Mikaela Shiffrin out-racing men as she prepares for Sochi Olympics

The message on Mikaela Shiffrin’s Twitter account was simple enough.

“Almost ready for Europe!!” she tweeted.

The 18-year-old American ski racer heads into this weekend’s season opener for the World Cup circuit after an impressive round of training in which she was reportedly beating some of the men on the U.S. national team.

U.S. women’s head coach Alex Hoedlmoser tried to downplay the situation, telling the Associated Press: “Yeah, but that’s training.”

Hoedlmoser added: “She had an incredible preparation, is skiing really well.”

Shiffrin won last season’s World Cup slalom title and will be among the marquee names for the American team at the 2014 Sochi Olympics in February. This winter, she has her sights set on improving in the giant slalom.

“I’m working hard on my GS and I feel like I’ve made a lot of improvements,” she said on Thursday. “So it’s just a matter of racing now.”

The World Cup season begins in Solden, Austria.

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