

I'm proud of my season and things are coming along. I was more consistent towards the end of the year and feeling more confident. I got my butt kicked in the gym this summer doing a lot of things at the Center of Excellence and I made the switch to Rossignol, which I'm really positive about. I'm psyched on our new coaches and I'm excited about next season and the few after. I'm ready to do some damage.

FIRST TRACKS
On skis at six, Smith followed sister Laurel into skiing at Cranmore, the heralded Mount Washington Valley ski area made famous when instructional legend Hannes Schneider arrived from Austria in 1938. Smith skied for Cranmore’s race team until she entered Kennett H.S., where she continued racing. She spent a year at UNH and took leave for Winter ’07 when she moved to the Mount Washington Valley Ski Team...and erupted for a breakout season as a double NorAm champion.

OFF THE SNOW
Smith is in her third summer taking classes at Westminster. It's easy to stay motivated on school and working out with roomies/teammates Alice McKennis, Julia Ford, and Hailey Duke around. Spends as much time back East as possible, especially kicking it in NH during the month of May, which for some reason always has amazing weather.

Biography:
Formerly coached by four-time Olympian and skiing great Casey Puckett, the resume' of Alice McKennis reflects a thing or two about speed events. Evidence: McKennis claimed multiple World Cup top 10's in downhill, finished 20th in the World Cup DH standings and made the 2010 Olympic Team in her rookie World Cup season.
Coaches, fans, journalists and other athletes took notice immediately when McKennis landed 18th and 10th in the season opening World Cup downhill races in Lake Louise. But they really started paying attention when she backed those up with World Cup points in six other races, including a downhill ninth in St. Moritz, Switzerland just prior to the Olympics.

A fluke disqualification in the Olympic downhill placed a minor ding in her season, but didn't stop a 20th place result in the overall World Cup downhill standings rocketing this young star from the U.S. C to A Team status. Guessing she's OK with skipping a step.

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ALICE SAYS
When I think about my season I can not believe how it has gone for me. My biggest accomplishment was making the Olympics. I had always dreamed about going to Vancouver as a kid but as it got closer it only seemed more and more difficult to reach. I remember looking at the Olympic and World Cup Finals criteria last fall and thinking there was not much of a chance of me going to either event.

Coming into last summer during the prep period in New Zealand, Chile, Austria and Colorado I was often the slowest in training. This was not exactly the best way to enter an Olympic season where everyone is gunning it to reach the same Olympic goal as you.

So I set my sights on trying to score in the top 30 in my first World Cups and then things went about 10 times better than I had hoped! After my tenth place in Lake Louise I thought there was no way that I would reach the top ten again this season and then I did one place better in St. Moritz. I ended up scoring in six out of eight World Cup Downhill races; two top 10's, one top 15, two top 20′s (plus a 16th in Garmisch) and two top 30′s Although the Olympics did not go quite like I had hoped I learned so much from them and it was such a great experience for me. I am so proud to be an American and represent my country even if I did not perform to my best ability.

FIRST TRACKS
McKennis grew up on a hay and cattle ranch, but she lived close enough to the mountains for her future career path to make sense. Her father Greg took her to Sunlight Mountain Resort in Glenwood Springs for the first time before she had even turned two. She began racing at age five, following her older sister Kendra, who later competed on the FIS (minor league) level for two seasons. At about the same time, tragedy struck, when the girls' mother Jill died in a car accident. The family continued to ski as a way of coping with the loss. When she was nine, McKennis joined Ski Club Vail, the club that, at the time, was nurturing the all-around skills of Alpine star-in-the-making Lindsey Vonn. McKennis watched in awe as the U.S. Ski Team phenom - who was five years older than her - tore down the slopes, and took some valuable mental notes. After several years of bouncing around different ski clubs in Colorado, McKennis landed with the Aspen Valley Ski Club. One of her coaches there was former U.S. downhiller Casey Puckett.

OFF THE SNOW
McKennis was a competitive equestrian competing in jumping, cross country riding and dressage until she was about 14. Now a full-on member of the U.S. elite she made the move to Park City in order to take advantage of both the Center of Excellence and also pick up some classes via the U.S. Ski Team scholarship program with Westminster College in Salt Lake City. Summer activities also include mountain biking and the occasional whitewater rafting trip.

Andy Phillips has a bit of a different story to tell than most ski race athletes. Soft-spoken Andy Phillips is a prime example of the U.S. Ski Team National Development System. A development teamer in 2007, he was upgraded to the U.S. C Team after the 2008 season, but turned down the nomination in favor of a two-year LDS mission in Oslo, Norway for the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

He's back to skiing and already impressed coaches at the spring on-snow camp in Mammoth Mountain, CA. In between working out at the Center of Excellence in Park City, Phillips is taking classes at Westminster College during the summer months before heading to the Southern Hemisphere for some more time on-snow before getting into the competitive season.

