"Winning the gold medal in the 2006 Olympics was pretty surreal," he said.

"I still kind of shake my head when I think about winning the gold medal because I was so young and it was really cool to win the gold. To hear the national anthem and stand on top of the podium was a really surreal experience."

While his career is on an upward trajectory, Ligety downplays suggestions that he will be carrying main U.S. hopes at the Russian resort next February.

"It's far enough away so much can change between now and then. Bode and Lindsey should be healthy for the Olympics so we will have a very strong team besides myself."

Commercial venture

That 2006 victory opened up other commercial opportunities, and Ligety cleverly exploited his nickname to start a similarly-titled company specializing in custom-made helmet and goggle combinations.

"I was a crazy kid and would go straight line moguls and was willing to push myself to another level. And, you know, it rhymes with Ted, so 'Ted Shred' was what I was called."

Ligety may have had a wild streak as a teenager, but he has adopted the same levelheaded approach to business as his skiing career, partnering a friend who brought technical expertise to the venture.

"It's nice to have the distraction of running a company. I wouldn't say I do the day-to-day business side of it just because it would be impossible with my schedule, but it's a fun distraction to take it away from the grind of always traveling and ski racing."

His products are worn by a growing number of fellow World Cup skiers, including Alexis Pinturault, a young Frenchman who beat Ligety into third place as he claimed his maiden World Cup giant slalom win at Garmisch-Partenkirchen last weekend.

It was a rare defeat in giant slalom this season for Ligety, who has taken advantage of a change in the length of skis and their turning circle to dominate the discipline.

Outspoken critic

Ironically, Ligety was an outspoken critic of the rule changes introduced by world governing body, the FIS, and was perplexed that as a leading competitor he wasn't consulted on the changes.

"I wasn't even talked to about it or asked if I thought it was a good idea, it just happened and I thought it was done in a very improper manner," he said.

He quickly put that lack of consultation to one side when he won an early-season race by more than two and a half seconds -- the margins are usually tenths of seconds -- and Ligety is still waiting for the rest of the world to catch up.

The American believes the new regulations play to his strengths as a near 10-year veteran of the circuit and because of his style of starting the turns around the gates a little earlier and finishing a little later.

"It allows me to be cleaner on the edge and accelerate more out of the turns," he said.

Using gravity

As a youngster he was inspired by the exploits of Tommy Moe -- "my first ski hero" -- who won gold and silver at the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer.

Skiing since the age of two, Ligety started competing seriously as a 10-year-old, progressing through the ranks to make the full U.S. ski team by the team he had left high school.

However, his early Olympic success in Turin, becoming the first American since Moe to claim a skiing gold, was not matched in the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver where he finished fifth behind teammate Miller in his super combined title defense.

A ninth place finish in the giant slalom was also a disappointment.

But 2011 saw Ligety claim his first world title, winning the giant slalom at Garmisch and then going on to clinch his third World Cup crown in his favored discipline.

For Ligety, the 2013-14 season will bring promise of finally winning the overall World Cup title -- "that's been my goal since I was a little kid" -- and truly cementing his status as the No.1 racer.

"I think a lot of guys are faster skiers than me but they might not necessarily have the same mental fortitude as me," he said.