Canada's Thomas Grandi carved his way to a team-best 11th overall finish last season on the World Cup circuit. (Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP/Getty Images)

OK, so the Torino Olympics are firmly in the rearview and the Vancouver Games are more than three years away. Still, there are plenty of storylines heading into the 2006-07 World Cup alpine skiing season, including the emergence of a new Austrian men's sensation, the departure of a women's legend, and the continued rise of a talented young Canadian team with an eye toward 2010. Here's a rundown of who, and what, to watch for as the season kicks off Nov. 11 in Levi, Finland.

THE FAVOURITES

Benjamin Raich, Austria
The defending World Cup men's overall champion is also one of the circuit's most consistent racers, having finished no worse than third in the overall standings over the past three seasons. And don't expect the latest product of the vaunted Austrian ski machine to slow down. At 28, Raich is in his prime and coming off a season in which he won seven World Cup races – more than doubling the victory total of anyone but slalom specialist Giorgio Rocca – and captured the overall crown by a staggering 404-point margin. One of ski racing's most versatile performers, Raich had wins in three different disciplines last year and reached the podium in all but the downhill. Look for him to add to his 23 career World Cup victories as he goes in as the favourite to capture the overall title again this season.

Bode Miller, United States
Miller's 2005-06 season will be remembered most for his spectacular flameout at the Olympics. Billed as a potential quintuple medallist in Turin, the brash New Hampshire native failed to finish three of his races and did no better than fifth in the other two. But lost amid the lambasting dealt to Miller by the American news media was the fact that he had a pretty good World Cup season, winning a pair of races and finishing third in the overall standings. Now the 2004-05 overall champ has something to prove and, at 29, is still in his prime years. With his balanced proficiency in each of the five disciplines, Miller should extend to six years his streak of finishing no worse than fourth in the overall standings and, if he can stay on his skis, will be in the running for his second World Cup crown.

Austria's Benjamin Raich cruised to the men's overall title last season and is favoured to repeat as champion. (Associated Press)

Anja Paerson, Sweden
Paerson has a legitimate claim to being the world's best female ski racer of the past five years, but over that time she has struggled to escape the shadow of nemesis Janica Kostelic of Croatia. Since 2001-02, Kostelic and Paerson have each captured two World Cup overall titles, but Paerson has been the more consistent performer. Whereas Kostelic finished 14th in 2001-02 and sat out the 03-04 season, Paerson hasn't ended up worse than fifth and is riding a streak of four straight top-three overall finishes. The Swede also has the edge in victories in the frosty rivalry, capturing 33 races over the past five years to Kostelic's 18. Kostelic, though, has shown a knack for being at her best on the biggest stages, winning four gold medals at the past two Olympics to Paerson's one. But with Croatia's Snow Queen out of action this season while she nurses nagging injuries, the 25-year-old Paerson – who is rounding back into form after off-season knee surgery – will be favoured to reclaim the World Cup throne.

Renate Goetschl, Austria
Following the retirement of former World Cup champion Michaela Dorfmeister, the 31-year-old Goetschl leads a young and talented Austrian team into the new season. A slow start last year doomed Goetschl to a 19th-place finish in the World Cup standings, but she came on strong near the end, capturing the season's penultimate downhill in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. If her surgically repaired knee doesn't flare up, the speed specialist and 1999-2000 overall champion should be in contention for her fifth crystal globe in the downhill. But nipping at her heels will be spry teammates Nicole Hosp (22 years old, fourth overall last season), Marlies Schild (25, sixth) and Kathrin Zettel (20, seventh).

ON THE RISE

Aksel-Lund Svindal, Norway
At six-foot-five, one of the tallest racers on the World Cup circuit, Svindal soared to remarkable heights in 2005-06, jumping 19 spots in the World Cup standings and finishing second overall to Austria's Benjamin Raich. The young Norwegian picked up the first two wins of his career in 2005-06 en route to capturing the super-G crystal globe, but perhaps more impressive was his consistency. Despite a scary early-season training crash, Svindal had 17 top-10 finishes, five more than in his other three seasons combined and just two less than Raich. If he continues his rapid growth, Svindal, who doesn't turn 24 until Boxing Day, may soon find himself looking down at the entire field.

Lindsey Kildow, United States
After leaping 24 spots in 2004-05 to finish sixth overall, Kildow continued to mature last season, ending up fifth while easily setting career bests in wins (3) and podiums (6). But, like a certain other brash American on the men's side, Kildow had a disappointing Olympics. Following a terrifying crash in downhill training that left both her body and her ego bruised, she competed gamely in Turin but could manage no better than her seventh-place finish in the super-G. Kildow crashed out again recently, bruising her leg during a training run in Austria. But with reigning World Cup champ Janica Kostelic out for the season and No. 2 finisher Anja Paerson on the mend from knee surgery, Kildow, 22, could find herself in the hunt for what promises to be a more wide-open women's overall title.

