World Cup skiing returns to venerable Val d'Isere for men's and women's competitions. Val d'Isere is one of the oldest venues for the circuit, having hosted races since 1968.

The U.S. ski team headed to Europe off an historic weekend of performances-three men finished in the top 10 of a World Cup downhill for the first time in 30 years, and Daron Rahlves and Kirsten Clark made the podium at Beaver Creek and Lake Louise, respectively.

Rahlves' 3rd place was especially impressive given the fact that he was penalized for wearing a non-conforming knee brace during Friday's qualifying run. Under new FIS rules this season, starting positions are determined by times during the final day of practice for the top 30 competitors. Rahlves was forced to start 37th after his penalty, but took advantage of outstanding course conditions to make his run to the podium.

Following the race, Rahlves sounded excited for the remainder of the season, saying "Every single day I'm getting better. The first day before training here I felt some great feelings I hadn't felt in over a month. When you're feeling good, you have confidence. I made some mistakes today, but my confidence carried me."

U.S. team officials are elated by the performances so far. The United States is holding down 3rd place in the Nations Cup-symbolic of overall World Cup strength-behind only Austria and Sweden. Last year, the U.S. finished 6th in Nations Cup standings.

"Across the board our athletes are doing a really good job and the coaches are doing a really good job." — Alan Ashley, VP Athletics, U.S. Ski

Alan Ashley, the Vice-President of Athletics for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, said the top finishes are a sign of growing strength in the American program. "What's really cool is that across the board our athletes are doing a really good job and the coaches are doing a really good job," he said. "And if we continue these activities, if we're prepared every time, success will come."

The competition will be stiff. Tour leader Stephan Eberharter returns to Val d'Isere, where he won both the downhill and super-G last year. Eberharter has won four of the six Cup races he's entered this year, including the downhill last week at Beaver Creek. Is it possible that he will make Austrian fans forget about the injured Herminator?

In addition to Eberharter, Switzerland's Didier Cuche-2nd in the WC standings and Sunday's super-G winner-and Norway's Kjetil Andre Aamodt will be on hand.

On the women's side of the hill, Clark will attempt to continue her solid start to the season. She had an outstanding weekend at Lake Louise, finishing 3rd and 5th in the two downhill races, and 4th in the super-G. That makes four consecutive top-5 finishes this season. The podium finish on Friday was Clark's first since a 3rd in the super-G at St-Moritz last year.

Speaking of the outstanding races by Clark and Rahlves, U.S. Alpine Director Jesse Hunt said, "Getting into the top three takes a lot of consistency and hard work from both the coaches and the athletes-the culmination of a lot of things, both the ski preparation and the on-hill work everyone's contributed."

Other strong finishes over the weekend included Marco Sullivan (6th) and Bode Miller (8th) in the downhill, Miller (6th) and Thomas Vonn (13th) in super-G, Caroline Lalive (4th) in the downhill and Jonna Mendes (9th) in the super-G, her first-ever top 10.

The only blemish to the weekend was the crash suffered by Lindsay Kildow during the downhill. Kildow is expected to miss 6-8 weeks with a sprained ligament in her left hip and in her left sacroiliac joint.

Hunt says the team is up ready for the challenge of the tour's European swing. "This week's results are a sign of more good things to come. We want to keep up the consistency and depth," he said.

Val d'Isere will provide the next measure.

— MountainZone.com Staff, with additional information courtesy U.S. Ski Team