SOELDEN, Austria (Oct. 13) - The math, i.e., three into two, doesn't fit cleanly, but that will be the situation Friday when three men vie for two start spots in a U.S. Ski Team time trial to complete the American men's lineup for the first World Cup race of the season, a giant slalom Oct. 23 on the Rettenbach Glacier.

"We'll have a time trial, three guys chasing two spots," Men's slalom/GS Head Coach Mike Morin said Thursday night. The three are two-time Olympian Chip Knight (Stowe, VT), 2002 Olympian Tom Rothrock (Cashmere, WA) and 2006 Olympic hopeful Ted Ligety (Park City, UT).

"It's going to bring the intensity up...and if you asked me who would get the spots, I couldn't tell you. Ligety skied so well in New Zealand [in August] and had the fastest run today but that's already ancient history. We'll see what [Friday] brings. The boys are geared-up and ready to roll. …All three guys are skiing very well. It’s gonna be quite a shootout.”

Five U.S. skiers are determined - 2005 World Cup overall champion (and 2003 GS world champion Bode Miller (Bretton Woods, NH), 2006 World Championships GS bronze medalist Daron Rahlves (Sugar Bowl, CA), 2003 World Championships bronze medalist Erik Schlopy (Park City, UT), Dane Spencer (Boise, ID) and Jimmy Cochran (Keene, NH).

Snow conditions, according to Morin, are "getting better by the day. Today, some sections were really good - dry, grippy, aggressive snow - but other sections were blowing apart with some big holes..."

Miller, the first U.S. World Cup overall champion since 1983 (Phil Mahre, Tamara McKinney) arrived Thursday “and was in good spirits, and he went straight up on the hill and made five or six runs, got right on his boards and skied his way right through the jet-lag,” Morin said.

Morin said he was taking the U.S. men to Pitztal over the weekend for a couple of days of super G training, to give them a taste for speed and also to get them a change of scenery before they begin to make final preparations for the opening race on the 23rd. More slalom training is on the schedule for immediately after the opening giant slalom.

“The guys are healthy and motivated right now. That’s great because it would be such a bummer to be here, at this time [going into the season], with guys who are tired and already seemed burned out. I see that with some guys on other teams,” Morin said, “and I’m pleased our guys are fresh.

“Yeah, we’ve got some workto do but they’ve all shown signs of being on track. I’ve seen a lot of progress from our guys, and that’s good. This will be a big season for everyone.”