Alpine Race Consulting

New blog location

2010-02-16T18:28:00.000-08:00

Sorry to all of you that have been following this blog. We have moved to a new blog posting medium to be able to take advantage of advertising revenue that was otherwise not available. Please follow this link to the new site. You can also link through "Ski Racing" as in the past and through www.alpineraceconsulting.com.

Greg

Kranjska Gora is great for Americans.

2010-01-29T09:46:00.000-08:00

Kranjska Gora
As you drive over the Wurzenpass from Villach, Austria to Kranjska Gora, you are struck by the view straight ahead, across the valley as you drive down the south side of the pass. It is a winding, steep trail that twists down in front of you into the tiny village of Podkoren. The name of the slope bears the same name, Podkoren. The first time I drove over the pass from Kärnten, it was a year of almost no snow early in the winter, and Kranjska somehow got the race hill prepared. It was a singular strip of snow down an otherwise brown hill. It was menacing and magical. I almost drove my Cargo van off the winding pass as I stared at the strip of snow. I was so impressed that they had it covered and that we were going to race. That was early January, 2003. Bode won the next day in the GS and Schlopy was 4th, just .01 off the podium in a very tight race. I think he was only .02 from second place held by Christian Mayer. Bode won by a lot.
Kranjska has always been good to us and we have seen the village grow and prosper over the past 8 years. There are new hotels being built as well as bars, restaurants and discos. We always look forward to the excellent pizza at the Kotnick or Lipa. The race organizers have welcomed us with big smiles, extra credentials, really anything we want. It has also been good to Ted Ligety. He won a Europa Cup slalom here on his way up through the ranks, his first World Cup points were scored here, he has a World Cup slalom podium and he has won the last 3 World Cup GS races held on this hill. Today’s race was the replacement race for Adelboden, the famous Pokal Vitranc is being held tomorrow. Obviously, Ted has to be the favorite. Confidence and comfort for him in Kranjska would lead anyone to believe that he can win again tomorrow. If he does so, he will 3-peat the Pokal Vitranc, the first time in history.
The Podkoren course starts directly next to the top lift station. Ski off the ramp to the left and you are there. Look down the pitch at 442 vertical meters to the valley below. The start pitch is a very steep, injected pitch with a seemingly mild roll in the middle of it. That roll never gets enough respect, and burns those who do not plan for it. If you look at Ted’s splits at Kranjska, I will bet he was fast on top, he knows this roll and skis it well. Then as you pass the top of an ancient platter lift on the right, the hill flattens with a slight bend t the left and then a major roll. Then another big roll with 3 turns on it before it flattens suddenly and bends hard left. I always stood on this roll above the flat and bend. I could see all the way to the GS start and to the slalom start, almost half the hill. As it bends to the left there is almost always a delay set in the compression and ends up being the most important single turn on the course to be able to carry all the speed from the top pitch into the flat, rolling middle section. The trail turns back to the right at the slalom start and rolls moderately for about 20 seconds and constantly pulls you to the right. As you approach the finish, the trail plunges toward the line and pulls even harder to the right as the trail gently bends to the left. The fall-away here is fierce. Six to eight more turns and through the finish and you are the winner of the historic Pokal Vitranc.
Congrats to Ted for his win today, and to Tommy Ford and Tim Jitloff, tallying some more World Cup points! Congratulations as well to Marcel Hirscher and Kjietl Jansrud for their podiums. Another GS tomorrow and I think you should expect very close racing. If you give these guys 4 chances on any hill, there is a great chance the time differential will compress. It should be exciting racing. I love Ted’s chances on this hill tomorrow and I would look for the major challenge to come from Aksel Lund Svindal and Marcel Hirscher. Jansrud should compete but his consistency, or lack thereof, is bothering me a little.
In another encouraging note, Marcus Sandell (FIN) was able to fore-run the race in Kranjska Gora, signaling that he is getting very close to a return to the World Cup.

Kitz is done, Schladming on the way!

2010-01-25T22:16:00.000-08:00

Kitz is in the books and Schladming’s on the way.
This is one of the most exhausting stretches for the American Tech boys in Europe. Typically, they have been over there since late December or very early January. I have experienced more than one New Year’s Eve in Europe. Pushing a month now, training hard, heading for all the big races. It is a whirlwind with no end in sight. Hundreds of thousands of people have watched them race live, millions more on TV. Heroes of central Europe, all of them. There are people following them around in Innsbruck, wanting a hand-shake or a hello.
So Kitzbuhel is done, it was a huge weekend for Cuche. Proving that he is healthy again and looking to take the prizes due him in Whistler. He has to race in Kranjska yet and then get working on the Olympic grind. He will need to work through the difficult schedule and pick his training carefully but his peaking cycle for February 2010 is going to be good because of the relatively minor injury and the rest it allowed him. This is a sport measured in hundredths of a second and should probably be measured in thousandths. It is a sport where the right timing in rest, training and racing can make all the difference.
But the one thing I really want to talk about is Felix Neureuther’s first World Cup win. He has had 6 previous World Cup podiums with no wins. He has been one of the most talented young talents on the circuit since Ted Ligety, JB Grange and Felix all broke through in the 2004 season. It was obvious that all these guys were going to make it big; they were all still juniors at the time. We have all been waiting for the heir of German Alpine Skiing to make his big splash. And make it he did. As everyone knows, he is the son of Rosi Mittermaier and Christian Neureuther, both German World Cup slalom stars in the 70’s. Christian won the Kitzbuhel slalom in 1979. Christian and Felix are the only father-son combo I know of who are named on the gondola at Kitzbuhel as Hahnenkamm Champions. I have known Felix since his early days on the tour and remember marveling at his talent and pure speed. And knowing he needed to refine some skills to get the job done. But watching him develop, fight injury and illness and watch him grow into a mature professional has been a lot of fun. He is approaching his 26th birthday in March and has a long career ahead of him.
I do want to touch on one more fact about Felix. He is a year of birth 1984. And I don’t know why, but there seem to be some magic years of birth that flourish on the World Cup. Here are some names that are born in 1984, the list is long so bear with me if I don’t get them all: Ligety, Lanning, Neureuther, Myhre, Gini, Olsson, Grange, Innerhofer, Mermillod-Blondin, White, Spence, Missillier, Razzoli, Bourque, Kucera, Kueng, Osborne-Paradis, Maria Riesch, Vonn, Mancuso, Cook, Hoelzl. That is all I can remember but that is a long list off the top of my head. There are a lot of wins right there out of one year of birth that is still young. Someone should add up year of birth World Cup points men and women and get back to me on that but this one seems like the hottest year ever. Of course and as usual, I have digressed badly. I just want you all to know that Felix has fought for this through many problems, both physical and mental, and I am happy for him and proud of him too.

One more thing about this win that I have never checked on….But Felix won the FIS SL on Thursday Night in Westendorf. And I want to know the last double win of these two races? When was it? It is rare, and he should be patted on the back for it. It is pretty much the same as back to back World Cup wins. Well, to me it is…Nice job, Felix. I am sure all of Garmisch had a rough morning on Monday! Do it again!
Before I move on I need to give a shout-out to Nolan Kasper. First time in the second run in a World Cup on cut-off day for the Olympic selection. Great job Nolan and I hope it gives you the Olympic spot!
SCHLADMING IS TOMORROW NIGHT.
Schladming is the slalom giant. It’s the slalom race any slalom specialist has marked on the calendar. It is big, it’s nasty, it’s usually icy, it's at night and it always has an enormous crowd and is as loud a ski race as you will ever attend. It is held dead center in a small town in Ennstal, AUT and they have always welcomed us with open arms. For the USA boys it’s always a great stop because we get out of Kitz on Sunday after the race and usually have a day off on Monday. We have traditionally stayed up a long valley called Untertal, in a great small farm-hotel called Gasthof Tetter. They have taken tremendous care of us over the years. We have never wanted for anything at their place and always respected our space and quiet. If you are ever in this area of Austria and need great hospitality and fabulous food, please look it up. Best steak in Europe!!!! For sure.
Well, back to the hill. You take the Planai Gondola up and the slalom runs right next to it. You do have to ski down a long way in the dark to get there…a challenge and a lot of fun. You come out of the start and work on a hard left foot fall-away for about 20 gates. Then the thing bends to the left about 75 degrees and drops extremely steep the rest of the way. So at 63 turns minimum, that makes 40 or so turns of pitch. There is so much steep pitch on this hill that when you set you find you have to set a flush on a very steep pitch, there is just no way around it. It is totally exhausting and rugged. I have seen guys have beautiful ripping runs and I have seen real World Cuppers look like little kids. Depending on the conditions and the mentality of the athlete, it can be the heroic attempt you are looking for or it can be total pain. The most fun thing about it might be the crowd. They are 50-70,000 strong depending on the year. They are all hammered. They have flares and flags and make a ton of noise. Some of the guys have said it can be shocking when they turn the corner. The top tends to have only the brave hard-core fans who want to hike up a long way. So there are only about 5000 people between the start and the bend to the finish, but then you hit the full crowd, and they are all below you as you ski. It’s a bowl, it’s crazy and it’s a Tuesday night. The boys pack up and move on to Kranjska Gora before coming back our way for the Olympics.
Winners in Schladming:
The Austrians love to make their boys feel at home and it shows. They do extremely well in Schladming. I will have to look at more consistent skiers with the tough hill and the great draws those guys got. I think Raich wins. I think Herbst can’t get out of his own way right now, so no way. Not until he stops freaking out. So I see Kostelic in 2nd and Lizeroux 3rd.

