MichiganRadio

The Road to Vancouver Runs Thru Gaylord ANN ARBOR, MI (Michigan Radio) -

The 2010 Winter Olympics will begin in just a few weeks, but some international teams will be stopping in Michigan before they head off to Vancouver.

Olympic snowboarders from Italy, Germany, Australia and Japan will be in Michigan this month to train for the winter Games. The Otsego ski resort in Gaylord built a four hundred and fifty foot half-pipe, a near replica of the one riders will use in Vancouver.

This is the first time Olympic snowboarders will train in Gaylord. It's also the first time the resort will be open to the public. The formerly private ski club will be open Monday through Friday while the athletes train through February.

Kris Klay is manager of the Otsego ski club. He says the event could generate interest in Gaylord even after the athletes are gone.

"Not too dissimilar from what happened in Lake Placid when they held the Olympics there - it was a sleepy town in upstate New York that put itself on the map," says Klay.

Kly says the half-pipe will be open to guests for January and February. He says none of the Olympic teams have requested private training time. © Copyright 2012, Michigan Radio