Top skiers headed to Maine for national championships

PORTLAND, Maine -- Fresh from the World Cup finals, Lindsey Vonn, Mikaela Shiffrin and other top U.S. skiers are headed from France to Maine for the U.S. Alpine Championships.

Vonn, the most decorated female ski racer in history, will headline the event that begins Wednesday at Sugarloaf in Carrabassett Valley. She finished the World Cup season by clinching downhill and Super-G titles with season-ending wins. Shiffrin did the same for her third straight World Cup slalom title.

Several notable skiers are expected to be absent: Julia Mancuso is nursing a sore hip and Bode Miller is recovering from a leg injury. Also missing will be Ted Ligety.

Sugarloaf experienced a chairlift mechanical failure that injured seven skiers on Saturday. The U.S. ski team says it's confident in Sugarloaf's ability to host the event.