Kitzbuhel is Cool!

2010-01-20T18:57:00.000-08:00

Kitzbuhel is a special week.
There is simply nothing like it anywhere in the world with regard to a ski race. I can talk about it for a year. For the last 8 years, the ski team has always left Wengen and headed for Kitzbuhel. Depending on your individual assignment, you head out of Wengen at different times. The DH boys leave after the first run on the slalom on Sunday and go straight to Kitzbuhel and check in to the Goldener Greif Hotel. The tech guys have normally stayed over in Wengen and left on Monday morning. We have stayed there every year in recent memory and they always welcome us; a home away from home, no doubt. It is in a very old building in the wall of the Alt Stadt in Kitzbuhel. Outside, an oversized American flag hangs to identify our presence and their short-lived allegiance. In the past, we have always raced an FIS GS at Kirchberg, 10 minutes away on Tuesday and Wednesday and then, night slalom at Westendorf, 20 minutes away on Thursday night. This year there is a FIS GS in Kirchberg on Wednesday and then the Westy SL on Thursday night. Kirchberg is really fun. They do a great job with the race and most non downhill world cup guys’ race, Westendorf is even better. On Thursday night they have about 15 or 20 of the top 30 World Cup slalom boys and even more ranked below that. If you have 15 FIS points, you are lucky to start in the top 50. They normally inject the hill and put on a big show. They have prize money, a VIP tent, music and big trophies; as well as almost 5000 spectators. It is a lot of fun for everyone. All of the World Cup fun without the World Cup pressure.
Let’s go back to last season when I was with the DH team. We drove from Wengen with Kitzbuhel as the target. When we got there and checked in, the town was getting ready. We checked into the hotel and took Monday off. Tuesday we went up to check out the hill and got ready for the training run on Wednesday. I had been on the hill a number of times until then but always as a guest, this time I was looking at it with the helpful eye. My section was Carousel to Steilhang. So I could see the start, The Mausfalle and then my section. Total insanity for the first 20 seconds. Fantastic action to be sure and I saw some amazing things. I saw Ted walk out of his right ski entering carousel and then watched him ride it out on his left foot. He skied it, all on the left foot going 60 or more MPH, again defining that your one -ski skills are important not only to be great, but also to save your body.
I cannot tell you the visual sensation of being at the top of the Hahnenkamm. I cannot express in writing how it feels to be at the top of the most famous downhill in the world. “The Streif,” the place that means the most to every ski racer who ever cared enough to try. The sport is difficult, it takes guts. Even slalom takes guts. But when you see this start house, and the left footed fall-away to the right foot to the Mausfalle and you are standing there in the gate, it is terrifying, and exhilarating at the same time. A few years ago I pushed out of the start just to see what it is like and I was not thrilled with my ability to deal with it at all. But regardless, it is cool and there is a lot of action right away. Left foot, right foot, jump the Maus, fly 40 meters, land, compression, roll, right foot (you hope), roll, compression, left foot bank turn called the Carousel with a nasty fall-away exit left foot. It is gnarly. Then the Steilhang (major pitch) turning to the left and then another nasty left foot fall away to exit the Stielhang that requires total precision to carry speed onto the road. You go on the road for about 20 seconds and then break out onto the Alte Schneise where you jump again and land on a right -foot side-hill, then another little jump into the Seidlalm area and into the Larchenschuss which is a little “S” bend through a grove of Larch trees. When you come out of the trees having nailed the tough tempo and turn shape in the Larchenschuss you tuck straight again into a compression in to the Oberhausberg which is a big, wide section with SG type turns. And now, at about 1 minute 30, it’s wake up time. The Hausberg Jump is big, and cool. You go under the Red Bull Banner/Arch and jump…seemingly into the town, you land facing almost 2 O’clock on a clock face and have to turn back to about 10. Tough is not really a fair description. Gravity wants to pull you to the right and you need to go left. Gravity wants you to shoot through the A Net and into the valley and you need to go left. You land, hit the right ski and stick to it hard, just as you think you have it nailed, and you notice you are seeing only 2 things, a wall of snow in front of you and the sky. You skip off the wall of snow and land on the biggest right foot side-hill you have ever seen. After you skip you search for the snow with your feet, you have not landed yet and know you need to be as high to the left as possible. Then you start bouncing over huge rolls, the size of small cars, as gravity still pulls you down to the right and you STILL need to go left. Bouncing, skipping, and seeing your skis in your face. It is total adrenaline and even more fun. Then it quickly bends to the right and uses the fall-line you have been fighting for 10 seconds and you accelerate down the Ziel Schuss pushing 140 kmh. Then off the Ziel Sprung, the jump that has seriously injured so many athletes over the years and into the finish. It’s an incredible feeling. I hope I did it a little justice. One more reason the race is so cool, when you are a Hahnenkamm Champion, you get your name on a Gondola car…forever. With a little plaque inside with all of your accomplishments on it. I have always waited for Daron’s to come around on my first ride in Kitz. I also wait for Bob Cochran’s (his name is spelled wrong BTW) and sometimes I even wait for Chuck Ferries. But I try to always wait for an American flag to come around the horn before I get on. Bode already has a gondola for a Kombi, but I want to wait to ride on the Bode gondola when he wins “The Race.”
Last year I brought a friend of mine, Keefe Gorman, over to Kitzbuhel along with some of his family. Keefe and I skied together at St. Lawrence and he was a very accomplished skier. He qualified for NCAA Championships a few times, so he knows what he is doing. I got Keefe a piste-pass so he could come to inspection on race day, and he was totally blown away by the experience. He has always been a fan and an active participant in the sport. He had no idea what it really looked like. It totally blew him away. My only advice is that if you are truly a fan of this sport, you need to go to Kitzbuhel once. And if you can swing it, stay for Schladming night slalom too. Both are crazy. The Austrian press is saying that 72,000 spectators are expected for Kitzbuhel. In the past, 60,000 has been the norm with about 100,000 in town. So another 12,000 should make for an amazing scene. There have been as many as 40,000 people at the prize giving for the Downhill. As I said earlier, I could talk about this race forever. What I have seen, the luminaries who show up, the incredible guts of the athletes. It is simply “The Race.”
I would be remiss if I did not mention how proud I am that two (2) Mission Ridge Ski Team athletes have been named to the World Junior Championship Team. Colby Granstrom and Brooke Wales are both on the named team headed to the Mont Blanc Region of France. Colby has been with the USST D Team for a couple of years and Brooke is still skiing out of Mission. We wish them both the best of luck and hope they enjoy themselves as they represent Mission Ridge, Wenatchee, Washington and the United States over the next couple of weeks!
Do I need to make a prediction?
SG: No IDEA!
DH: Miller finally wins the big one! Cuche, Janka

Olympic Selection is Near

2010-01-18T21:52:00.000-08:00

Olympic Selection is Near.
Sunday was the Wengen slalom for men and the Maribor slalom for women. After those races, the men will have 1 event remaining in each discipline for selection for the Olympics except in GS which is complete. The Adelboden GS has been rescheduled as a 2nd GS in Kranjska Gora, after the Games. They will contest all of their remaining events at Kitzbuhel. One downhill, one Super-G and one slalom on Sunday. Selection is on Monday, January 25th. No races will be used after that date, meaning the slalom in Schladming will not be used. The women had the slalom in Maribor yesterday and then have a downhill, super-g and GS in Cortina coming up. Again, the last of their selection events.
The Olympic Selection for the US Ski Team goes as follows:
There are 3 lines of objective criteria. If more than 3 are selected at any line of criteria, they use the best FIS point result to rank the athletes selected to that point, in the last line of criteria used. If they are still tied, then they would use World Cup points to date. The fourth line is the need to decrease the team size and then they would use the highest single World Cup placing, then World Cup points and on.
The first line of criteria is a World Cup podium. The second line is a World Cup top 10. The third line is total World Cup points. Last, the fourth selection is reserved for a discretionary choice by the staff. I will let you know that this is rarely used, but it does happen. There is usually a pretty good point at which the points drop-off and selection is often obvious. But there have been times where it has been close and the younger guy or someone coming on strong directly before the Games has gotten chosen.
TEAM USA TO THIS POINT
MEN:
DOWNHILL
As of today, January 17, 2010, the men’s DH selection is as follows: Bode Miller is selected first with a podium. Andrew Weibrecht is second on points; Sullivan third on points, Nyman is fourth on points. After that we have Fisher and Macartney who need big results in Kitzbuhel and some kind of falter by Steven or Sully to make it in.
SUPER-G
This is a bit of a surprise since our leader is Ted Ligety. Ted has a podium in Super G and will be the first selection. Miller will also be selected with a top 10. Weibrecht sits in 3rd on points and Sully sits in 4th on points. Obviously, Nyman, Fish and Macartney need to get after it a bit in Kitz to get into the mix.

