American Downhiller

Injury Update, the Kvitfjell Course and developing into a Speed skier The American Downhillers caught up with Norwegian Speed Demon Aleks Kilde in a Hospital in Innsbruck for this week’s podcast ahead of Kilde’s home Downhill Kvitfjell. They first got the inside scoop on his injuries from his crash in Wengen and his honest prognosis going forward. They then talked about his skiing development from...

This week on the American Downhiller Podcast we turn our attention to Cortina - the Women’s Favorite Course and interview the Stifel US Ski Team’s newest speed star – Lauren Macuga! “Cougs” is coming off a career-best 10th place in the Super-G in Altenmarkt and sets her sights on the 2026 Olympic Course this week in Italy. Cougs is part of the US Women’s speed team which is re-building and has bee...

The King of Kitz, Didier Cuche joins Daron, AJ, Marco and LEW for a super interesting and revealing breakdown of the most famous and dangerous Downhill on the World Cup circuit. Didier won on the Streif a record FIVE times with his first coming in 1998 and the last three coming in in 2010, 2011 & 2012! He shares his thoughts and secrets to this iconic track and lets us inside his head as he pr...

Wengen's Lauberhorn is the longest Downhill on the World Cup circuit and not only presents gliding challenges, but includes legendary sections like the Hundschopf, Canadian Corner, the Kernen-S, the Hanegg Schuss and the Austrian Hole! Tune in and here Daron, AJ, Marco and LEW break down the course, share Wengen secrets and also give a tutorial on How to Glide!!! Other Topics discussed: First impr...

World Champion and a 19 time World Cup Winner Michael Walchhofer joins the American Downhillers to share his thoughts on the Bormio Course – a course he won THREE times over his career. He also shares his experiences being on the same Austrian Team as Hermann Maier, Stefan Eberharter, Fritz Strobl and Hans Knauss. As he says, “Sometimes we worked together more than others… At the end of the day, i...

One of the famous Canadian Cowboys, Manny Osborne-Paradis joins the American Downhillers for a hilarious and educational Podcast that breaks down this week’s World Cup Downhill in Val Gardena, Italy. Manny won on the Saslong course back in 2009 by crushing the top flats with a secret “Canadian Drift” slide technique that he explains in depth in the podcast. He also talks about what it feels like t...

The American Downhillers Podcast is BACK for another Season. Hosted by Olympian Speed Demons Doug Lewis, AJ Kitt, Daron Rahlves and Marco Sullivan, this podcast covers everything related to going fast on a pair of skis down the craziest “Abfarht” courses in the World. From Beaver Creek to Kitz. From steep starts to finish fall-aways. From base bevel to best beers. From rookie races to retirement r...

Aspen World Cups were exciting and fun and although we did not see an American Downhiller on the Podium, we did see some excitement from the back of pack - in Super-G a couple of Americans ended up in the top 15!!! Our guest today is one of those racers. He scored his best EVER SG result with a 14th starting 52nd!!! He is on the B Team and from Woodside, CA. He was the 2016 World Jr Champion...

In this American Downhiller Podcast we are joined by Kitzbuhel Champion Hans Knauss who was also a World Champion Medalist and is now one of the main Commentators for Austria covering the FIS World Cup. Hans and the boys talk about the original America’s Downhill – Aspen’s Aztec Course. This is a Course that played a big role in both LEW’s and AJ’s career as you will hear. They break down the cour...

As the World Cup takes a break from racing – everyone’s attention turns to the World Championships being held in Courchevel France! Where it’s all about the top three as Medals are on the line! Gold, Silver and Bronze are up for the taking. And our guest today won the Bronze Medal at the 2003 World Championships Super-G held in St. Moritz. She is Jonna Mendes, a two-time Olympian and presently the...

In this Episode, LEW, AJ, Daron and Marco welcome the Kaiser, Franz Klammer onto the Podcast to get his take on Kitzbuhel and the new Movie coming out about his Gold Medal called - Chasing the Line. Klammer is the Ultimate Downhiller with 25 World Cup wins in the discipline on all the classic courses including Kitzbuhel's "the Streif" FOUR times! He also inspired the World in 1976 with his Crazy G...

Rasmussen’s Victory in Wengen 11 years after Bill Johnson shocked the world by winning the Lauberhorn (the first ever win for an American Downhiller on the World Cup) it happened again and this time is was the strong and powerful and quiet Kyle Rasmussen – running Bib #1! We have Kyle on the Podcast this week to talk about that race, the uniqueness of the Wengen DH and their favorite spots of this...