ON A SLIDE

Hermann Maier, Austria
He's still among the world's finest ski racers, but "The Herminator" no longer seems super-human. Since his run of three overall titles in four seasons ended in 2004, Maier has finished third and sixth in the final standings and appears to be on the decline. Still, don't count out the soon-to-be 34-year-old just yet. He nearly won the super-G title last season, finishing a scant two points behind Norway's Aksel Lund-Svindal, and scored a pair of medals in Turin, bringing his career Olympic haul to four. Though he's far from the favourite at this stage of his career, Maier is still a sublimely versatile racer – he had wins in three disciplines last season – and would like nothing better than to equal Marc Girardelli's record of five overall titles.

Defending champion Janica Kostelic, left, of Croatia is out for the seaon, leaving rival Anja Paerson of Sweden as the favourite to top the women's World Cup race. (Agence Zoom/Getty Images)

Janica Kostelic, Croatia
Hard to believe a 24-year-old could be this achy, but seven World Cup seasons have taken a toll on one of skiing's all-time greats. The reigning overall queen will not defend her throne in 2006-07, as chronic back and knee pain have convinced her to take a sabbatical. That kind of time off is old hat for Kostelic, who also sat out the 2003-04 season following thyroid gland surgery. But given the 10 knee operations she has endured, there are doubts about the future of the most decorated female alpine athlete in Olympic history. While most fans will miss watching the bubbly Kostelic this season, one person who won't is rival Anja Paerson of Sweden, who thrice came in second to Kostelic en route to finishing as the overall runner-up to her rival. If Paerson dominates the circuit in her absence, bet on Kostelic returning with a vengeance in 2007-08 to try for her fourth World Cup crown.

CANADIANS TO WATCH

Erik Guay, Mont-Tremblant, Que.
Last season, Guay rode a terrific December, during which he reached three podiums, to a career-best 18th-place overall finish. Then he nearly scored a surprise medal in Turin, coming in fourth in the super-G, just a tenth of a second behind bronze-medal winner Ambrosi Hoffman of Switzerland. Now with a full season under his belt following a devastating knee injury in late 2003, Guay could be poised to vault even higher the standings. Staying healthy will be key for the 25-year-old speed specialist, who required pain-killing injections prior to the Olympic super-G to treat a lower leg injury that ended his season prematurely.

Thomas Grandi, Canmore, Alta.
After hinting at retirement for much of last year, the most successful technical skier in Canadian history is back for another season and is even talking about making a run at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Perhaps Grandi, who will be 34 by the end of December, was reinvigorated by a terrific 2005-06 season that saw him finish a career-high 11th overall, the best showing by a Canadian since Cary Mullen placed 10th in 1993-94. Though Grandi failed to win a World Cup race the season after posting back-to-back giant slalom victories, he shattered previous career bests with five podium finishes (four in slalom) and 11 top-10s. While he continues to serve as the present face of Canadian alpine skiing, Grandi may soon be contributing to its future: he and his wife, Olympic cross-country skiing silver medallist Sara Renner, are expecting a child in February.

Kelly VanderBeek of Kitchener, Ont., raised her game at the Torino Olympics but narrowly missed out on a medal in the super-G. (Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images)

Genevieve Simard, Val-Morin, Que.
For the first time in her career, Simard was the top Canadian on the women's circuit last season, finishing a career-best 17th overall for the highest placing by a Canadian woman since Melanie Turgeon was 12th in 2000-01. Simard, who turns 26 on Nov. 5, is still at her peak and has a shot to surpass her fellow Quebecer if she can build on her pair of top-3s and seven top-10s from a season ago. Five of those top-10s and both podium finishes came in the giant slalom, Simard's best event, but she remains a threat in the super-G, in which she earned her lone World Cup victory in 2004 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.

Kelly VanderBeek, Kitchener, Ont.
When Alpine Canada set its (ultimately unreached) goal of capturing a medal in Turin, perhaps no one imagined the barely 23-year-old VanderBeek would be the one to come closest. But the fresh-faced super-G specialist came closer than any of her teammates, finishing an eyelash-thin three hundredths of a second behind bronze medallist Alexandra Meissnitzer of Austria. VanderBeek showed promise in the lead-up to the Torino Games – she placed sixth in a World Cup super-G at Val d'Isere, France – and followed up her Olympic success with a fourth-place finish at Hafjell, Norway. The goal for this season will be for VanderBeek, who turns 24 in January, to improve on her career-best 45th overall finish from last season and work on closing the cap between her and her competitors as 2010 draws nearer.