GS
GS should be a done deal as there are no more GS races on the docket before selection and this one is interesting. Ted gets in with a podium. Then comes Zamansky, Ford and Jitloff in that order with VERY LOW point totals. Please notice that there is one obvious name missing from this list and I don’t know how many people are aware of this, but Mr. Miller has not scored a World Cup point this season in GS, in his historically best event. So here is where your safety net, the discretionary spot, has to be used. I know, there are guys who more or less earned it but getting more points than Bode. But the Olympics are about 3 things, Gold, Silver and Bronze and NOTHING else. You are not there to gain experience, be an Olympian, or any other reason you can think of. You are one of the best 4 of Americans in your discipline and you are there to attempt to win a medal. There is One Gold, One Silver and one Bronze. I think my point is clear. They need to put Bode in the GS. Sorry, Jit but that’s the way it should be. I would think that the team would be Ligety, Miller, Zamansky and Ford. Miller can win races and we all know it.
SL
Ligety and Cochran are leading this selection with a top 10 each and then Miller on points. At this point there is not a fourth guy with any points. Due to the rules the discretionary pick comes into play. There are a lot of choices but really not a lot of good ones. They could decide to have the guys’ race for it at Europa Cups this week but we are getting to the deadline and the Kitzbuhel slalom will be the deciding factor. They can only hope that someone identifies himself. They could also use someone already qualified for the games in another discipline like Tommy Ford.
The other thing that is going to become a nuisance for the tech group is the potential for a shrinking World Cup quota in slalom. They need someone to step up and get the job done.
KOMBI
The Kombi selection is a little different as it only has 2 objective spots and those go to Miller and Ligety. Then Weibrecht has points so I would think he has a spot. After that, I think they will either select someone out of who is already on the team or no one at all.

WOMEN:
DOWNHILL
I think Lindsey Vonn gets a spot in DH? Then we have 3 girls with top 10 finishes. They are Cook, Mancuso and McKennis. So it seems like a done deal. There is an outside shot from Chelsea Marshall, Leann Smith and Keely Kelleher but they need big results into the top 10 and have the other girls get shut out for it to happen for them. I think the book is closed on this one.

SUPER G
Ummmm, Vonn gets a spot. Then Julia with a top 10. After that, Keely, Chelsea and Alice all have points but not a lot of points. So Cookie, Leann and Kaylin Richardson could all get on the board with a strong finish and steal a slot. Cookie is the only one with a lot of World Cup experience on the hill in Cortina and I would think she will be the one to break through if anyone does. She did have two top-15 finishes here in 2008.
GS
Sarah Schleper leads the way with a top 10 finish. Lindsey has her top 10 from Soelden. Then come Julia Mancuso and Megan McJames on points. No one else has any GS points on the World Cup so it looks like a solid selection. I think that Megan is an excellent choice even if you went through the discretionary criteria. It is possible that someone could make a charge in Cortina but no one has really shown themselves.
SL
The Maribor has passed with no points scored by the American girls. Mrs. Vonn has her podium from Levi for selection, then Schlep with a top 10. Then Hailey Duke and Kaylin Richardson have some points. Not a lot of points, by the way. The discretionary word comes up again. Who would you put in there instead of Kaylin, or Hailey? Maybe Megan McJames? She won a couple NorAm slaloms recently so maybe she could do it. It would keep the team size down and save some money. But then, why get rid of Richardson? She can be your 4th Kombi athlete too. So what about Duke? While she has not done much this year, she has managed some points after a solid season last year and has struggled since her ankle injury in the fall. At this point I would go straight off the points for slalom.
KOMBI
Vonn, the world leader in this category is an obvious choice again. Then Mancuso, who has been a staple in the Kombi for all major events in recent memory. I would guess that Stacey Cook would go in Kombi and Kaylin Richardson.
There will be a little fun watching the status of selections change as the teams charge for the last available slots. Good luck everyone!

Bode wins the Kombi, Ligety 5th!

2010-01-15T09:06:00.001-08:00

Miller wins, Ligety fifth in Kombi!
Wengen Slalom, the best slalom hill on the World Cup.
I know, Schladming will cry about that statement, as will Kitzbuhel. But ask the skiers, really. Away from their home press or home town, and they will tell you, Wengen is the best. It has all the elements plus more. It is the perfect length in number of turns versus vertical drop. When the FIS changed the setting rules for slalom to 30-35% of vertical from 55 absolute minimum, it made no difference in Wengen. The slalom hill is 194 meters and the Kombi is 188 (it finishes just a touch higher to keep the DH finish area safe). That is 58 turns for the regular slalom and 56 for the Kombi. I have set 4 World Cups (2 regular and 2 Kombi) on the Jungfrau slalom hill and some were with 55 minimum rules and some at the new procedures. It was no difference. I set 59 in both regular slaloms and 58 in both Kombis and was at 11 to 12 meters the whole way. I never worried about it, although I was right on the minimum. But it shows you, Wengen is the classic hill and you can set out at a consistent 12 meters and make minimum no problem. You can also set 10.5 meters and stay under maximum. But you cannot set 10 the whole way and stay under max. It is the perfect hill.
You roll out of the start just below the Allmend train station and restaurant. The top, flatter section has small twists in the hill left and right with at least 20 rolls giving fall-away turns and tough visual looks. There is a slight bend to the left at the first hay barn and then it rolls into a short steep pitch, then immediately bends right and flattens completely. It goes just slightly uphill before breaking over a tremendously steep section, if only for eight to ten turns. With an injected surface and no other way down, it is very funny watching the coaches and service guys on coaching boots and dull skis trying to get down this pitch. Everyone lined up taking turns in a high-speed slide-slip. I once watched USST service-man, Dave Coombs slide all the way down this pitch on his butt with Rothrock's race skis on his shoulder.
Then the hill flattens suddenly and bends to the left. The flat goes for a few turns and then breaks over again with another hay barn smack in the middle of the hill. It sharply rolls for 2 or 3 turns hits a compression, goes uphill a little and bends left and then breaks over and bends back to the right to the finish. The bottom is like a roller coaster, tremendously fun to watch and a great hill to get to set.
It finishes in a bowl in a shared finish with the Lauberhorn Downhill and usually draws a very large crowd that lines most of the hill and fills the bowl at the bottom. If you have a good day, it is an exhilarating rush.
So, big news out of Wengen this morning: Bode won the Kombi and Ted finished 5th. Janka second and Zurbriggen was 3rd. Benni Raich squeezed into 4th. I want to believe, and I do believe. Bode obviously must be shaking off his ankle injury. The other thing I know after having been there many times with him is that he truly cares about this race. It is important to him to win these legendary events. I would now place him as the favorite the Downhill too. I also was very happy to see Ted get a solid Kombi score and even more importantly, a good slalom run down that hill. He has been very sarcastic in his tweets lately so I was concerned about his mental state. Does this make Bode the favorite for the Kombi at Whistler? I don’t think so but the slalom hill in Whistler is much easier than Wengen which helps him a bit.
Great job boys! Good luck tomorrow and Sunday!

