Daron Rahlves at Beaver Creek, Colorado

Daron Rahlves (Sugar Bowl, CA) is the most successful male downhiller in U.S. annals— seven World Cup downhill victories— including earlier this month at the VISA Birds of Prey race in Beaver Creek, Colorado, and three super G wins. He also has three World Championships medals, and in February, Rahlves hopes to add at least one Olympic medal to his trophy case.

Q: You were a world Jet-ski champion in 1993, then turned toward ski racing, and now you're the most successful American male World Cup downhiller. You've had quite a bit of success— is it worth it?

DR: You definitely have to go through a lot more when you're successful. In a way, I kind of accept that I'm going to go through those kinds of things…For me, it's important to stay positive. Genuinely, deep down inside, I love to ski...

Q: Do you ever get the feeling you're living a dream for someone?

DR: Well, I'm living my dream. My dream wasn't ever to get to this point as a young kid. But year after year, it sort of started snowballing and this is where I wanted to be. At 18, I wanted to make the Ski Team, and one of these days, be Best in the World! Then move on from there and hopefully be consistently at the top with all the best guys on the tour.

Q: And the guys you grew up with in Tahoe... Are they envious?

DR: There are a lot of guys I grew up with that had a lot of talent, loved to ski race, just didn't have the opportunity to go further with it, or didn't have the breaks. Now they have a chance to come out and check out these big races [Beaver Creek] and sort of just live through what we're doing...It's nice to be able to spread a lot of that excitement and success. I know I'm doing it for myself, though. I'm thankful I had the opportunity through my family to get involved in the sport, and to have the [U.S.] Ski Team stepping up and providing what we have now. There's a big support group people don't really see.

Q: Last season, you were second to Bode [Miller] twice and he tied you for the win in super G at World Cup Finals. This year, you knocked him off in the DH at Birds of Prey. How sweet was that?

DR: It feels good. I was pushing to the max, pushing the whole way. ...It's nice to reverse it. Bode's incredible on this hill, too. He's such a good skier and he's got good finesse. He attacks on race day. At the start he said he was going to freak out on this hill and I'd better step up, and I kinda' laughed inside and said, “Man, you don't have to tell me that.” He was scaring me a little bit coming down to the bottom, and I thought, “Oh no, not again...” But it was incredible.

Q: Birds of Prey, like Bormio [ITA] and Kitzbuehel [AUT]—two other big hills where you've won—seem to bring out the best in your skiing. What's the deal?

DR: I knew Beaver Creek was a hill I liked to ski and it was something I could ski well on, but it took me a while...I don't care if it's the World Cup, the Olympics, World Championships—if it's a good hill, we're excited to ski it. And that's [Birds of Prey]. If you can't get excited to ski a course like this, to answer that challenge, maybe you should think of something else to do.

By USSA