Ski racer Erik Guay in action
© Alain GROSCLAUDE/AGENCE ZOOM
Alpine Skiing

Who will rule the World Cup downhill ski season?

Get to know the top contenders for speed glory, and meet the men and women behind the masks.
By Riikka Rakic
3 min readPublished on
Ski racer Erik Guay in Wengen

Erik Guay in Wengen, 2014

© Alexis BOICHARD/AGENCE ZOOM

It's time to ski fast! The FIS Ski World Cup 2015 speed season will open with the men's races at Lake Louise, Canada, on November 29. The world's fastest ladies will follow the week after.
We present the title contenders and let you take a glance behind their masks...
As fate would have it, the speed dominator of previous seasons, Aksel Lund Svindal, winner of five out of six World Cup speed globes in the past three seasons, is recovering from injury.
Watching Lake Louise, Beaver Creek and Val Gardena will be painful. I love those races. And I'm always fast there.
But that won't be the case this year, says Svindal, who's back in the gym for rehab.
One of Svindal's main contenders, American Bode Miller, had back surgery last week, and won't return to racing until the January classics in Wengen and Kitzbühel. Compatriot Ted Ligety broke his left wrist just a few days ago too, and also needed surgery.
Ski racer Erik Guay in Innsbruck

Erik Guay in Innsbruck

© Samo Vidic/Red Bull Content Pool

Ski racer Erik Guay in Beaver Creek, USA

Erik Guay in Beaver Creek, 2014

© Alexis BOICHARD/AGENCE ZOOM

Meanwhile, Canadian Erik Guay, a staple at the top of the speed standings, is recovering from a knee operation:
My knee is coming along and getting stronger by the day.
"I'll start skiing December 7 if all goes to plan. If it goes well then I'll meet up with the team in Italy around December 12, to build towards a World Cup start either in Santa Caterina or Wengen. World Champs aren't out of the question and I would love to be race-ready by then," says Guay.
Hannes Reichelt in Beaver Creek

Hannes Reichelt in Beaver Creek

© Alexis BOICHARD/AGENCE ZOOM

Hannes Reichelt

Hannes Reichelt

© Agence Zoom

In the absence of so many stars, the stage is set for challengers to deliver a season of their dreams. So we asked Aksel Lund Svindal and Erik Guay to give us their best bets on who they think will be on top?
"It's always hard to tell. Matthias Mayer, Hannes Reichelt, Kjetil Jansrud, Dominik Paris, and Christof Innerhofer. They're for sure names to look out for. It'll be interesting to watch!", says Svindal.
"It's a bummer about Aksel but it opens the door for others. Maybe Jansrud, or Reichelt? It's a tough one to call," notes Erik Guay.
Leading the list of the fastest guys for 2015 seems to be Norwegian Kjetil Jansrud, who landed two Olympic medals in Sochi, and Hahnenkamm 2014 winner, Hannes Reichelt of Austria.
Jan Hudec

Jan Hudec

© Rossignol

Jan Hudec racing in Val Gardena

Jan Hudec racing in Val Gardena

© Agence Zoom

Add to the mix the Italians in their new red devil suit, led by Christof Innerhofer and Dominik Paris, the 24-year-old Olympic downhill champion Matthias Mayer from Austria, and the Canadians, spearheaded by Jan 'Panda' Hudec.
Portrait of ski race Lindsey Vonn

Lindsey Vonn in Soelden

© Erich Spiess/ASP/Red Bull Content Pool

Lindsey Vonn in training during her comeback

Lindsey Vonn in training during her comeback

© Erich Spiess/ASP/Red Bull

On the ladies' side, all eyes will be on Lindsey Vonn, who plans her comeback in the season's first downhill training run at Lake Louise on December 2. The place is also known as 'Lake Lindsey', since Vonn has won there a whopping 14 times.
Portrait of alpine skier Dominique Gisin

Dominique Gisin

© Agence Zoom

Dominique Gisin at the World Cup race in Are

Dominique Gisin at the World Cup race in Are

© Nisse Schmidt/Agence Zoom

The ladies eager to steal the glory from Vonn include 2014 overall World Cup champion Anna Fenninger, downhill gold medalists Tina Maze and Dominique Gisin.
Portrait of alpine ski racer Lara Gut in Zermatt, Switzerland.

Lara Gut

© Stefan Schlumpf

Lara Gut racing at the World Cup in Val d'Isère

Lara Gut racing at the World Cup in Val d'Isère

© Agence Zoom

Others are betting on Lara Gut, the talented Swiss racer who seems ready to rock. And let's not forget Liechtenstein's Tina Weirather, who is looking for revenge following injury in the middle of last season.

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