A Flachau Summary and a Look at Wengen

2010-01-14T09:53:00.000-08:00

Looking back at Flachau and a little window into the famous Lauberhornrennen.
I had a lot of fun watching the Flachau slalom on TV; especially considering the lack of perspective that TV gave the hill. It is a solid hill. It has excellent pitch and is very consistent in the middle. There are some short flat sections that precede rolls. It just seemed more flat and less fun on TV. I always thought of it as a very fun hill with a lot of cool terrain to work with. So I think there were some “mysterious” losses of time that were not easily explained by the coverage.
For one, the entire middle section of pitch is a right foot fall-away and a pretty strong one. The dead give-away on that is that there are 2, count ‘em 2, big right-foot delays that cross the hill pretty hard on the second run. A good sign that the course-setter is feeling “pulled’ right the whole way. It is something that was not commented on or very noticeable on video. This type of hill will obviously favor some women who are stronger with their right side, etc.
From watching that race, there were some things that were pretty obvious to me.
1. Marlies Schild is the best women’s slalom skier in the world. She gets to the new ski very early and is solid in the core. This is not only fast, but consistent. And let’s face it; skiing consistently fast is the goal.
2. Tanja Poutiainen is very solid and goes to the new ski well. But she struggles with combinations, especially hairpins and often exits late.
3. Susanne Riesch should have won. She will be a force in slalom in the future. The best thing to see was that she was in heated discussion (or upset) in talking with her coach Christian Schwaiger after the race. I am sure he was consoling her but then teaching her. Learning to win with a lead is very difficult. But it is also a necessity at all levels of FIS racing these days with the flip 30. It is a tough deal and puts on a lot of pressure. Learning to deal with it and ski your own race is tough and takes time.
4. Her sister Maria did a great job and I hope Lindsey can bounce back to get the overall lead back to wear it was. That was a huge hit to Lindsey and I hope she does not have to rely on speed wins only the rest of the season.
5. Schlep is solid now and needs to go a step up in intensity and focus. She knows she needs the early pressure to the new ski but she needs to use it to get in tighter on the pole and exit even earlier and higher on the hill to be able to roll the ski in cleanly. She definitely needs to recognize and execute hairpins better.
6. The rest of our slalom team needs to step it up. We can support them emotionally, but they need to find a way to get on the board too.
7. I will say it one more time. The French girls are scoring and moving up in slalom. Another solid result in slalom from Noens, Worley, Dautherives and Marmottan. Pretty soon, they will all be in the top 30 in slalom and what happens then?
8. The German girls are good at slalom. Aside from the Riesch family, Fanny Chmelar had a great weekend as did Duerr and Geiger. They are on a roll.
9. All 3 Loeseth (NOR) sisters scored points this week.
10. Aside from Brigitte Acton, the Canadians have nothing going on…I do have something to say about the decimation of the team through injury and it will be said at some point. I have to give credit to the men’s slalom team for hanging in there and the women’s DH team to some extent.
WENGEN COMING UP!
We have one of the coolest downhills in the world coming up in one of the most beautiful mountain towns on the planet. For those of you who have not been there, you drive up the valley toward Lauterbrunnen from Interlaken and come to the train station. Unload all your stuff, put it on the train (park your car and get a ticket somewhere in there) and jump on board. The train climbs for a while. Maybe 1000 meters? And drops you in the village of Wengen. There are no cars, only those that are owned by hotels as shuttles and certain service providers, etc. throughout the village. So for the American boys, we call the Park Hotel and they send 2 electric carts down to get us and all of our stuff. A few laps later we are all moved in to the ski room and the hotel. The ski room is under the gondola building and the hotel up on the high end of town. So it kind of feels like the whole town is yours.
There is so much to talk about in Wengen; I can only hope to get a portion of it across in the blog. To step back a little, on the way to the hotel on the one main street, we pass the town square on the right with the stage set-up for awards and draw and bands. Beer stands all around. Behind there is the ice rink, where we spent almost every evening last winter skating around or playing hockey. Between the hotel and the rink is a beginner’s slope that any ski area in the world would dream of having. It is hugely wide with a ton of different minor pitches, right in the middle of town. There are shops and restaurants and bars. The place goes off all night on race weekend, another insane stop on tour.
So at 7 AM you board the train to get pulled all the way up to the Kleine Scheidegg and then jump on the chair to the Lauberhorn start. When you get up there you can see it all. The Jungfrau, The Monch and The Eiger are most prominent and near the ski area. If you look down the opposing valley to Wengen you look into Grindelwald. All attached by lifts. Across the other valley from Wengen is Muerren, an epic ski area and original World Cup stop in its own right. As well, the jet show by the Swiss Air Force just before the race is amazing.
To me, the coolest thing about the Lauberhornrennen is the pure length and variety of it. It is a sneaky hill. You break out of the start and head down a pitch and a series of seemingly endless sweeping high-speed turns with jumps. It goes on forever as such and most of you all will never see it on TV, usually only from a helicopter after a break in the action. But the end of that long series of turns ends in possibly the most famous jump on the World Cup, the Hundschopf. After completing a 180 degree turn to the right, you get on the right foot and jump through a hole in the rock with A- Net hanging out over your head. As a matter of fact, you aim for the end of the net for the jump. You fly under the net, land and find the right foot to move left through the Minshkante and then into Canadian Corner before carrying speed into the road and the “S” turn. By now, you are on the hill for 1:20, longer than most USSA downhills. The importance of the Minschkante and Canadian Corner cannot be denied. Get yourself out to the left off the Minsch and then get hard to the left foot on the brutal fall-away to stay high and carry speed into the road. The best thing about Wengen is that it’s sneaky. You get on the road and your instinct is to relax, but the “S” in the middle is always ICY and super narrow. If you fall-asleep or are not on the game, you hit the airbags and the game is over. Even though it is dead flat here, you can definitely lose the race here. Walchhofer did last season, I was standing 10 feet away when he bounced off the little side hill and almost hit the A-Net. Then through the famous tunnel and into the Super G turns. Again, this downhill is so long and the SG section is never on TV. It leads into the Haneggschuss area which is the fastest section of World Cup DH. Ligety went 158 KMH here a few years ago in the kombi downhill. Anyway, you need to exit the SG turns with a high enough angle on the Haneggschuss to make speed for the next flat. And down into the “S” at the bottom which is always injected and you have hit about 2:20. One more turn and on to the finish pitch, your legs are totally seized up, praying to finish. I once saw Bode throw himself off the finish pitch head-first because he was “done” and went way too straight into the pitch and knew he would not pull it off so he just dove, head-first down the finish pitch. I was there, I saw it, and he won.
It’s an insane week. The Kombi on Friday, then the DH and then the slalom. The slalom hill deserves an article all to itself. I think with training tomorrow and then kombi, I might be able to do that.
Watch the Swiss here; they have been capitalizing on the home crowd in recent years. I will be shocked if Cuche doesn’t make his statement. Defago won here last year and a variety of Swiss have dominated the Kombi in recent years. Watch for Janka to come back to prominence in both races. The American boys have good guys for this race. Miller can win, so can Marco as can Nyman. It is a great hill for Nyman because his fitness is such a strong point. I think Nyman just needs to tactically figure out the bottom section. It is usually injected and is always dark and very narrow in there. Erik Fisher could do well too if he can ski the top turns better. Italy boys Heel and Innerhofer can do well here too and watch for the return of Peter Fill. I don’t think he will be on the podium but he will play in the game for a while. Always, Walchhofer can do well here as can Klaus Kroell and Georg Streitberger. Mario Scheiber has been very good of late and I would think he will continue here. It looks as though Andrej Jerman will make a statement again. He won in Bormio in convincing fashion and Wengen taxes the system similarly. If he cleans up his top 60 seconds, he will be tough to beat. The Canadians have not looked exceptional in training and I cannot figure out why Erik Guay has not been good all season. But I would not doubt a top 10 appearance by Manny Osborne-Paradis. I think all the athletes were happy for the “day-off” due to the cancellation of the second training run. It will lead to much better skiing out of the guys at the bottom of the course.
Podiums:
Kombi: Janka, Zurbriggen, Zrncic-Dim
DH: Jerman, Sullivan, Defago.
Marco will surface here if he can get the top turns figured out. He did well on top last year and it led to a podium. I also think we will see the resurgence of Defago after the double of Wengen, Kitzbuhel last year will give him confidence.

Adelboden and Haus. Lizeroux exerts pressure and Lindsey puts a stranglehold on the globe

