The women's World Cup skiers all set for inaugural race on demanding Birds of Prey downhill course

BEAVER CREEK, Colo. (AP) — American ski racer Bella Wright got to the bottom of the Birds of Prey downhill course after a speedy training run and screamed, “Woo-hoo!”

It just slipped out.

“I realized," Wright explained, “that I finally got to ski a dream course of mine.”

This course could be a dream to some, but it may prove to be a nightmare for others as the women’s World Cup takes on the difficult and demanding Birds of Prey downhill for the first time Saturday. The racers have been getting up to speed with the technical turns, steep parts and fast sections all week in training sessions.

So far, so scary — initially, anyway.

“The first time you look at it, it’s very intimidating,” American ski racer Jacqueline Wiles said of the downhill, which will be followed by a super-G on Sunday. “But once you get on it, you realize it’s completely manageable and not as scary as it looks.”

The men have been running the Birds of Prey downhill on the World Cup circuit for decades. But the women really haven't raced this track.

Not the full downhill version.

They did step on part of the terrain for a rescheduled super-G in 2011, when Lindsey Vonn — who's forerunning this weekend in her comeback at age 40 — emerged victorious.

In advance of hosting the 2015 world championships at Beaver Creek, a second course called Raptor was designed for the women. The women ran a super-G and downhill on the Raptor course in 2013, with Swiss racer Lara Gut-Behrami winning both. She finds the extra-grippy snow at Beaver Creek to her liking — she also took bronze in the downhill at the 2015 world championships.

“It’s not easy to find the right mix between letting go and pushing on the edges,” Gut-Behrami said of the Birds of Prey course. “It’s challenging and it’s really aggressive.”

One thing's clear — there's plenty of speed on the Birds of Prey track. Sofia Goggia of Italy posted the top time in the final training session Friday, clocking nearly 79 mph (126.72 kph) in one section. The day before, Kajsa Vickhoff Lie of Norway went more than 80 mph (129.87 kph).

“It’s really fun,” Lie said.

The course that features jumps, bumps and demanding technical sections is about 1.4 miles (2,304 meters) in length with a vertical drop of 2,313 feet (705 meters).

“I like that it’s so busy — busy in a good way. It’s like every turn there’s something,” said Lauren Macuga, who finished runner-up in Friday's training run, 1.10 seconds behind Goggia. “There’s never any time to relax."

There have been plenty of frightful spills on the course.

In 2007, Norwegian great Aksel Lund Svindal suffered a laceration to his abdominal area when he lost control on a jump in a training run and landed in the safety netting. A horror story that turned into a feel-good one as Svindal return to the venue and won several times after his crash.

Bode Miller also crashed in a super-G on the course during the 2015 world championships, and needed surgery to fix a torn right hamstring tendon after his ski appeared to deeply slice him.

Of course, there are so success stories, too. A week ago, Swiss racer Justin Murisier won his first World Cup race in the Beaver Creek downhill, with teammate Marco Odermatt taking second.

Gut-Behrami doesn’t plan on asking Murisier or Odermatt for their secrets to success. She prefers to get to know the course on her own accord.

“We have an inspection," Gut-Behrami said. “It's our job (to get a natural feel for a course).”

Lie took a different approach. She inspected the course Thursday with fellow Norwegian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, who has a wealth of Birds of Prey knowledge. Kilde, who’s currently sidelined by injury, won two World Cup downhills and two super-Gs at the venue.

“I’m not going to tell any secrets,” Lie said with a laugh when asked what Kilde revealed. “No, it’s just the key points and what to do and what he thinks about when he was there. His talking about it makes it more easy in my head.

“It’s new for everybody. I really like that. Everybody has the same basics on it and it’s just about skiing.”

AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing

Slovenia's Ilka Stuhec skis during a women's World Cup downhill training run, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Beaver Creek, Colo. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Switzerland's Corinne Suter skis during a women's World Cup downhill training run, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Beaver Creek, Colo. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Italy's Laura Pirovano skis during a women's World Cup downhill training run, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Beaver Creek, Colo. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Switzerland's Michelle Gisin skis during a women's World Cup downhill training run, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Beaver Creek, Colo. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Italy's Nadia Delago skis during a women's World Cup downhill training run, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Beaver Creek, Colo. (AP Photo/John Locher)

United States' Lauren Macuga skis during a women's World Cup downhill training run, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Beaver Creek, Colo. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

United States' Lauren Macuga skis during a women's World Cup downhill training run, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Beaver Creek, Colo. (AP Photo/John Locher)

MIAMI (AP) — A federal judge ordered that a prominent real estate broker be held without bond Friday on sexual assault and trafficking charges, saying he is a flight risk as she rejected his family's pledge of $115 million in real estate holdings to secure his release.

