Daron Rahlves hitting the downhill Photo by Agence Zoom

MZ: You mentioned in your article about Bode giving beta to other team members about the courses. What are some other qualities you observed that make this a standout team as opposed to standout individual skiers?

BB: There's an idea in skiing that speed breeds speed. And to a certain extent I think that's true. I mean, that's one of the ways the Austrians have always stayed at the top of the heap. At any one point, five of the top skiers in the world would be Austrian. And they're all sort of competing against each other and training with each other, competing for a spot on the team for the next race. So, I think with both Bode and Daron up there and Erik Schlopy as well, that just raises the game of everybody else on the team. Also, I think in years past, not last year, but like five, ten years ago, I think there was a much greater split between the speed skiers and the tech skiers. (The speed skiers being the downhill racers, the tech guys being more on the slalom and giant slalom side.) You know, the teams are naturally split. There's a tech coach and a speed coach. And there's a head coach over both of them. And I think in years past there's been a real sort of strange rivalry between the two sides, like the downhill guys think the tech guys are a bunch of wusses because they don't run downhill sort of thing. And that really isn't there now, which is a really nice thing for team unity and a lot of other morale issues. And one of the reasons it's not there, I think, is Bode, in a weird way. Bode's got a lot of things that he does that don't help team morale, but you know that the fact that he skis all events and that he got his start winning in slalom and giant slalom really bridges that gap. There's no, he didn't come up as a slalom skier and sort of “graduate” up to downhill. He still runs all events and really competes heavily across the board.

MZ: It seems like many of the skiers on the U.S. team get overshadowed by Bode Miller's larger-than-life persona. What about Daron Rahlves, Erik Schlopy and Ted Ligety? Where do you see them?

BB: Daron Rahvles is an amazing skier. A number of World Cup veterans and former skiers told me, unprompted, they really consider Daron to be the best American downhiller ever, period. And his story's amazing. I mean, when he came out of high school he was, essentially, un-recruited. The ski team didn't want him. He had to kind of go out and make his own way on a macaroni and cheese budget for a couple of years for him to even make the ski team and then he just climbed his way up. And he doesn't have a natural racer's body. He's really built himself up entirely on his own. And he's very articulate and a really nice guy. Daron has his own training regimen in the off-season, which involves motocross and that sort of thing, which I'm sure doesn't please the ski team officials.

Really, I found Daron to be the most pleasant surprise of anybody on the ski team. Just in terms of how gracious he was. Gracious, smart and articulate about what he does. Talking to these guys who are in their early 20s about what they do, it's hard to get them to “talk” about it because they just do it. Whereas a guy like Daron has done it so long and thought about it so often that he can articulate what it is he does and it's a just a pleasure to talk with him.

Then there's Ted Ligety, who could really come up and snag a medal in the games. I don't think anyone's looking for him to win two golds or anything. Really, he's 21 years old, a really bright, brash kid, full of life and a real joker on the slopes. In a year where Bode and Daron weren't here, I think Ligety would be the story.

And there is Erik Schlopy, the handsome, cool veteran. This could be his last season as well. I mean Daron has said this is going to be his last season. This may be Schlopy's last as well. He's got so much experience; he's so smart about skiing courses that he could come up and nail a medal as well.