2010-01-11T14:27:00.001-08:00

The GS was canceled in Adelboden due to fog. I have to say I am happy about it. Because run 1 was being run from a lowered start, and that is NOT Adelboden. I f you take out the fatigue factor as you hit the bottom pitch by taking away the top pitch and compression, it turns the toughest GS in the world into one that all World Cup skiers can be aggressive on. So I would rather see it canceled than run from a lowered start. Call me a traditionalist, but that is how I feel. I know not everyone will agree, but that is my opinion. Other than that, it was a wild weekend in our sport. Lindsey won 3 times and the men’s slalom in Adelboden held up its end of the bargain by bringing some high drama and another collapse by Reini Herbst.
I watched run 2 of the Adelboden slalom last night after a 4 day stint of training here at Mission Ridge. As well, my son Coen was racing in his first race of the season here at home so the days were long, starting early and ending late. But I couldn’t wait to see the race. I knew the results so I was excited to see what went down. The race did not disappoint.
First, I want to talk about Jimmy and Ted. What was going on there? How does that happen? Two athletes on the same team, who are close friends, straddle the same gate on the same run. Exiting a delay on the top of the basketball turn heading for the very steep finish pitch was the spot. Did Ted watch Jimmy on TV and simply got it embedded in his psyche, and then duplicated the feat? They were also the only guys to straddle that gate so I doubt there was some rut or shelf in play there.
Julien Lizeroux showed again that he is a force to be reckoned with. Adelboden rolls a few times down a fairly moderate section to a dead flat with a lot of terrain. Then it bends to the right and drops off a cliff toward the finish. Then a road and a short flat before you cross the line. The prevailing tactical thought has always been, attack the first half and ski solid on the bottom pitch and you are in the game. And if you watch closely, a lot of the guys took that approach, even on run 2. Raich definitely had that look to him. He was also uncharacteristically late with his move to the new ski all the way down. I have noticed this in the other slaloms with him as well. Has he lost a little quickness? Are his skis working well enough? Getting enough grip to be able to shape the turn the way he wants? Anyway, he was late and a little conservative. But I want to get back to Lizeroux. He took it to the hill the whole way, down the nasty finish pitch as well. He was in 12th place and probably just figured he would hammer the whole thing and hope it works out. I love the mentality. To him, 12th place might as well be 30th. He wants to win or at least compete for the win. And he did just that. He had a blazing and wonderfully executed run and put the pressure on the guys in the lead. They all knew exactly what kind of run he put down and make no mistake, they felt the pressure. You can see the anticipation on his face, on Hirscher’s face as well as on Kostelic when they were in the leader’s box with him. They are watching intently. They are watching every single turn the leaders make on the way down. They saw Herbst crumble again. The next 3 slaloms are Wengen, Kitzbuhel and Schladming. Huge crowds, big prestige and a lifetime of fame in central Europe is attached to wins at these venues. That brings pressure enough. The Austrians will feel the pressure at home.
If you look at the Austrian slalom group, they have 5 guys competing for 4 spots for the Olympic team. Herbst has 245 points, Raich 114, Pranger 89, Hirscher 85 and Matt with 32. Matt probably feels like he needs to put down some podiums very quickly or he is out of the Olympics. But with Herbst faltering and Raich not exactly lighting it up and Hirscher making a move…this selection could flip around in a hurry. I don’t know if they use Schladming in their selection. We traditionally had not used it as it was too close to the team naming deadline. But we did use it in 2005 for World Champs. So it is possible they will use it. Anyway, Matt has 4 podiums in Kitzbuhel since 2005; he won Schladming in 2008 and was 3rd the year before. He has not been on the podium in Wengen since 2001 but did win a Combi slalom run 2 years ago. Let’s say he wins in Wengen, Herbst crashes and Benni straddles there again. Matt jumps to 132 points moves ahead of Raich. Anyway, you can go on and on with scenarios but these guys are stressed out about it for sure. Just watch the reactions of Toni Giger (Austria Head Men’s Coach) in the finish area when Matt goes out and then again when Herbst blows his second straight slalom lead. The guy is stressing out because if the trend does not reverse, he might have a “B” team slalom squad because of their selection criteria. And where does Pranger fit in to all of this? Watch the next 3 races with all of this in mind. All the teams are going through the same thing. The American boys only have 3 guys with points in slalom right now. But one good race out of Jitloff or one of the others and the whole thing gets turned upside down. Will the USA even fill 4 spots if we only have 3 guys with slalom World Cup points? The Swiss don’t have full 4 guys in the points yet; the Italians will have 5 or 6 battling for 4 spots as will the Swedes. Very interesting stuff to watch.
HAUS, AUSTRIA
The women competed in Haus, Austria and by now everyone who reads this blog has likely read the cliché headlines. Vonn Cleans Haus and other such irresistible nonsense. And I will spend a little time on Mrs. Vonn. She is definitely worth more than a few words. Take a good look at what happened at Haus. Lindsey not only won the 3 races, but Maria Riesch, her closest pursuer for the Overall globe, was not good; finishing 3rd, 7th and 24th. She fell 192 points behind Lindsey in that category and looks to be going the wrong way. Zettel is in 3rd and is 325 points behind and does not ski DH and is barely worth mention in Super G. Paerson is making herself known again in speed after a good showing in Haus but it is too little and too late. You can just about hand Lindsey the globe right now. The only thing that bothers me about her right now is that she has not skied well in her tech events since Levi. I don’t know if it is the equipment switch catching up to her or the injury but she will need to get some good training time in the next few weeks to be able to compete again in GS and slalom. Regardless, great job Lindsey and keep it up!
The rest of the racing in Haus had some great bits of news here and there too. Stacey Cook had a great DH weekend, finishing 13th and 9th in the 2 downhills. Alice McKennis continued her excellent World Cup effort with a 21st in the first DH and Julia had some consistent results with a 10th in Super G and 14th and 11th in the 2 DH races. This is all interesting because there is only one DH left on the calendar before selection on January 25th. That is Cortina d’Ampezzo, the traditionally most technical of the women’s speed events. If they are able to go from the upper start, it is a great downhill to watch. The lower start does really make it pedestrian. So the way it stands now, Lindsey gets picked up in the first line of criteria, obviously. Then Stacey, Julia and Alice ALL meet the second line in downhill, 1 top 10 finish. Stacey has the best finish of the 3 with her 9th in Haus. Both Alice and Julia had a 10th place in Lake Louise. And then Chelsea Marshall is lurking behind them with 23 points. So with 1 downhill left on the schedule, it looks like the Olympic DH squad is selected, unless Chelsea gets on the podium or deep into the top 10 with enough points to pass someone too. In Super G only Vonn and Mancuso meet the first 2 lines of criteria. Then you have Chelsea, Keely Kelleher and Alice with a few points each. So the battle will be fought among those 3 plus Stacey for an Olympic Super G berth.
For the Canadians it seems that Britt Janyk is showing that she is the leader of their team and will be going to Vancouver and running DH and SG on her home hill in Whistler. Brydon is in as well but pretty much disappeared in Haus. Brydon had great races early in Lake Louise but when it was a little turnier and a little trickier; she showed she could not really adjust. Cortina could make it tough for her to carry momentum into Whistler. If the start is lowered in Cortina, she has traditionally done well. If they run off the top start, she has trouble. The Canadian women’s DH team is so depleted by injury that they could end up starting Shona Rubens and Georgia Simmerling at the Olympics. They have not scored a World Cup DH point between them. They do have a handful of Super G points. But in Georgia’s defense, she was probably expecting a season of NorAm and Europa Cup racing with some World Cup experience mixed in. She has found herself thrust onto the World Cup full-time and needing to get up to speed.
Some other athletes who put themselves solidly into the mix for their Olympic Teams this weekend were Nadja Kamer (SUI) and Ingrid Jacquemod (FRA) who were languishing toward the back of their selections after Lake Louise and the cancellation in Val d’Isere. Both went onto the podium in the second DH in Haus and put themselves toward the front of their respective selections. There is a lot to watch this month!
The women head to Flachau, Austria for one slalom tomorrow. Flachau is famous as the hometown of Hermann Maier. It is just off the Autbahn to the west as you head south from Salzburg toward Kärnten (Carinthia to you and me) and Slovenia beyond. The race hill there is excellent and should be fun for the girls. It is a moderate pitch with some nice big rolls. I set my first World Cup there in early January, 2004. It was easy to make minimum turns and now with the vertical drop rules the minimum turns would be 59 from the men’s start. I made 57 but I set 12 meters almost the whole way and stretched out every combination to 6 meters. It is very easy to make 59 turns on the hill. As well, the girls might have a lower start which will change the vertical drop to 180 meters and the setting minimum to 51 turns which will be easy to hit. There are a lot of flat spots on top of the rolls to put flushes and plenty of width to meander if you so desire. The women should be able to attack the hill and have a lot of fun. We had huge crowds every time we raced in Flachau and was always some of the best fun on tour. If you head there, you have to check out the Après Ski Tempel Hofstadl just steps away from the quad that serves the race arena. It is a crazy place that starts thumping around noon and doesn’t stop. I know because our hotel was just steps away from the place and we could easily hear the partying going on over there. All full with crazed Austrian race fans. Have fun watching Flachau tomorrow. It should be a great hill for both Lindsey and Sarah. Hopefully the others can get it rolling too.

