The U.S. Ski Team’s 26-athlete roster has been set for the next two weeks’ alpine skiing world championships, .
The roster isn’t surprising. It includes Lindsey Vonn, fresh off her 64th World Cup victory, as well as reigning Olympic slalom champion Mikaela Shiffrin and Olympic gold medalists Ted Ligety and Bode Miller.
Being named to the squad is no guarantee that an athlete will get to race. Coaches can pick only four racers for a given event. Skiers who have had World Cup success so far this season, like Vonn and Shiffrin, can expect to compete.
But Bode Miller, who has not competed this season after having back surgery in November, is a wild card. “He’s just got to see how the whole thing shakes out, how he’s feeling day by day. Then we’ll make a call where and if we’re going to put him into the race,” U.S Ski Team alpine director Patrick Riml .
This is the first time the world championships, which are being held at Vail and Beaver Creek, have been held in the United States since 1999.