Travis Ganong heads into Beaver Creek soaring in confidence (The Associated Press)

Before checking into his Colorado hotel, Travis Ganong made a quick pit stop with his doctor to get the stitches removed from his surgically repaired right thumb. Not that anyone could tell in Lake Louise, Alberta, last weekend, when Ganong finished third in a downhill race and came within a wisp of another podium spot in the super-G. Stitches removed and confidence soaring, Ganong’s eager to take on the demanding course in Beaver Creek over the weekend.