Greatest Show on Snow, the January Tour

2010-01-08T08:49:00.000-08:00

The Greatest show on snow coming up this month!
MEN: Adelboden, Wengen, Kitzbuhel, Schladming
WOMEN: Haus, Flachau, Maribor, Cortina
Before I get going on this one I need to take care of some business. I left the US Ski Team last spring but somehow retained the title of Fantasy Football League Commissioner. And I have to congratulate and acknowledge fellow Wenatchee-ite, former employee and athlete of mine and current World Cup coach Pete Korfriatis as the champion of the US Ski Team Fantasy Football league for the 2nd straight season. It is the first repeat championship since the fabled 3-peat of 2002-2004 by yours truly. I would also like to wish the best to Anna Goodman of Canada. Another injury in a tough season for injuries.
First stop for the guys, Adelboden. The nickname should say it all, “Rattleboden.” It is the classic GS race on the World Cup. As great as Alta Badia is, and I love it there, I think Adelboden is the one. The one I would want to win if I ever skied fast enough to get the opportunity. The one that I always watched as a young racer and was amazed that they could do what they did. Tucked up the Frutigen Valley just outside of Interlaken, Switzerland, it is an amazing place. Sheer rock walls and a giant ski area. You can ski over to Lenk on the west side too. It is not far from the home of Gruyere cheese, either.
And on that note, one of the most amazing things they serve in Adelboden is cheese bread. First, a half baguette is skewered on a hot metal rod and left there for a few seconds. Then Raclette is scraped and poured into the hole in the bread. For 5 SFR it is yours and one of the best treats ever! Cheese fondue in every bite. Anyway, Adelboden has sold 37,000 tickets this year so it should be an amazing show. The most I have ever seen there is about 30,000. I have seen 10,000 people at the GS bib draw where they zip-line the boys in from a roof-top to the stage, ripping across a public square above the crowd. Watch out, it can be crazy. Half way down the hill there is a tent and a big screen. Usually about 5,000 people hang out here drinking wine and beer and schnapps. As well as eating a cheese bread or some sausage. It is just below the slalom start and often gives the home country boys a boost when they are about to bonk.
The first couple times I went there, the hill had only a t-bar. The quad they have is new only a few years ago. We would ride up between 2 fences with the race hill on one side and the crowd on the other. It felt like being in a zoo. People staring through b-net at us as we rode the t-bar. Now there is a quad so it is a little easier, although a little less familiar. But I will say this, no tech race is more impressive than Adelboden. The bottom pitch is insanely steep, with a road 3 gates above the finish. And when all the speed builds up into the compression and you hit the road, anything can happen. Rahlves’ crash there is the most violent crash that ever happened in a tech event. And with all of the play that crash got, Andreas Schifferer(AUT) had a very similar crash on run 1 that day and went a little above the air-bag, sliced through the net and broke a spectator’s femur. It is an intense day there.
When you drive up to the hill, there is always a feeling of anticipation, of intensity waiting to happen. And then you ride up for free ski and the hill is injected wall to wall. It drops out of the start for 5 turns of almost free fall. Then it hits a compression as the hill bends to the right. A road is there almost immediately and bounces you again, still bending right. Of course with fall-away right foot the whole way. It will stay relentlessly right footed all the way to the bottom pitch. Then it breaks to the left briefly and then re-adopts the right foot attitude and another pronounced road. Six more turns or so and then another road with a major deepening of the right foot pull. Then it flattens a little and into the slalom hill. A big break-over for a couple of turns and onto a dead-flat with some big, round rolls in it. It flattens more and starts bending to the right hard. Then breaks over again into the almost free-fall finish pitch. 1 minute and 13-15 seconds of unending intensity. Rattle-boden all the way. 30 thousand plus screaming Swiss at the bottom.
In the 7 years I spent on the World Cup, this race always amazed me with the fervor the crowd backed their boys. Their skiers are loved in Adelboden. I was there one year when Berthod and Albrecht were young. They had not done much all year and I was having my lunch at the slalom start trying to will my last athletes to stay in the top 30. When Berthod left the start, a buzz began, I looked up to the screen and he was only a couple tenths out at the first split, the noise got louder. He hit split 2 and the entire crowd understood, he was just .97 behind. They were willing him to qualify. And he did, the place exploded. The same happened on the next racer, when Dani Albrecht went. It was amazing.
At the awards there, they lift the top 3 out on a crane to the parking lot above the stadium. The year Berthod won (January 2005) and Albrecht was 2nd it was like a religious experience. I think Jimmy was like 17th? None of our other guys finished. But I stayed and watched the ceremony as I was waiting for the slalom course set anyway. And the crowd went nuts, and sung the national anthem over and over…it was a deep and moving experience. It was something that sticks with me and I hope we can someway reach that type of experience.
I will say more, that Adelboden requires a rare combination of intensity and tactics. It needs an athlete to be aggressive with their movement and body position. To be driving the switches and moving hard to be in the front of the boots, but yet to understand the tactics of the blind rolls, fall-away turns, the compressions and roads. It has it all. To put a little understanding on it, we were talking about which GS was toughest and the argument was between Alta Badia and Adelboden. I chose Adelboden. Ted looked at me and told me that he did not think Adelboden was all that tough. The next morning he hit the bottom of the first pitch and high sided himself into the red-room right in front of me. That was the year he won the GS globe. He still has not done better than 9th there ever. I think I am going to rest my case. Just recall the crash Daron Rahlves had at the bottom of Adelboden and that will tell you the level of risk there is on this hill.
Very quickly, congrats to Lindsey for her win today in the replacement race for Val d’Isere in Haus, Austria. Also to Stacey Cook and Alice McKennis for solid World Cup points!

The Men in Zagreb, Live Commentary

2010-01-06T11:41:00.001-08:00

I was planning on writing a men’s preview for the slalom in Zagreb, Croatia as well as a review of the women’s race there sometime in the last 3 days. But I was busy with the Mission Ridge Ski Team racing some FIS races at Schweitzer Mountain Resort in Sandpoint, Idaho. It was a very good event there and we got off a GS and 2 Super G races despite about 10 inches of snow while we were there.
So, as I sit here writing this I am tuned in to Universal Sports on my flat screen and getting ready to watch run 2 of the men’s slalom live. It looks as though the boys had a tough time with the conditions there. Injected snow with new snow over the top can be very difficult. So the draw is extremely important. Herbst took advantage of number 1 and won the first run. Not surprising in that kind of conditions. Other than the draw, it takes some mental toughness and an adjusted plan for the conditions to ski cleanly and get a second run and then hopefully starting early enough in run 2 to make a big charge up the list. World Cup skiing is about World Cup points and can turn into a qualifying game when the conditions are marginal. The other thing that can be tough about these day/night type races is that they are scheduled in mid afternoon for Run 1 and then well into the dark for Run 2. Slalom under the lights is great stuff with a lot of excitement and normally very fair light. Everyone gets the same, artificial light. In the late afternoon the light is flat, the artificial light is not doing its job yet. It can make it tough to see the track. Especially when you have the kind of tough conditions they have tonight in Zagreb.
Zagreb is a pretty amazing race. They get big crowds and pay a lot of money. They also put the guys up in the middle of the city in a great hotel and make a huge effort to take care of the athletes and coaches. They bring the whole field up to the hill in a motorcade with a police escort. It is a great experience for all of the guys.
So, writing this as I watch the second run, the set is very difficult. Christian Hoeflehner(AUT) has created a course with very large exits from the combinations. Big swing on the course from the top and then tough turning exits of hairpins along with some cross-hill pins set against the grain of the exit. He also set a large right to left cross-hill delay toward the end of the hill with a relentless section of rhythm afterwards leading to a hairpin with a tough exit just before the finish. There were a number of athletes who just did not adjust to some of these tactical challenges so far in Run 2. The hill is also relatively flat and gives the athlete the mentality that it requires a full-charge attitude but Hoefi has set a course that requires some tactical preparation as well. The very best guys should shine in that type of environment if the conditions hold up.
I just watched Mike Janyk(CAN) take his second run and ski a very smart run. He went after the easier sections and set himself up well for the tough pin in the middle and for the aforementioned delay section at the bottom. Very smart stuff, very disciplined. Jimmy about to start, let’s see if he can get it done. .. and simply leaned in with over a half-second lead. Bummer. When you watch Felix Neureuther go after Cochran, watch the lead he had and then how round he is in the flat, middle section compared to Mike Janyk. And then the superior adjustment Mike made to the delay near the bottom. It’s a great contrast to look at. Hargin(SWE) had the lead going into the bottom section and did not adjust as well as Janyk, but adjusted better than he often does to keep it close. I thought that was a higher level of tactical adjustment for Matias than I have seen over the past few seasons. I am actually very surprised at Benni Raich. I expect him to be more tactical than Mike Janyk but Mike did a much better job adjusting to the bottom section. I just watched a nice run from Mitja Valencic(SLO). He adjusted well after charging the top. The Croatian crowd is likely going to be behind the Slovenians with no one of their own to really root for. And with Lizeroux, just fighting to stay in at the end did it for him. He made the necessary tactical moves but truly had to dig deep to stay in at the end…great job! Mario Matt cost himself with the mistakes at the top but it also affected his speed-carry across the middle flat. The same thing happened to Moelgg but he got himself moving just enough to go into the lead with an excellent adjustment at the bottom. Watching Razzoli flail down the bottom of the run, I thought he had made a mistake in the middle that slowed him down just enough to be able to deal with the tough lower section. In a way, his poor exit from the hairpin in just above the bottom pitch allowed him to slow down enough to deal with the delay. It would have been interesting to see if he could have stayed in the course on the bottom had he carried more speed into it. Herbst blows it, Razzoli WINS! WOW…. That was a fun race. It’s a great podium. Razzoli, Moelgg and Lizeroux. Three great guys who work very hard at their craft. All three are professional ski racers. Razzoli has methodically worked his way up through the rankings over the last 3 years on the World Cup to the top 15, and now he has his first win. Congratulations boys, and to Mike Janyk as well! Nice job.
That was pretty cool. I liked typing in comments as the race was happening. Hopefully I can do the same for Schladming and for the Olympics since they are in my own time zone. Maybe I can do a live chat or something during some of the Olympic races. I might try that.
Coming up, the tech boys head to Adelboden which is one of my favorites. And the USA speed boys should be headed back to Europe to train a couple of days in Veyssonaz before heading up to Wengen. The speed girls are in Haus, Austria, which has to be one of the most challenging women’s downhills in the world. It has a lot of terrain with some big air. As well as some jumps that are mid turn which always makes for some excitement when a girl goes off with a loaded ski. And then the tech girls head to Flachau which should be a fantastic venue for them. We have raced there a number of times over the years. In fact, my first ever World Cup course set was there. I have a lot of fond memories of Flachau. I will try to preview and review all of these races coming up. The best month of the year on the World Cup is just getting cranked up!