ANDY SAYS
Living in Norway for the past two years was one of the best experiences for me. It gave me a chance to grow up and gain discipline in some areas in which I was lacking, and will attribute to my skiing success.

Being out on your own in a different country and not knowing the language is a difficult situation, but because of these circumstances I was able to push myself to learn the Norwegian language and acquire much needed skills.

As I came home from my mission, I did not know what to expect when I got back on skis at our Mammoth camp, but I knew that it would take much longer than two years to take ski racing out of my system. After some much needed free skiing with Sasha and a few days to compose myself and find my balance, I was able to get back up to speed and begin where I had left off in 2008. I now look forward to some more skiing this summer and to the start of next season.

FIRST TRACKS
Phillips started skiing when he was two years old with his dad at Snowbird, Brighton and Alta. He started racing at the age of five. He grew up at the base of Little Cottonwood Canyon in Sandy, Utah. He got his start at The Waterford School then moved to Rowmark Academy in Salt Lake City. Then he turned to the Park City Ski Team before joining the U.S. Development Team in 2007 and jumping to the C Team the very next season.

OFF THE SNOW
Phillips plays the violin and piano. Stays summer fit by wakeboarding, hiking and swimming. Biking, yes please – road and mountain. Grabs a good book from time to time and loves kicking back with his family.

A noticeably more cleaned-up version

At 6'4", 210 pounds, Czech ripper Filip Trejbal is one of the more agile technical big ski racers on the World Cup Circuit and Olympic alumni. And with 8 year long handlebars resembling an out-of-control James Hetfield in Some Kind of Monster (as witnessed in the 2007 BBC News photo and caption below), he's probably the only one humming Metallica's "Creeping Death" at the start gate.

While seemingly intimidating rocker through and through, Filip is one of the nicest and most helpful guys you will ever meet. Czech World Junior Champion and hard charging ski racer who's been at it since the age of 2, he briefly considered a career in Sports Science, but then quit university to pursue his real passion: skiing. He's a ski racer by profession hitting the Slalom, Giant Slalom, Combined, and Downhill events in the Olympics. But he doesn't stop there: he also loves charging the mountains whenever he can for freeski and then to round out his summer activities hits other X-sports like motocross and biking. An all-around go for it adrenaline junky.

Rock and Roll

As focused and hardcore as he may look, even someone with cojones the size of Filip's thinks about protection. I'm no physicist, but I would image that when a huge guy like Filip at 210 pounds wipes out, that's a lot of mass accelerating and impacting on hard surface: E=MC².

You may recall this unreal crash at the Torino Olympics in the Downhill. Skiing is a beloved sport to millions, but when you combine speed, slick surface, sharp edges, etc... you've got a lethal cocktail that requires you to be protected. Just ask Filip:

We'll be interviewing Filip in the future on what an event like this does to your psyche, your resolve to pick-up and dust off. We'll also ask him some other questions about his new relationship with Slytech and why he's particularly stoked to be protected with our back protectors.

Stay-tuned... if there are any questions you want me to ask Filip, just leave a comment below and don't forget to SIGNUP to the right or follow us on FACEBOOK OR TWITTER.

Emi Hasegawa just got her new shipment of Slytech Nervous Shin and Arm Guards and already blogged about it. She's really  looking forward to using them on a regular basis and expressed her stoke about getting on what look and feel like the fastest guards out there...

If Japanese is your bag, check out her blog here: http://www.plus-blog.sportsnavi.com/emi-hasegawa/article/437

Name: Adam "Sangy" Zampa

Hometown: Yysoke Tatry, Slovakia

Birthdate: 9/13/1990

Shred Sport: Ski Racing

Website: http://adamzampa.com

BEST RESULTS:
21st in World Championshops 2009 Val d'Isere slalom
12th on World Junior Champs GAPA kombi
2nd place for my birthyear in the world in slalom

ABOUT ME: I was born near my town in kezmarok. I started skiing when i was 3 years old. When i was 11 i start to race but it was just for fun. I couldn't place well back then, because I was a late bloomer and was too small for my age. ;( But now that I'm older and work hard, it's getting better and I'm starting to get some results  I always want to work harder and smarter to become better and hopefully soon, I'll be THE BEST
My hobbie is bike racing street car racing and other adrenaline sports

FILMS: I like to watching a lot of comedy, but then I also like The Secret.

SOMETHING YOU THINK EVERYONE SHOULD TRY IN THEIR LIFETIME: We are here on this Earth not so, so I believe everybody should go for their dreams! I believe the motto that all that we are is a product of our thought. What we allow ourselves to think about will eventually manifest.

