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Show i World Cup opens Saturday in Italy i f ,s jp The '85 85 World Cup alpine season, which will stop in Park City on March 19 and 20 for two slalom races, gets underway Saturday in Courmayeur, Italy with a women's slalom race. The men will kick off their season in Sestriere, Italy on Dec. 2. Nordic World Cup action will begin Dec. 8 in Les Rousses, France with a men's 15-kilometer crosscountry cross-country race. The cross-country women won't get going until Dec. 13. The jumpers will take off Dec. 8 in Thunder Bay, Canada. A total of 23 racers make up the United States A and B alpine teams this season. Of those, only the A team members are sure to be consistent competitors on the World Cup, as many B team members race on the Europa Cup circuit. Bill Johnson of Malibu, California is the only men's A team member due to the recent retirement of Phil and Steve Mahre. For the women there are four A racers: Debbie Armstrong of Seattle, Washington; Holly Flinders of Deerfield, New Hampshire; Tamara McKinney of Squaw Valley, California; and Cindy Nelson of Reno, Nevada. Missing from that list is Christin Cooper who also retired at the end of last season. Only three U.S. men have fared well enough in World Cup nordic action to earn spots on the cross-country A-team: Audun En-destad En-destad of Fairbanks, Alaska; Bill Koch of Eugene, Oregon; and Dan Simoneau of Eugene, Oregon. Another three have won places on the A jumping team: Landis Arnold of Winter Park, Colorado; Mike Holland of Norwich, Vermont; and Dennis McGrane of Littleton, Colorado. Colo-rado. Pat Ahern of Breckenridge, Colorado is the long nordic combined A team member. Notables missing from those cross-country lists are Jeff Hastings from the jumpers and Kerry Lynch from the nordic combined. Both retired following last season. - - -j lngemar Stenmark, master of the World Cup |