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 With the worlds back at the posh Colorado resorts of Vail and
Beaver Creek for the first time in 16 years, American ski fans will
have reason to cheer as Vonn, who last month became the most
successful women's skier of all time with 64 career World Cup wins,
looks to add to a sparkling resume on home snow.
The spotlight is unlikely to stray far from Vonn during two weeks of
racing, prompting the skier to keep a low profile in the buildup to
her first event on the Raptor racecourse.
"Windy out there today for the first downhill training run but still
had fun," tweeted Vonn on Monday. "Looking forward to the super-g
race tomorrow!!"
Vonn has been in sizzling form after topping the podium at the last
two World Cup Super-Gs in St. Moritz and Cortina, crossing just
ahead of Austrian rival Anna Fenninger, who will bid to add the
world championship crown to her Olympic title.
 The field will also include the last three world champions in the
event, Vonn taking the gold in 2009 with Austrian Elisabeth Goergl
the winner in 2011 and Slovenia's Tina Maze in 2013.
While Vonn has plenty of World Cup crystal and a world championship
gold to show for her work in the discipline, the Super-G has not
always been kind to the 30-year-old American.
At the 2013 championships in Schladming, Vonn left the course on a
stretcher dangling beneath a helicopter after a devastating high
speed crash left her with shredded knee ligaments, a broken leg and
her racing future in doubt.
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"The fact that she has had a such a long strong career and to have
her come back so strong this season, I have a lot of appreciation
for what she has done," said slalom Olympic and world champion
Mikaela Shiffrin, Vonn's young U.S. team mate.
"Lindsey is the best speed skier in the world. I am really excited
that she broke the record, I think she deserved it and it was only a
matter of time."
When Vonn pushes out of the start hut on Tuesday on to a Raptor
course described as one of the steepest in the sport, it will be her
first race at the worlds since the Schladming crash put her on the
sidelines for almost two seasons, costing her a chance to race at
the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
(Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)
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