It’s about 6 hours from the start of the men’s giant slalom in Soelden, Austria and Team America is off to a rocky start, and I don’t mean the conditions. If you’ve dozed off over the last few months, that’s Bode’s new private team. Plagued with hamstring issues early this summer and now a mid-back issue, Bode seems to be starting with less than stellar preparation. According to Johno McBride’s WCSN Blog, “Bode has not had the race prep we would all prefer but this is part of the game.” My guess is he probably endured a 1st or 2nd degree strain of the lower trapezius and/or rhomboids. These muscles are important in adducting and depressing the shoulder girdle as well as the rotating the scapula. This means that holding a tight position on his skis and keeping his center of gravity low during turns will be difficult. In short, racing with a severely strained mid-back will not make the race easy. They will probably tape his torso to reduce the amount of movement in the spine and surrounding muscles. Although this may help prevent further injury it will also limit his mobility. In other words if he gets in trouble you probably won’t see the miraculous recoveries of old. Not to worry though he has a great team of doctors, physical therapists and strength coaches to get him ready for Finland in November!