The women's World Cup skiers all set for inaugural race on demanding Birds of Prey downhill course

BEAVER CREEK, Colo. (AP) — American ski racer Bella Wright got to the bottom of the Birds of Prey downhill course after a speedy training run and screamed, “Woo-hoo!”

It just slipped out.

“I realized," Wright explained, “that I finally got to ski a dream course of mine.”

This course could be a dream to some, but it may prove to be a nightmare for others as the women’s World Cup takes on the difficult and demanding Birds of Prey downhill for the first time Saturday. The racers have been getting up to speed with the technical turns, steep parts and fast sections all week in training sessions.

So far, so scary — initially, anyway.

“The first time you look at it, it’s very intimidating,” American ski racer Jacqueline Wiles said of the downhill, which will be followed by a super-G on Sunday. “But once you get on it, you realize it’s completely manageable and not as scary as it looks.”

The men have been running the Birds of Prey downhill on the World Cup circuit for decades. But the women really haven't raced this track.

Not the full downhill version.

They did step on part of the terrain for a rescheduled super-G in 2011, when Lindsey Vonn — who's forerunning this weekend in her comeback at age 40 — emerged victorious.

In advance of hosting the 2015 world championships at Beaver Creek, a second course called Raptor was designed for the women. The women ran a super-G and downhill on the Raptor course in 2013, with Swiss racer Lara Gut-Behrami winning both. She finds the extra-grippy snow at Beaver Creek to her liking — she also took bronze in the downhill at the 2015 world championships.

“It’s not easy to find the right mix between letting go and pushing on the edges,” Gut-Behrami said of the Birds of Prey course. “It’s challenging and it’s really aggressive.”

One thing's clear — there's plenty of speed on the Birds of Prey track. Sofia Goggia of Italy posted the top time in the final training session Friday, clocking nearly 79 mph (126.72 kph) in one section. The day before, Kajsa Vickhoff Lie of Norway went more than 80 mph (129.87 kph).

“It’s really fun,” Lie said.

The course that features jumps, bumps and demanding technical sections is about 1.4 miles (2,304 meters) in length with a vertical drop of 2,313 feet (705 meters).

“I like that it’s so busy — busy in a good way. It’s like every turn there’s something,” said Lauren Macuga, who finished runner-up in Friday's training run, 1.10 seconds behind Goggia. “There’s never any time to relax."

There have been plenty of frightful spills on the course.

In 2007, Norwegian great Aksel Lund Svindal suffered a laceration to his abdominal area when he lost control on a jump in a training run and landed in the safety netting. A horror story that turned into a feel-good one as Svindal return to the venue and won several times after his crash.

Bode Miller also crashed in a super-G on the course during the 2015 world championships, and needed surgery to fix a torn right hamstring tendon after his ski appeared to deeply slice him.

Of course, there are so success stories, too. A week ago, Swiss racer Justin Murisier won his first World Cup race in the Beaver Creek downhill, with teammate Marco Odermatt taking second.

Gut-Behrami doesn’t plan on asking Murisier or Odermatt for their secrets to success. She prefers to get to know the course on her own accord.

“We have an inspection," Gut-Behrami said. “It's our job (to get a natural feel for a course).”

Lie took a different approach. She inspected the course Thursday with fellow Norwegian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, who has a wealth of Birds of Prey knowledge. Kilde, who’s currently sidelined by injury, won two World Cup downhills and two super-Gs at the venue.

“I’m not going to tell any secrets,” Lie said with a laugh when asked what Kilde revealed. “No, it’s just the key points and what to do and what he thinks about when he was there. His talking about it makes it more easy in my head.

“It’s new for everybody. I really like that. Everybody has the same basics on it and it’s just about skiing.”

AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing

Slovenia's Ilka Stuhec skis during a women's World Cup downhill training run, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Beaver Creek, Colo. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Switzerland's Corinne Suter skis during a women's World Cup downhill training run, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Beaver Creek, Colo. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Italy's Laura Pirovano skis during a women's World Cup downhill training run, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Beaver Creek, Colo. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Switzerland's Michelle Gisin skis during a women's World Cup downhill training run, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Beaver Creek, Colo. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Italy's Nadia Delago skis during a women's World Cup downhill training run, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Beaver Creek, Colo. (AP Photo/John Locher)

United States' Lauren Macuga skis during a women's World Cup downhill training run, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Beaver Creek, Colo. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

United States' Lauren Macuga skis during a women's World Cup downhill training run, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Beaver Creek, Colo. (AP Photo/John Locher)

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Kyle Busch died after severe pneumonia progressed into sepsis, resulting in rapid and overwhelming associated complications, according to a statement released by his family.

Dakota Hunter, vice president of Kyle Busch Companies, said in a news release the family received the medical evaluation on Saturday.

Busch, a two-time NASCAR champion, died at 41 on Thursday, a day after passing out in a Chevrolet simulator.

Sepsis is considered a life-threatening medical emergency that occurs when the body has an extreme, overactive response to an infection, causing the immune system to damage its own tissues and organs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Typically the immune system releases chemicals to fight off pathogens like bacteria, viruses or fungi, but with sepsis the response goes into overdrive. The results can cause widespread inflammation, form microscopic blood clots and make blood vessels leak.

Busch was thought to have had a sinus cold while racing at Watkins Glen on May 10 and radioed in to his team saying that he needed a “shot” from a doctor after the race.

However, he bounced back to win the Trucks Series race at Dover last weekend, and then he finished 17th in the All-Star race on Sunday.

Busch, who was preparing to race Sunday at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, was testing in the Chevrolet racing simulator in Concord on Wednesday when he became unresponsive and was transported to a hospital in Charlotte, several people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.

During the emergency call placed late that afternoon, an unidentified caller calmly told the dispatch: “I’ve got an individual that’s (got) shortness of breath, very hot, thinks he’s going to pass out, and is producing a little bit of blood, coughing up some blood.”

The caller said Busch was lying on the bathroom floor inside the complex and told dispatch “he is awake,” according to audio provided by the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office. The man then gave directions on where emergency responders should go and asked that they turn off any sirens upon arrival.

NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski said he knew Busch wasn’t feeling well recently.

“Yes, but I won’t go into any specifics," Keselowski said. “But then when he ran the Truck race last week, those (thoughts) were honestly kind of erased in my mind.”

Keselowski said running multiple races on the same weekend can be difficult on a driver's health — but most don't want to miss a race for fear of being replaced.

“There’s no shortage of drivers that would love to take my seat or anybody else’s seat if we weren’t feeling well, and I think every driver feels that pressure,” Keselowski said. “All athletes do. It’s not unique to NASCAR in that sense. We’re all thinking to ourselves, ‘I don’t wanna be replaced.’ ... So you try to power through it the best you can."

Busch won 234 races across NASCAR’s top three series over his two-decade career, more than any driver in history.

All 39 drivers in the field for Sunday’s race will race with a black No. 8 decal on their car to honor Busch.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

An in memoriam photo of former driver Kyle Busch is displayed on the video board of the backstretch at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Friday, May 22, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)

FILE - Kyle Busch waits for the start of a NASCAR Xfinity Series auto race Saturday, June 19, 2021, in Lebanon, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)