World Cup season starts Friday
(USBSF PR)
IGLS, Austria (November 29, 2011)- The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) World Cup tour starts in the small mountain village of Igls, Austria with competitions from Dec. 2-4. The U.S. team has already claimed 43 medals this season in the Europa Cup, America’s Cup and Youth Olympic Games qualifier races and is ready to earn even more hardware in the World Cup events.
Many World Cup athletes have already competed on the Igls course this season. Reigning four-man bobsled Olympic champion Steven Holcomb was one of the U.S. drivers that opted to acclimate to Europe before the World Cup season kicked off, and he has already collected a gold and three silver medals on the 1976 Olympic track.
“Igls is pretty easy and the learning curve is flat,” Holcomb said. “Everyone is on a level playing field. New drivers have the same advantage as everyone else, so it comes down to who will make a mistake or the least amount of mistakes.”
The U.S. team is hoping to minimize mistakes to earn the top spot on the podium this weekend. Holcomb and Napier will compete as drivers in both the two and four-man events, while Bree Schaaf, Elana Meyers and Jazmine Fenlator will pilot the women’s bobsled fleet. Women’s skeleton athletes competing this weekend include Annie O’Shea, Kimber Gabryszak and Rachelle Rasmussen. Katie Uhlaender will sit out the first competition while pursuing her weightlifting endeavors at the American Open in hopes of qualifying for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. The men’s skeleton roster features Matt Antoine, John Daly and Kyle Tress.
Women’s skeleton kicks off the World Cup season at 9 am local time on Dec. 2 followed by women’s bobsled at noon. Races continue on Dec. 3 with men’s skeleton at 9 am, men’s two-man bobsled at noon and a team competition at 4 pm. The event will conclude on Dec. 4 with the four-man bobsled race.
The IBSF will provide LIVE streaming for World Cup events on their website at www.fibt.com. Universal Sports will also broadcast the events with commentary and interviews on one-week delay. Programs will air Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights at 6 pm EST.
The Europa Cup and America’s Cup circuits also have events this week. The Europa Cup tour continues in Winterberg, Germany with bobsled races from Nov. 29-Dec. 4. The third stop on the America’s Cup tour is in Lake Placid, N.Y., where athletes in all five disciplines will compete in a two-race format from Dec. 1-4.
