US skier Shiffrin plans more speed races in new season

By ERIC WILLEMSEN
Associated Press

Mikaela Shiffrin is planning a return to speed racing in the alpine skiing World Cup season. The American two-time Olympic champion reduced her schedule almost exclusively to slalom and giant slalom last year after a 10-month break from racing. Shiffrin is eyeing a start at two downhills and a super-G in Lake Louise in early December. She says, “I love speed and I love Lake Louise especially. But I probably won’t be at every single speed race.” The new season starts on Oct. 23 with the traditional giant slalom on a glacier in Austria and includes the Beijing Olympics in February.