Lindsey Vonn puts comeback on ice for now

Story highlights

Lindsey Vonn will not compete in the opening World Cup skiing event in Soelden, Austria

The American Olympic champion is recovering from a serious knee injury

"Not racing is very hard for me," says Vonn

Olympic super combined champion Bode Miller returns to World Cup racing

CNN  — 

Ski queen Lindsey Vonn has put her return to racing on ice – for now.

The new World Cup ski season begins in the Austrian resort of Soelden this weekend but the Olympic downhill champion will not take part as she continues her comeback from a serious knee injury.

Vonn was airlifted to hospital February after she landed heavily on her right knee on the opening day of the Alpine Ski World Championships in Austria.

Less than seven months after her horror crash, the 29-year-old American returned to the slopes in Chile to test out her reconstructed knee.

Read: Rebuilding a skiing superstar

But Vonn, who is dating golfer Tiger Woods, says she is not yet ready to return to competitive action on the snow.

“My training camp in Soelden went very well and I made great progress, but I feel that I need more training before I start racing again,” Vonn explained on her personal website.

“The Soelden race is not in the cards this year. Patience is not my strong suit so not racing is very hard for me but it will only make me more excited for the next one.”

Vonn was crowned America’s snow queen when she became the first American woman to win the Olympic downhill title at the Vancouver Games in 2010.

She followed up her Vancouver victory with a stellar World Cup season in 2011-2012, winning 12 races and the overall title with a new record points haul.

A combination of illness and injury disrupted Vonn’s dominance on the slopes last season but she is confident she remains on course to defend her Olympic crown.

She plans to return at the World Cup event in Beaver Creek, Colorado on November 29.

“I will go home to Vail and continue my preparation for the Beaver Creek races and my ultimate goal in February!” she said.

There is an old face returning to the opening round of the new World Cup season in Soelden, however, as American Olympic super combined champion Bode Miller is back from his ski sabbatical.

It will be the 36-year-old’s first World Cup start since February of 2012.

Ted Ligety, Julia Mancuso and slalom world champion Mikeala Shiffrin are all included in the nine-strong U.S. team in Soelden.