The Ladies go south to Zagreb

2010-01-02T21:10:00.000-08:00

Zagreb for the girls on the 3rd and the guys on the 6th. Then the women follow that up with speed on in Haus, Austria and the guys hoof it all the way across the continent to Adelboden, SUI for the classic GS on the Chuenisbaergli, which can have different spellings than that one. Actually, it is spelled differently on different signs in town. But that is not really the subject of this blog, it should be Zagreb, and focused on the ladies’ race at that. It has been a tough season to figure out so far in slalom. We have had 4 women’s world cup slalom races and 4 different winners: Riesch, Zahrobska, Aubert and Schild.
So when I start to think about Zagreb, and look at who has won here, I have to start thinking Riesch right away. I would like to think Vonn, but that won’t happen with an injured hand. Slalom is too tough on the hand. Pole plants blocking gates, it just seems like it would be bothersome. Regardless, Zagreb is a fairly mellow hill. It rolls a bit and has some steeper pitches which are pretty short. In the past, visibility and snow conditions have played a part, at least in the men’s races. And if you put together the fact that you stay in a downtown, urban environment and get police escorts to the hill and public draw and the put 38,000 rabid Croatian fans on the hill, it can be difficult. Especially for the women, not because they are women, but because they generally do not draw that kind of crowd. I was glad to see they drew a nice crowd in Lienz last week. But I am sure the crowd in Zagreb will be much bigger, and much more enthusiastic. And they want to help Ana Jelusic and Nika Fleiss up the standings as much as possible. They are nationalistic, to say the least. When Janica was still racing, there were stories of fans pummeling the first run leader with snow and ice while she rode the chair up for her second run start. Protected only by her goggles and slalom helmet.
As I digressed, I realized I needed to go further on the different results this year and in previous years in Zagreb. There have been 3 different winners the last 3 seasons here. But 2 have won slaloms this season (Riesch and Schild). The other winner was Poutiainen in 2008. Add on to that piece of information, Christian Schwaiger, the coach of the German women, has already set a 1st run this season in Levi, and Maria won the run, and the race. So when you line up a winner on this season, with a previous winner on this hill and winning on a course set by the first run setter, who HAPPENS to be her coach…well I think I lean that way. Maria will likely win this race. All things point to her. But I think Marlies Schild skied the best last week and is coming back from injury so she should be improving her racing every week. And then who? I go with Aubert. And watch for all the French girls who seem to be on a roll!
So, my podium looks like: Maria Riesch, Marlies Schild, Sandrine Aubert.
CANADIANS:
Anna Goodman has had a great season so far and I think she will bounce back from her first run DNF last week in Lienz. She starts 20 and a few more results and she could be in the draw! I thought that Brigitte Acton was solid and needs to put a few races together to really build some confidence. With the other starters not really showing much so far this season, I am reluctant to say anything. I think Marie-Michele Gagnon is an excellent skier but hasn’t really made her mark on the World Cup yet and I think she is a better GS threat than in Slalom.

AMERICANS:
Lindsey starts 3, which is great. But with her injury I just cannot see her competing for a podium. I will be the first one to cheer tomorrow morning when I check results, but I just don’t see it right now. Hailey Duke is starting 35 and I keep waiting for something a little more out of her. It seems she has a bit of the Jitloff bug. “Now, I’ve made it…” after a good year last year and a World Championship appearance, it has sort of dropped off. There have been some injuries but you have to wonder about some complacency. I am not ripping on her or Jitloff personally. It is a very real psychological phenomenon. And every cliché is based in reality. And “the sophomore slump” is a cliché. So add 1+1 and figure it out. Sterling Grant, a total enigma to me. I do not know her very well but I have watched her ski a bunch of times and I can only assume that she has not performed on race day at “The Show.” She is a much better slalom skier than her World Cup results show.
Sarah Schleper has been phenomenal since the Nor Ams at Loveland. Almost like the Aspen disappointment made her evaluate her place, and her motivation. Like she came out of that race re-dedicated to making herself into a new and better version of what she once was. Having a child changes people. I have a son and it changed me dramatically. I know it changed my wife even more. I cannot imagine what it does to a female athlete, especially in a risk-based sport. Sarah has probably had to grapple with emotions that no male athlete will ever have to deal with. Be proud that Sarah is one of ours, and that she is making herself and all of us proud.

And Kaylin, I did not leave you out but I got on a roll about Sarah. Move up, make the flip, and win the second run….simple.
Good luck ladies!

