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With Lake Louise looming, Osborne-Paradis hopeful to build off comeback year, Pridy brothers aiming to make World cup impact
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pushing for the podium Manuel Osborne-Paradis races to a fourth-place finish in last season's World Cup downhill at Kvitfjell, Norway. The veteran skier will get his season underway at Lake Louise this weekend.

Manuel Osborne-Paradis spent much of last World Cup season battling from the back of the pack. Two other Whistler Mountain Ski Club alums are preparing to do the same this winter.

Osborne-Paradis and the rest of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team's speed crew will kick off the season at home this weekend at Lake Louise, with the first downhill of the Olympic year going Nov. 30 and the first super-G on Dec. 1.

Fellow local products Conrad and Morgan Pridy also appear poised to kick off their campaigns at the lone Canadian stop on the tour as both look to take the next steps in their blossoming careers.

After missing nearly two full years to injury, the 29-year-old Osborne-Paradis was faced with start numbers well outside the top 30 for most of the 2012-13 campaign, but quickly regained the form that's helped him to three World Cup victories and nine podium finishes in her career.

And that total of top-three results very nearly reached double digits. He was one-hundredth of a second from the bronze-medal position at Kvitfjell, Norway, in the second-last downhill of the season. He was leading by three-tenths at Val Gardena, Italy, in mid-December before catching an edge and settling for seventh. And if the helicopter that was supposed to pick him up for a restart at Wengen, Switzerland, hadn't forgotten him, Osborne-Paradis might have finished his season even higher than 13th in the downhill standings.

"There were a couple of heartbreak races," Osborne-Paradis told Pique on Nov. 22 from Calgary. "But all in all, finishing 13th on the year, with my start numbers and the battling (from the back), gives me the confidence that with good start numbers, there's no reason why I shouldn't be better, first of all, and also why I can't be on the podium in and out of every race.

"That's kind of where my race prep has gone — figuring out how to be fast every weekend."

Ski fans saw a lot of that from Osborne-Paradis in the years leading up to the last Olympics. Between the 2008 and 2010 seasons, Manny, as he's affectionately known, never finished lower than sixth in the World Cup downhill standings. His best ranking, fourth in 2010, came the same year that Erik Guay captured the super-G Crystal Globe.

It's that level of competitiveness that Osborne-Paradis wants to see the Canadians return to in the speed disciplines.

"We need to get back to that stride we had in '07, '08, '09, where it was podiums almost every weekend," he said.

The team seems positioned to get back there, if only because it's the healthiest it's been in years. Though Guay had knee surgery in the summer, the former world champion is quickly getting back up to speed. Whistler's own Robbie Dixon is back after missing all of last winter with a broken leg and is aiming for a return this weekend.

With the exception of John Kucera, who is reportedly dealing with bouts of vertigo, all members of the team should be ready to race at Lake Louise.

But this veteran group, which also includes another former downhill world champ in Jan Hudec and B.C. skier Ben Thomsen, is also being pushed by the newer faces on the team, including the Pridys.

Morgan Pridy has been the skier to beat in preseason races, winning the annual Condor Cup challenge in Chile between the Canadian and Norwegian teams and stepping onto the podium multiple times during a block of races in Colorado earlier this month.

"He's been pushing the whole team, which is awesome," said Osborne-Paradis. "That's what you want depth on the team to do — when the old guys are having a tough go, the young guys push us back up."

Morgan, 23, seems to have picked up where he left off last season, which ended with Nor-Am Cup titles in super-G and combined. The younger of the Pridy brothers said he's spent the offseason trying to treat each run like it's a World Cup race — a formula that's been working for him as the winter sets in.

"Everybody on this team approaches training quite differently," said Morgan. "Some of the guys like Manny, you don't expect them to be out there blowing everybody out of the water. But come race day, everybody knows he's going to be fast.

"I kind of take the approach where... you've got to push hard so you'll know what your limits are, what you can do with the equipment and also what you're capable of on any given day. That's how I've been approaching the whole summer."

Morgan has just three World Cup starts under his belt, but he's earned the right to a full season with his Nor-Am success.

"I've given myself a great opportunity in super-G especially," he said. "I have the best bib I could have without ever (earning) points on the World Cup."

Conrad Pridy started five World Cup downhills last season, including a 25th-place finish at Garmisch-Partenkichen in Germany, the second time in his career he's finished in the points with a top-30 result.

Still, the 25-year-old said he felt as though he didn't quite reach the goals he'd set out for himself last winter. A productive offseason has him feeling as though he's right there, ready to claim his place as a World Cup regular.

"I think last year, mentally, I had a little more doubt and was second-guessing myself," said Conrad. "I'd be in the start gate thinking to myself, 'Maybe I should do something special to try and go faster.' This year, I'm going to go in there with a more confident approach and just stick with what I'm doing.

"I'm a good enough skier to be in there every day. This summer kind of taught me that."

Should both brothers get the chance to start at Lake Louise, it will be Conrad's third time racing in the Alberta World Cup. For Morgan, it would be his first.

Morgan took the downhill training runs at the event last year but ultimately lost out to teammate Jeffery Frisch in a race-off for the last Canadian spot on the start list. But the experience he gained at last year's event will likely come in handy — perhaps as much from being in the gates as seeing first-hand the media circus and glad-handing for sponsors that come along with Canada's only World Cup races. It's a stark contrast to what Morgan has seen during his years at the Nor-Am level.

"That is a new aspect to me, especially when it comes to racing," he said. "I'm used to driving all night and showing up to race on the lower circuits.

"I've started other World Cups and it's nice to have those nerves out of the way, so when I do my first start at home here, I'm in a much better position to achieve my goals than if it were my first time out of the gate."

The Olympics may be less than three months away, but the skiers are doing their best to keep the Games out of their minds for the time being. The next several weeks are crucial to qualifying for Sochi, to which Canada can send only four speed skiers.

"I'm sure I'll start thinking about it around the Christmas break," said Osborne-Paradis, an Olympian twice before. "Right after Bormio (on Dec. 28 and 29), that's probably where it will sink in and my plan will start to shape up for the Olympics.

"Step One is qualifying. Step Two is doing great at World Cups... to be in contention for the overall on the World Cup. That's as important, and it's something that's going to take all winter."

Manny supporting Right to Play

When Osborne-Paradis opens his World Cup alpine campaign this weekend, he'll be wearing the logo of Right to Play on his helmet, having announced a new partnership with the charity.

Thanks to a number of Osborne-Paradis's sponsors not needing to have their branding displayed on his equipment, a $25,000 donation to Right to Play will be made on his behalf, with the opportunity for the skier to trigger extra bonus funds for the charity with strong results.

"This is a really unique way for me to give back to a charity that I'm really passionate about and aligns perfectly with the values I believe in," he said.

Osborne-Paradis has found many ways to give back over the years, most notably through the annual spring ski camp founded and funded by himself and fellow local World Cup skier Mike Janyk. But Osborne-Paradis told Pique that he's pleased to be making a difference beyond the Canadian border through Right to Play.

"This is going to be a long-term relationship, for sure," he said.

Osborne-Paradis hopes to go on one of the charity's trips for Athlete Ambassadors, giving them a chance to see the work Right to Play has done abroad, once his schedule allows. He's committed to participating in some domestic functions for the time being.

In another big announcement, Alpine Canada introduced a longtime business executive with experience in the sports industry as its new president and CEO last week. Mark Rubinstein was officially named the new head of the national organization on Nov. 21, replacing Max Gartner, who stepped down from the position over the summer.