Christmas racing in Europe...Bormio and Lienz

Before I start in on the upcoming races in Bormio, Italy and Lienz, Austria; there is some news to catch up on. The canceled ladies’ downhill in Val d’Isere has been rescheduled for Haus, Austria on January 8th. Haus is just up the valley from Schladiming in the Ennstal in the Steiermark region. As well, the World Alpine Rockfest took place in Paganella, Italy on the 22nd of December and was won by Cyprien Richard of France. He took home a cash prize of 100,000 Euro! About 144k US right now. The race was run at the mid-station level at Paganella Ski in Andalo, Italy; in the Trentino region high above the Adige Valley. The ski area has been the official European training center of the US Ski Team for four seasons. It is about a 30 minute drive from downtown Trento and you can look down on Lago di Garda on one side and into Trento on the other. It is a truly amazing view from the top. Anyway, the Rockfest was headlined by the rock group Placebo and the whole thing was organized and promoted by former US Ski Team Head Men’s Coach, Phil McNichol and his company, Top Out Sports. I am sure there were many partners in the Trentino Region. The World Alpine Rockfest will air on Eurosport and Rai Sport starting on the 26th. I think it is a great marriage of our sport and rock music and I hope that there are more occasions to build parties like this in the future. I would think that ski areas near major cities in the USA would be interested in something like that. Especially on the East coast so it would be easier to attract European skiers to the contest. Hunter Mountain, Hidden Valley/Great Gorge, NJ, Elk Mountain, Pa. all come to mind quickly. A lot of New Hampshire areas are close to Boston. It seems like a no brainer to go out and get this done in the states and promote the sport through mixed media and rock-star level promotion tools. Let’s get on it and get it done!
Now, I would like to talk about the upcoming races. Bormio, Italy is tucked up in the northern most area of Lombardia Region north of Milano. It sits at the bottom of Passo Stelvio and just below the ski area and town of Santa Caterina, the home of former World Cup star Deborah Campagnoni. Just over the pass to the north is Livigno, a tax free zone on the way to Switzerland and the home of Italian slalom star, Giorgio Rocca. The northern Lombardia region is known for bresaola, a dried beef product that is often served with shaved parmesan cheese, arugula and olive oil. It is a treat for sure. Bormio is also the home of the digestive liqueur, Braulio. Braulio is definitely an acquired taste and I would suggest splurging for the more expensive and longer aged version if you are so inclined to try it! The US boys arrived in Bormio today after spending Christmas Eve with their Canadian cousins the night before. I am assuming they were in Innsbruck if the Canadians were around and Innsbruck is a beautiful sight on Christmas. Kristkindlmarkt in the Altstadt is one thing worth seeing once in your life. The city is so alive during the holidays.
Anyway, back to the race. Bormio is well regarded as the toughest physical test on the tour. It runs about 2 minutes but is a leg burner the whole way. It is “bumpy as hell” as a number of American boys have said. And if it is a low-snow year, even bumpier. Steven Nyman once told me it was like being on a vibration plate for 2 minutes in a tuck but needing to turn and jump too. The constant bouncing just wears the athletes out. There is a traverse in the middle of the race that crosses a face above Bormio 2000. It just rattles and bounces all the way across. And it is a tough place to keep elevation that you need to run down the pitch into the San Pietro jump. By the time you reach this spot around the GS start, you are already burning. Your legs are so full of lactate you are ready to shut down. But you land the jump and tuck straight down the pitch into a compression that really tests your fitness. Not done yet, you hit the final pitch crossing huge rolls while completing giant turns across the entire width of the trail. Then there is one more small jump and through the finish. The boys are usually totally exhausted and I have personally seen the boys “stump out” half-way down the final pitch. The legs feel like dead stumps and just stop working. I took lactates one time in Bormio and some of the boys were pulling 14 to 16 mmol in the finish area. That is a huge amount of work.
