Jure Kosir (SLO)

DOB:  04/24/1972  Hometown:  Mojstrana

In the absence of Alberto Tomba, Jure Kosir has become one of the most popular and appealing personalities on the World Cup circuit. The 27-year-old star from Mojstrana, near Ljubljana, is not only one of the best slalom skiers in the world, but also a successful musician and singer. He plays in a rap band – "Hound's Cartel" – which has sold tens of thousands CDs in the past few years. He is also a big basketball fan and loves fast speedboats.

In spite of earlier success, Kosir finished out of the medals at the Vail Worlds and then could not catch Thomas Stangassinger of Austria for the '99 slalom World Cup title. However, Kosir was very happy with his victories at home in Kranjska Gora and in a tough slalom at Kitzbühel. He hadn't won a World Cup race since his first success in December '93 at Madonna di Campiglio.

An Olympic bronze medal winner in '94 at Lillehammer, Kosir was a top contender in the World Cup in '95, finishing third in the final Overall standings thanks to a series of top-three results in giant slalom and slalom. He had another good season in '96, but health problems slowed him down last season.

Training staff changes in the spring of '98 gave Kosir new motivation. He trained hard and improved his standings in the early races. Unfortunately there were more political problems within the Slovenian team in the spring which seemed to affect Kosir's mental focus and preparation. This season, Jure Kosir looks ready to pounce back onto the podium both in GS and slalom despite a bout with food poisoning this fall. And he'll be rappin' all the way.

— Patrick Lange, MountainZone.com World Cup Correspondent