By Tom Kelly, USSA

ZAGREB, Croatia -– Following a short holiday break, the men’s Audi FIS Alpine World Cup resumes Wednesday with a night slalom in Zagreb. The race will air live on www.UniversalSports.com with first run action at 6:15am followed by the finals at 9:30am.

Zagreb features one of the highest prize money for a technical race with the winner taking home 50,000 euros or roughly $72,000 and awards prize money to the top 30 finalists. Only the men’s downhill and slalom in Kitzbuehel, Austria, pays out more to the top 30 racers.

The U.S. Ski Team will be represented by Olympic gold medalist Ted Ligety (Park City, UT), Tim Jitloff (Reno, NV), Jimmy Cochran (Keene, NH), David Chodounsky (Crested Butte, CO) and Paul McDonald (Bellevue, WA). Two-time World Cup overall champion Bode Miller (Franconia, NH) will miss the race to continue focusing on his conditioning and further rest a sore ankle. He is scheduled to rejoin the World Cup in Adelboden, Switzerland, this weekend.

“Our guys are totally rested after a good holiday break at home, where they’ve all been working hard on personalized conditioning programs,” said Head Coach Sasha Rearick. “I’m looking for this slalom group to come into this race strong and rested. January is a big month with four slalom races prior to naming the Olympic team.”

The 2010 Olympic qualification period ends with a Jan. 24 slalom in Kitzbuehel and the U.S. Olympic Committee will name the U.S. Olympic Alpine Team by Jan. 26.