The Bormio race is a tough one because the North Americans and Scandinavians don’t get to go home for Christmas and the Central Europeans need to leave on the 26th for training to begin on the 27th. It disrupts the holidays for everyone. But the FIS claims their largest TV audiences on this race and I believe it. The NBA does it, NHL too. It must be worth it.
Christoph Innerhofer won here last year for a home Italy win. Kroell was 2nd, Walchhofer 3rd, Miller 4th, followed by Cuche and Guay. Miller won here the year before, Walchhofer had double wins the year before that and Rahlves won the year before that as we approached the Torino games. Marco has had limited success here with his best being 11th last season and 12th the year before that. Steven has had limited success at Bormio having only scored twice, which really makes me wonder. Because he is an excellent technical skier and is among the most fit athletes on tour. It should make for a great combination on this hill. Aside from Miller and Rahlves, there has not been a lot of success in Bormio on the regular World Cup stop in December. And I think that should change. I think it is a great course for both Fisher and Weibrecht, Macartney should do well here too. All of them have the skills to compete at Bormio and they all work very hard on their fitness. I look for a much improved story from them this season. And Sulli has gotten so much better with his GS skills I would think he could step up toward the podium.
The Canadians have not fared all too well here either. Jan Hudec had a podium here a few years ago, before his latest injury. Erik Guay was 6th last year. Manny has never done well here but he is on a bit of a roll and his fitness has improved (so I am told) so I think he could make a top 10. Robbie Dixon got man-handled by this hill in the Super-G at finals a couple years ago so I wonder about his mental preparation for this go around.
The Favorites:
Walchhofer-He is for sure one of the favorites. He is big and strong and fit. He doubled here in the 2007 season. Back to back wins on this track is tough. It’s hard to go out of the gate that many times in one week here.
Cuche- Didier seems to hate the track in Bormio. He is always complaining about it so I doubt much better than a 5th place can be expected. He has talked himself out of it. Besides, it is the site of his famous and crushing choke at the World Cup Finals when he lost the Super-G globe on the last day of the year. I watched it unfold from the roof top at San Pietro. He skied horribly to finish 16th, no points and no globe.
Kroell- I think Klaus could get it done here. I have to think about that a little more. After 26th last week I bet he’s not happy.
Innerhofer- I think repeating a win here is about as difficult a repeat there can be on this circuit. It is a hard one to get up for as I mentioned before but an Italian boy might be able to do it. Although “Inner” is from San Candido/Innichen which is just about as far mentally as you can be from Bormio. Maybe his teammate Werner Heel can get it done?
Miller- I just don’t think Bode’s ankle is going to feel good on the ice and bumps in Bormio. It will be tough for him to out his best down even in sections in training to really test his line. I also have to question the wisdom in taking part in the Alpine Rockfest. With an injury that is forcing days off due to pain, to choose to race in a “party race,” albeit for a lot of money, seems kind of nuts. In the old days of Bode management I think this one would have sent McNichol and Hunt right off the deep-end.
Svindal- I don’t know, but I think that Aksel has not done well. I seem to remember a 6th but not much else. I am a big fan of Aksel and I think he can conquer any hill. And I cannot figure out why he disappears here? Maybe he would rather be home for Christmas too?
So, I have pretty much run out of people to bet on. But since I have made a habit of it, I will go with Innerhofer for the win, Klaus Kroell 2nd and Walchhofer 3rd. Wow, that is a painful podium for me to predict. I hope the Amercian boys can break that up!

The ladies in Lienz
I have never been there but Seth Macadam tells me it is a far better option than the races in Semmering. I am sure if anyone in Semmering reads this blog that he is now not very welcome there. But I guess that logistically Semmering is very difficult on site. I will also say this, Semmering is a very small town only 90km or so from Vienna in farthest northeastern Steiermark. But that is another story, Lienz is in ost-tirol, barely connected to Tirol proper and just east of Italy’s sudtirol area. The other very important fact about Lienz is that it is the home-town of Pepi Stiegler, father of our own Resi Stiegler. Anyway, it sounds to me like the USA girls would much rather be in Lienz so that is good news. Beyond that, Lienz is a very old city with a lot of historical noteworthiness and worth a little study time if you have it.
