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Canada heads into the world alpine ski championship with medal potential but little momentum. Dragan Bender Jersey .Races start Tuesday in Beaver Creek, Colo., with womens super-G. Larisa Yurkiw of Owen Sound, Ont., hopes to build on winning the first World Cup medal of her career this season.Former world mens downhill champion Erik Guay and Olympic super-G bronze medallist Jan Hudec wont compete in the world championship because of knee issues.Manuel Osborne-Paradis won World Cup silver to open his season, but the man alongside Guay and Hudec in Canadas big three had a rough January.He hasnt raced since crashing Jan. 18 in Wengen, Switzerland. Osborne-Paradis wiped out again a few days later in a training run in Kitzbuehel, Austria, and withdrew from that race.The 30-year-old from Invermere, B.C., has severe bruising on his right side. Osborne-Paradis was preparing to race in pain unless it dissipates before Wednesdays super-G and Saturdays downhill.Im a competitor and theres nothing that I want to do more than ski fast, he said. I really think a big part of how I do is if I can start getting used to skiing with the pain.Slalom specialist Marie-Michele Gagnon of Lac-Etchemin, Que., continues to hover near the podium, but has yet to step on it this season.The World Cup circuit measures a skiers consistency over a season. The bi-annual world alpine championship is a test of performance on demand similar to the Winter Olympics.The competitiveness is as high as the Olympics for us, Yurkiw said. Its just that the Olympics is the one everyone watches.The world championship rarely leaves Europe. The last gathering in North America of the worlds top skiers was in nearby Vail in 1999. Racing as close to home as the event ever gets, Canadas 14-skier team could use the spark of a medal.The Canadian mens speed team is familiar with Beaver Creeks Birds of Prey course. Its been a regular mens World Cup stop since 1999. Osborne-Paradis doesnt love it.For a course that already doesnt suit my abilities as a ski racer, its going to be tough to get my head wrapped around doing well here, he said. Its steeper and I do better on medium terrain.The new womens Raptor track hosted a test World Cup in 2013 when Yurkiw was 15th in super-G. Shell race the downhill Friday.Its definitely a rugged course, she said. You have to have hair on your chest for this track.Canadians won back-to-back mens downhill titles in 2009 (John Kucera) and 2011 (Guay). Kucera has since retired. Guay is still coming back from a pair of off-season knee surgeries. The 33-year-old from Mont-Tremblant, Que., has pushed back his projected return to racing until after the world championships.Calgarys Hudec, a downhill silver medallist in 2007, underwent knee surgery last month.The last world championship medals won by Canadian women were Melanie Turgeons downhill gold and Allison Forsyths giant slalom bronze in 2003.Gagnon is a contender in next weeks slalom if she can string together two fast runs instead of just one. Shes also one to watch in next Mondays combined event of a slalom and a downhill. Gagnon became the first Canadian woman to win a World Cup combined event in 2013.Yurkiw finished second in a womens downhill Jan. 16 in Cortina, Italy, for her first career World Cup medal. The 26-year-old was also fourth in Lake Louise, Alta., in December to help her to a current world ranking of ninth.Erik Read of Banff, Alta., will make his world championship debut in Colorado. Hes the son of former Crazy Canuck Ken Read. Torontos Philip Brown, Ottawas Dustin Cook, Morgan Pridy of Whistler, B.C., Ben Thomsen of Invermere and Calgarys Trevor Philp round out the mens team.Yurkiw and Gagnon will be joined on the womens squad by Erin Mielzynski of Collingwood, Ont., Marie-Pier Prefontaine of Mont-Saint-Sauveur, Que., Torontos Candace Crawford, Valerie Grenier of Mont-Tremblant, Que., and Mikaela Tommy of Wakefield, Que.The world alpine championship concludes Feb. 15. Kevin Johnson Suns Jersey . Vonn punctuated her near-perfect season in perfect fashion Friday, earning her fourth overall World Cup title with a dominating giant slalom victory. Frank Kaminsky Jersey . According to Yahoo! Sports, the team has reached a five-year deal to play their home games on the roof of the Plaza Hotel and Casino.MOHNTON, Pa. - Doug Kalitta led Top Fuel qualifying Friday in the NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway with a 3.747-second pass at 326.95 mph.This is definitely the time to get going if we are going to make something happen, said Kalitta, fifth in the season standing with three events left. The conditions are really good here. Im really proud of my guys gettiing low qualifier after day one. Deandre Ayton Jersey. Cruz Pedregon topped the Funny Car field, Erica Enders-Stevens was the fastest in Pro Stock, and Jerry Savoie took the Pro Stock Motorcycle lead.Pedregon had a 3.991 at 319.52 in a Toyota Camry, Enders-Stevens finished in 6.513 at 211.76 in a Chevy Camaro, and Savoie had a 6.860 at 194.66 on a Suzuki. ' ' '