Magistrate Judge Lisette Reid's ruling likely means that Tal Alexander's brothers, twins Oren and Alon Alexander, will also be denied bail when they appear in Miami's federal court next week as the proposed security package would have covered all three.

Earlier Friday, a Florida judge had granted Oren a $3 million bond and his twin $2 million on state charges stemming from the same investigation but they were ordered held pending their own federal hearing.

Reid agreed with the prosecution's argument that Tal Alexander, because of the family's wealth, would be a flight risk if released even if he was placed under house arrest and wore a GPS monitor, saying those provisions have “proven not to be foolproof” in other cases.

Federal prosecutor Lauren Astigarraga had argued that if Alexander, who is Jewish, fled to his parents' homeland of Israel on a private jet, it would prove difficult to impossible to extradite him back to the United States. The 38-year-old is facing a likely life sentence if convicted on all counts.

Astigarraga also argued that the seriousness of the charges against Alexander shows that he is a danger to the community and that he could try to intimidate the victims who might testify against him at his trial. She compared his allegations to those against music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is being held without bail on sex trafficking charges.

The Alexander brothers gained national attention after the accusations against them were made public months ago. Oren and Tal Alexander had risen to become stars in luxury real estate after co-founding their real estate firm, Official, which specialized in high-end properties in Miami, New York and Los Angeles.

FBI Special Agent Justine Atwood testified Friday that approximately 40 women who mostly don't know each other have made similar allegations of being lured by the brothers to luxurious vacation spots and homes in Florida and New York, being drugged and then raped. She said there are graphic videos and photos and text messages exchanged between the brothers that substantiate the allegations.

Alexander's attorney, Milton Williams Jr., argued that while the allegations are serious, the evidence is thin. In arguing for his proposed nine-figure bail package, Williams said the family would lose all of their wealth if any of the brothers fled. He said Tal Alexander is married and has a 2-week-old baby, making it unlikely that he would flee.

After losing his argument for bail, Alexander agreed to be transported to a federal jail in New York, where the federal charges were filed on Wednesday.

Earlier Friday in state court, Circuit Judge Lody Jean had granted the bail requests of his twin brothers, their he bond secured by their father's home in Bal Harbour, Florida.

“I am satisfied that these are reasonable conditions that you all have fashioned,” Jean told the attorneys.

But because of the federal charges, the brothers still couldn't be released.

Authorities arrested the brothers Wednesday on charges related to sex crime allegations in Miami and a federal sex trafficking case in New York City. A federal indictment accuses the brothers of using their wealth to lure, drug and sexually assault and rape multiple women over more than a decade.

The Alexander twins are also charged by the state of Florida for three separate instances of alleged sexual battery. Oren Alexander is facing three separate charges, while Alon Alexander is facing only one charge.

Judge Lody Jean speaks during a bond hearing for two Miami Beach, Fla., twin brothers Oren and Alon Alexander, 37, who are charged with multiple state and federal crimes, including sex trafficking and rape on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Miami. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald via AP, Pool)

Judge Lody Jean speaks during a bond hearing for two Miami Beach, Fla., twin brothers Oren and Alon Alexander, 37, who are charged with multiple state and federal crimes, including sex trafficking and rape on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Miami. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald via AP, Pool)

Oren Alexander, 37, center, and his twin brother, Alon, center-right, speak to their attorney Joel Denaro during their bond hearing after being charged with multiple state and federal crimes, including sex trafficking and rape, at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Miami. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald via AP, Pool)

Oren Alexander, 37, right, talks to his attorneys Joel Denaro and Michelle Roth after bond hearing after he and his twin brother Alon Alexander, were charged with multiple state and federal crimes, including sex trafficking and rape, at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Miami. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald via AP, Pool)

Alon Alexander, 37, top, and his twin brother, Oren, bottom, prepare to be escorted out of court after being charged with multiple state and federal crimes, including sex trafficking and rape, at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Miami. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald via AP, Pool)

Oren Alexander, sits in court after his bond hearing at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Miami, Fla. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald via AP, Pool)

Alon Alexander, 37, right, and his twin brother, Oren, left, attend their bond hearing at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building after being charged with multiple state and federal crimes, including sex trafficking and rape, on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Miami. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald via AP, Pool)

Oren Alexander, 37, attends his bond hearing after being charged with multiple state and federal crimes, including sex trafficking and rape, at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Miami. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald via AP, Pool)