Vonn's chances to race against men not looking good

Lindsey Vonn's bid to race against men in a downhill next month appears to be losing steam.

"From what I've heard, it doesn't look too good," Vonn told Agence France-Press in Soelden, Austria. "For now, I have to wait… they need to make a decision and then I'll take it from there."

Vonn, the defending overall World Cup champion, wants to compete in the men's downhill race at Lake Louise on Nov. 24 and she emphasizes it's a one-time request. "For me, it's the next level," she told AFP. "The men race with so much energy and more speed than the ladies."

The women's tour will race on the same course a week later, which has raised the issue of whether she'd have an unfair advantage over her female competitors.

She also shot down criticism that her request to compete with the men is part of a PR stunt.

The international ski federation, FIS, is scheduled to decide the issue at a meeting Nov. 2-3.

When the women's World Cup season begins Saturday in Soelden, Vonn enters as the defending champion in the giant slalom. Her victory there last season was her first in giant slalom in her career.