In this week’s American Downhiller Podcast we tackle the toughest, most challenging Downhill on the circuit – Bormio! And as our special guest we have 6-time Bormio DH winner Dominik Paris from Italy! This legendary speed skier joins us from his home after a day of – believe it or not – slalom training where he only finished half of his runs. Doug, AJ and Daron ask Dom all about the Bormio track a...

The American Downhillers ,along with the World’s speed skiers, head to Val Gardena to run the Saslong course this weekend. This Italian course has more terrain than any other Downhill Course with the racers leaving the ground over 25 times in less than two minutes. It is home to the infamous Camel Bumps which launches the racers over 150 in the air. And last year, AD Bryce Bennett won it in style!...

America’s Speed races start this Friday on the legendary Birds of Prey course at Beaver Creek, CO. And who better to tell us its secrets than World Champ Silver Medalist on this very course, Travis Ganong! This interview goes all over the place! -      Travis’s favorite section of the course -      How you prepare mentally to risk it all...

The American Downhillers welcomed the #GOAT Lindsey Vonn onto the Podcast to hear her thoughts on the Downhill Course she dominated for 17 years – winning the DH 14 times – but also to hear her take on development, World Cup rivalries, equipment, coaching, and people telling her she “couldn’t do something”. And she dropped nuggets of wisdom throughout. The interview will inspire young athletes, ed...

The American Downhiller Podcast is BACK for its second season of educating and entertaining the ski world about what is happening on and off the courses of the world’s greatest speed races. Featuring Olympians Doug Lewis, AJ Kitt, Daron Rahlves and Marco Sullivan, the podcast takes you into the starting gates and onto the tracks of the world’s fastest races. They will share the behind-the-scenes s...

In this Episode of the American Downhiller Podcast, Lew, AJ, Daron and Marco are joined by Bella Wright whose rollercoaster 21-22 season included the high of the Olympics and the low of a fractured heel, but finished with her first National Downhill Championship win! Bella breaks down her winning run on the storied Narrow Gauge run in Sugarloaf and what it meant to her. Then the boys also share th...

Tommy Moe & Kvitfjell’s Olympic Downhill Course American Downhiller Podcast Episode 13: The American Downhillers are joined by Olympic Champion Tommy Moe to discuss the Kvitfjell OlympicBakken course that will be run this weekend - the same course that Tommy beat Norwegian favorite Kjetil Aamodt on by 4 hundies to win the Gold in 1994! They dig deep and share their keys to the Course as well a...

Episode #12: American Downhiller Podcast Alice McKennis Duran on the Women’s Downhill Olympian and World Cup Winner Alice McKennis Duran joins LEW, AJ and Daron to break down the Women’s Olympic Downhill as well as share her thoughts on racing Downhill at the highest level for a decade. To begin the podcast, LEW makes good on his promise to wear his 1984 pink Olympic Downhill suit if any American...

American Downhiller Podcast Episode #11 Breaking Down the Olympic Men’s DH The boys woke up early today after watching the Beijing Olympic Men’s Downhill race and break it down. From the Training Run controversy to the awesomeness of the course to how the American Downhillers skied. All agree it was an amazing course and race and were riveted to the very end. Lew, AJ, Daron and Marco also share th...

Episode #10: This week on the American Downhiller Podcast Breezy Johnson checks in with Lew, Daron and Marco to talk about her Injury, recovery and all things speedy on the Women’s World Cup Downhill Circuit. They caught up with her in Vail a few days before her surgery to repair her knee that will keep her from her second Olympics. Right off the bat, the crew talks about their Ski Racing Heroes g...

Episode #9 This week’s Episode covers the craziest and most dangerous downhill course on the World Cup Circuit - Kitzbuhel’s Hahnenkahmm Downhill. From the Redbull Starthouse at the summit of the mountain, it winds its way down 2800 vertical feet to finish in the town of Kitzbuhel just feet from the train station. 50,000 fanatic fans will line cheering every racer as they take their turn at this w...

Episode #8 - Wengen’s Lauberhorn Race In this very special Episode, Lew, AJ, Daron and Marco talk about one of the most Iconic Downhills on the men’s World Cup circuit - the Lauberhorn in Wengen. This track has played a special role in the American Downhillers history. Bill Johnson shocked the world in 1984 and won the race with a crazy run in the snow that included going off the course and recove...

American Downhiller Podcast - Episode #7 Start Routines, Training Runs & Youth Speed! In this Episode of the American Downhiller Podcast, LEW, Marco, Daron and AJ give out great advice to junior racers, parents and coaches about the elements of a Start Routine and how it can help prepare the Racer mentally and physically for success in training and racing. From early morning warm-up jogs to di...