FAVORITE MOVIE: The Secret

CRAZIEST DREAM: I dream a lot, especially when I eat a large dinner. Typically I dream about cars -- Ferrari's to be exact. I also dream about skiing and getting huge air off a ramp... right at the landing I wake up in a cold sweat.

AGE YOU LEARNED TO SHRED: 3 years old.

WHAT EXCITES YOU?: Standing on skis on a hard snow or ice, knowing it's up to me to shape my run. I love that feeling. Chicks excite me too.

Adam Zampa on Slytech

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Keely Kelleher (right) boards the lift at Mt. Pisgah in Saranac Lake, NY during a fundraising event to help the Village owned ski area buy a new T-Bar. U.S. Ski Team athletes skied and signed autographs at Mt. Pisgah one day prior to the 2010 Visa U.S. Alpine Championships at nearby Whiteface Mountain (Jon Margolis Photography)

PARK CITY, UT (May 18) – Following seven seasons with the U.S. Alpine Ski Team, recently crowned U.S. super G champion Keely Kelleher (Big Sky, MT) is retiring from racing in order to focus on being a full-time student at Westminster College in Salt Lake City.

"After spending my entire life focused completely on ski racing, I'm starting a new job as a full time student on August 25," said Kelleher who earned her first U.S. championship last March with her family in attendance at Whiteface Mountain, NY. "The ski team has a partnership with Westminster that allows athletes to pursue their education. It's a great way for us to transition out of the sport."

Kelleher cut teeth with the Big Sky Ski Team in Montana then enrolled in Salt Lake's famed Rowmark Academy, which has produced numerous top U.S. Ski Team athletes. During her tenure, Kelleher was honored as the Most Improved Technical Skier (2000), received the Northrop Award for Excellence in Speed Events (2001) and the prestigious Senior Award for Dedication to Skiing, Leadership and Ski Racing Ability. Additionally, she captured the J2 Junior Olympic gold medals for both giant slalom and combined in 2000.

"She was such a special athlete to work with," said Rowmark Program Director Todd Brickson. "I haven't experienced very many athletes as driven as Keely. She was an incredible competitor, but also a great teammate. I've already been recruiting her to do some guest coaching with our athletes."

Post grad she rocketed through the North American pipeline, landed a spot on the national squad in 2003 and was tracking toward the World Cup level when a crash at the final fall training camp in Colorado knocked her out for the season with a broken right leg. Ultimately the rod placed in her leg was too big and caused serious complications. According to Brickson, most athletes would have given up.

"It was supposed to be a six month turn-a-round and back to snow, but it turned into three years of surgeries," said Kelleher. "Mentally and physically, constantly recovering is draining, but I was always looking forward to racing. It's what kept me motivated. I love ski racing."

After earning her first World Cup start in December of 2007, Kelleher would score her first points the following season in St. Moritz, Switzerland. She landed two other top 30 results later that season and exited the 2009 winter looking toward a birth in Vancouver, but leg pain continued to hamper her progress.

"When all the other girls were putting down six or seven runs on a training day, I'd be holding back tears after four, but I just kept telling myself it was going to go away when the season finally started," she said. "Then the first weekend of World Cup rolled around and I had the best result of my career with 20th in the Lake Louise super G. I was headed off to Val d'Isere [France] for the next set of races and things were looking positive."

Then bam, a crash in Val d'Isere resulted in a sprained right ankle, furthering then compacted pain she'd been fighting throughout the season's preparation period.

"It was a lot to deal with, but that's what we do - it was still fun," Kelleher said. "I'll always remember those long travel days just goofing around with my teammates. We were always able to find humor in every situation and at the end of the day, we were ski racing. We were able to meet some of the most amazing people and discover incredible places because we were skiing. The view from the start at Cortina [Italy] is a place not many people get to see and I'll always be thankful for that."

Kelleher thanked her family, coaches, teammates and sponsors Big Sky Resort, Lone Mountain Sports, Atomic and POC for sticking with her through it all. "It's incredible the amount of support that goes into ski racing. My family is amazing and stood with me every step of the way and continue to do so," said Kelleher. "I was pretty fortunate to have some awesome sponsors along the way too, who I'll always be connected with.

"I'll always value Keely as a competitor and as a friend," said long-time teammate Stacey Cook (Mammoth Mountain, CA). "We've been racing together since we were J3's and then made every step up together. We made the ski team together and landed our first Europa Cup podiums together – it won't be the same on the road without her."

Prior to her first day of classes, Kelleher says she'll spend the summer giving back to ski racing by coaching in Alaska, Oregon and possibly Chile – after a three week surfing trip to Mexico with friends.

"It's a good transition into becoming a student," she said. "But the best way for me to give back is to help get more kids stoked on ski racing. Alaska is a super specialized camp, were we'll be working on body position off big jumps then I'm off to Mt. Hood and hopefully Chile before school starts."