The hill there has always intrigued me on TV, as I have never been there. I have driven through the town many times on my way to Kranjska Gora from Italy but never been to the ski area. But it seems like an interesting hill with some tactical challenges with corners and some big breakovers. The recent history there is interesting too. We have seen a win there from Denise Karbon, which is not a big surprise. A podium from Julia as well as one from Nicole Gius. The last slalom was won there by Chiara Costazza. Niki Hosp has 5 podiums there in the last 6 races there including one win but she is done for the season. Paerson and Marlies Schild each won there in the 2006 races. Hosp and Paerson won in the 2004 season.
So I do not have much to say about the hill but Seth Macadam is setting the first run of slalom. That should help all of our girls, especially Mrs. Vonn. She has not had a ton of success here but I have seen her improve immensely in the tech events since the last Lienz World Cup. I think she knocks down another top 10 in GS and a podium in slalom. Julia will continue to work herself up the ranks and will get herself in the top 10 in GS. The two really big moves I think could happen are with Schleper and McJames. Sarah started skiing very well at the NorAm at Loveland and started to find the top of her turn again. Making much cleaner initiations and creating a shape higher on the hill to move out with gravity helping. Anyway, she won the second run of GS in Are and I think she keeps it rolling in Lienz in GS and then turns that over to slalom. McJames broke through here in the December 2007 race with 17th place starting 42. She must feel good on this hill so she will let it fly and get herself back where she belongs, in the top 15.
The Canadians have had little luck here over the years but I do think you can look for some slalom success out of Brigitte and Anna. Pretty sure they will compete hard. And with Anna coming off her first top 10, I think she will be able to roll to another one in Lienz. She was in the second run here in the 2008 season starting 56.
The dark horses are the fun part in this race. I think some of the French girls will kill it. Sandrine Aubert, Claire Dautherives and Anne-Sophie Barthet all have had break-out moments in Lienz in slalom and Claire and Anne-Sophie skied very well on the ice in Loveland and in Aspen. Tessa Worley had a break out race in GS here in December 2007. I also think you can see something out of the Swedes, Maria Pietilae-Holmner for sure and maybe even from Jessica Lindell-Vikarby on her comeback run. The last dark horse is Frederica Brignone. Third in Aspen and 4th in Are. Is she really a dark horse? She went from the 30s to 15th on the WCSL in GS in 2 races.
With the historical favorites out (Hosp and Karbon) I look to Poutiainen to keep the favorite spot. She has shown she is on top of her game and I don’t see much changing except I think Tessa will make her presence felt. Tina Maze also has a podium here and it is not far from Slovenia so there might be some home crowd feel.
Zettel did very well here finishing 5th here in slalom when she was 20 years old. I could also see Kirchgasser getting in there. Zahrobska, of course can compete, as can the Riesch sisters. Coming off of stellar performances in Are. Don’t count out Marlies Schild, coming off injury but skiing solidly every week.
So here we go:
GS Podium: Tessa Worley backs it up with another win. I am going with Brignone in second and Zettel in 3rd. Maze will get edged out by Zettel. Maria Pietilae-Holmner in 5th. I think Vonn, Julia and Megan all in the top 15 and Schleper with a solid finish between 15 and 20. I will say that if you promised me 3 top 15s and a top 20 before most World Cup races, I would take it. Considering there was always one guy gunning for the win.
SL Podium: Ugh, this one is difficult. But I think we will see a Schild win. Then Maria Riesch and followed by Lindsey Vonn. I think it is a little too flat for the little girls. And I do see top 10 for Anna Goodman and for Barthet and Aubert. As well as one for Zahrobska. I think it will be a very competitive race as long as Seth keeps thing normal on run one and doesn’t set something too weird.
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!