Bormio and Lienz, Christmas time in Europe

2009-12-31T19:19:00.000-08:00

We have had great training here at Mission Ridge for the last 2 weeks. Nice, hard, man-made snow on great hills with fantastic cooperation from the ski area. Our kids are prepared to race as they head off to Nor-Ams, Divisional races, West Region FIS races, etc. But it was getting painfully obvious that we needed it to snow soon. On top of that we have been jamming doing double sessions so I had not had a chance to watch the great racing that went on this week in Europe. I finally got that chance today with a day off AND it started dumping. We are expecting up to 2 feet up at The Ridge and I just got my Voelkl Mantras ready to go.
Regardless, the World Cup is going about its business and it was an interesting Christmas week. I was nice to see Bormio and Lienz with snow on the peaks and even in the finish area in Bormio. There is a lot on which to comment and I am sure I will not get to all of it. The speed guys are on a break until Wengen and the men and women’s tech groups are getting ready for Zagreb. The Women’s speed specialists are all finishing up a holiday break and heading back across the pond to get going again in Haus, Austria.
Bormio is nasty. There is no other way to put it. It does not have that visual intimidation that Kitzbuehel gives you when you stand in the start, or at the finish. And it does not have the reverence of either The Hahnenkamm or The Lauberhorn. But what downhill really does? The January giants dominate the race schedule and the mind of every World Cup downhiller, and slalom skier. They are the trophies that everyone wants to hold. But Bormio is also very special. It is one of the most interesting places to visit on the tour. A Roman outpost 2000 or so years ago, it was famous for its baths which still operate today, at the base of the Passo Stelvio. It is a cool place, no doubt. Anyway, it hammers you from top to bottom for 2 solid minutes, or you can take that attitude to hammer the hill. That is what Andrej Jerman did. We call him “Jerry,” and he took it to the Pista Stelvio and to the rest of the field.
Mario Scheiber was close but there was not much to compare it to around him. But if you watch the replay on Universal or if you already saw it, you saw Jerry absolutely attack with confidence and then saw everyone else try to “feel” their way down and look totally different, He tucked where others did not or could not, he kept a higher line in all the critical sections to allow him to tuck where others could not. Frankly, it was one of the better DH runs I have seen in a long time. Maybe since Rahlves’ win in Wengen a few years ago. It was a great run on a great hill.
On the flip side you saw people pay for poor planning or poor execution. Manny O-P and Erik Guay in the same spot. You saw Sulli making errors in many places. He just needs to ski better. He is skiing better than ever in training and needs to execute on race day the way he knows how. Steven needs to bring some discipline into his skiing.
All of that aside, if you want to know what Bormio is like, or how difficult it actually is, watch Ambrosi Hoffmann. He is a Swiss guy, and a professional downhiller. As consistent as it gets and has been forever. He was a World Junior winner back in the day. And he was dominated by this hill. Once it goes bad here, it goes bad for most of the run. There is no place to get the line back, it just keeps coming at you.
In the end, Bormio was a fantastic race and Jerman won and deserved it all. It is also a great training race for the upcoming races. The two-minutes and thirty on the track at Wengen and the hair-raising run at Kitzbuehel. The next month has the best 2 downhill races on the tour and the greatest tradition of them all. It will also tell who makes our Olympic Team in both DH and SG. Right now, DH is led by Miller, then Sullivan and then Weibrecht, Nyman, Fisher and Macartney are battling. In Super-G you have Ligety, Miller and then it will be a battle. Wengen will favor Sulli to make his presence felt, Nyman should be able to do well there. Mac needs to overcome his demons there and his recent back problems in Bormio. Fish, Nyman and Weibrecht all had their struggles in Wengen last season. In Kitzbuehel, the ball is decidedly in Fisher’s court. He is coming off a huge performance there last season and can definitely do it again. He is a big, strong, fearless guy with excellent gliding skills. It will be fun to watch the USA boys jockey for those 4 Olympic slots.
THE GIRLS
The GS in Lienz was ok but not really that fun to watch. I thought the sets were disjointed and unimaginative. Maybe lacking a feel for the hill? It meanders but never seems to have enough speed. I don’t know, I have watched this race on TV a number of times now and it just seems like a weird, a rhythmical GS.
On the other hand, we saw a lot of action from the girls during the race. Some points I would like to make:
Denise Karbon is not recovered from her meniscus surgery. She usually charges on the hill, putting all of herself into it. She was on her heels the whole way. That is a confidence thing and coming off recent surgery, who can blame her? And Tessa Worley, my pick for a win, looked like she could not grip on the ice there on her right footed turns. Starting with the delay at the 10th turn, she struggled on all the right footers. Maybe she hit a rock? Maybe her service guy failed? Maybe she is not good on right footers and Lienz is heavy to the right foot? I don’t know but she could not buy a turn on run 1 going right to left. Julia hooked her arm and had no answer for that. I know it is bad fortune, but a racer needs to have that in her background. To have dealt with it before and gotten it done.
To more positive things. Kati Hoelzl, who I totally disrespected by not mentioning her this week took it to the hill and field. I have to say that I did not say anything about her because I was sick of being disappointed. I think she is a great GS skier and she nailed it this week. Her switches were stronger and her initiations cleaner than all the other girls in the race except maybe Zettel and Moelgg. But she was far more consistent than Zettel and consistent enough to be better than Manu. I also need to give Megan a big hooray for her 20th place as well as her big cheer for Sarah when she crossed the line on run 2. Megan was in the leader box for a number of girls and when Schlep took the lead away from her, and she spontaneously and genuinely whooped it up for Schlep. And that is what it is all about. Do your best, beat all the people you can, but when you get beat be bigger than the situation and be the one. Knowing you did your best and someone else did better is good. Just work harder and come back next time and be the one on top.
More props to Anemone Marmotton(FRA) coming from 55 to 21 and then using it as a spring board for the slalom. Also to Taina Barioz (FRA) for her podium. Watch those French girls in the tech events as we move forward. They have great chemistry within their team and they all ski well.
In the slalom, I thought again that the hill was a little unnatural but also that it was very physically demanding. I think fitness played huge role in the outcome. Making slalom turns for a minute on ice is a tough gig. And Marlies Schild crushed everyone. She looked better, skied better and seemed unfazed by the length of the course. Seth McCadam of the USA set run 1 and it looked to run well. I liked the double hair-pin on the first major corner in the hill. It’s a “tough spot to get around,” he had told me and hoped that wasn’t going to be “too weird,” as he mocked my previous blog.
Marlies Schild: Is she Benni’s girlfriend or what? Do you have to sign them together to sponsorships? She is even starting to ski like him in Slalom. She crushed everyone and showed her potential dominance in slalom if she stays healthy. We’ll see in Zagreb next week but I think she sent a message this week.
Sandrine Aubert: The Deux Alpes girl was very good but not near in Schild’s world. It shows where everyone else was to end up behind her.
Katrin Zettel: In a mistake filled weekend, she proved that is she is more consistent, she can compete for a win in every slalom and GS for the rest of the year.
Lindsey Vonn: Exhausted. We can blame it on the hand injury but really, this is not about her crash in the GS. It is about Schild, and maybe Schleper.
Sarah Schleper: A great weekend for Sarah after a great weekend in Are. We can only hope for more. As long as she can stay focused on the solid switch and her initiation being clean, she will continue this show. When she can be more consistent she will fight for wins again. Look how close she was to the podium this weekend with a lot of mistakes!
Anemone Marmotton: What can you say? A follow up to the surprise GS finish. I saw her first hand in Loveland at NorAms last month. She is a solid skier. I think she will bust into the 30 in slalom this year and stay there for a while.
Nastasia Noens(FRA): Another French girl kicking ass in slalom and moving up in huge chunks. She started 42 and ended up in the teens…I saw her ski in Loveland as well and thought she would be heard from soon.
Tessa Worley: Ok, French girl after French girl. I do not know what to say except that Tessa is a fantastic GS skier who seems to be making her move in slalom too. If their rankings come into order by Whistler, watch out for more than one medal out of these girls. I am very interested to watch this as I think their chemistry within their team is strong.
Brigitte Acton (CAN): I know she was not happy with her second run, one look at her expression in the finish will tell you that, but when you get some points when maybe you did not ski so well….well you just take them and move on.
Congratulations to all the winners, podiums and big movers. Have a great New Year’s and we’ll catch up in Zagreb!

Christmas racing in Europe...Bormio and Lienz

2009-12-25T21:18:00.000-08:00

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!

The Italy Swing, Val Gardena and Alta Badia

2009-12-23T07:54:00.001-08:00

A fun weekend of racing in Val Gardena and Alta Badia

By now, the athletes from the USA and Canada as well as our Scandinavian brothers and sisters are well on their way home after the long pull that starts with training camp in Colorado or elsewhere in mid-November. Or for some the whole thing started in mid-October in Soelden prior to the World Cup opener in Soelden. Most of our USA boys went to Europe in October, trained for Soelden, stayed over there and trained in different venues. Then they headed north and started their prep camps for Levi, raced Levi and flew home. They probably got home for about a week and then went back to Colorado around the 24th, trained and raced Beaver Creek. Then headed back to Europe to hit some Europa Cup races and the World Cup in Val d’Isere and in Val Gardena/Alta Badia. If you are a 4 –event guy you have been charging the whole time, without that little break at home.
At any rate, the Scandinavians and the North Americans generally all get to the Movenpick in Hallbergmoos, GER. Just off the airport there. They checked in and then hit Il Mistero for a pizza or maybe even the Weihenstephen Brewery in Freising if they got in early enough. Sometimes it is just a meal at the hotel and off to bed. Either way it is usually a relaxing time with some friends you don’t always get to hang out with off the hill. And everyone is usually pretty fired up to get home for the holidays.
There are 2 races over Christmas break. The men race downhill in Bormio starting on the 27th and the girls have tech starts in Lienz on December 28 and 29. The American guys usually take a few days off, find some training somewhere and then head to Bormio and have their Christmas there at the Hotel Alu. Everyone tries to make it the best they can and it further bonds this group of people together.
As I have mentioned before, I love these two venues for many well-documented reasons.
Val Gardena Super-G
The blind rolls and air under the skis on those blind spots makes inspection and experience extremely important on this hill. The SG knocked out a bunch of good skiers because there were a lot of gates that were not visible from above. That is not an unusual phenomenon on this hill at all. It was surprising that Jerman and some others had troubles with some blind spots. Bode did a nice job planning for the area in which Jerman crashed and skied through that section very cleanly. And I think there are very few options except to play it that way. I guess you can take the risk and run it a little more direct but you have to be very sure of what you want to do. In addition to that you need to have a trusting relationship with the coach in that spot to give you the right information and for him to know your plan. And then you need to execute your plan. But as it was last season, the SG race was won and lost exiting Ciaslat and holding a high line there. Then able to carry that speed through the little zig-zag in the Nucia and then on the flattish and narrow schuss area. Svindal and Janka were the fastest in that speed trap and 1 and 3 in the bottom split. They got it done exit Ciaslat. Nice job by both of those guys and Patrick Staudacher on the podium. A solid day for Bode and Andrew Weibrecht. Robbie Dixon opened his weekend hot and it got hotter. Also very impressed with Benni Raich in the top 10 again. But this time on more of a downhiller’s track. Big surprises from Andrej Krizaj(SLO), Peter Zahrobsky (CZE) and Dominik Paris (ITA) getting in the points.
VAL GARDENA DH
Very entertaining and I have to say I called it. Manny Osborne-Paradis nailed it. I called him for the win because I thought he should have won it last year and just blew a spot or two and got himself in trouble. But it shows you what guys on that tour know. That Manny is a great glider and he is an under-rated skier. And most importantly he is a tough competitor. I would not doubt one bit if he makes the home crowd smile in Whistler come February. Watch out for him in Wengen, another famous course where he has been close. Mario Scheiber backed up a podium in SG with another podium. I am not surprised that Ambrosi Hoffmann hit the podium here. He is a true downhiller and a big guy. Robbie Dixon backed up his top 10 in SG with another one, a big weekend for him. Hans Olsson likely needs a psychologist to deal with race day. He should do better. I am very happy with Marco in 12th while I am sure he is not. But one step at a time and he will come around by Wengen. Nyman and Fish in the top 20 and then Mac in 23rd on yet another comeback.
ALTA BADIA GS
In watching the first run of the Alta Badia GS, I was struck immediately by the number of turns on the hill. The tempo was very quick and uncomfortable looking. The best GS skiers in the world were in a defensive mode. I immediately thought when I saw Blardone go first, “this one is in his wheelhouse.” Steep, injected, aggressive and cold snow with tight turn shape spells Max and Simo. You can bet on it. I was there once before for a finish like that a few years ago. It was a similar set up. 26 meters the whole way, speed slightly down. He has intensity every time out but especially in Alta Badia. So when I looked it up after the fact, Hoeflehner(AUT) set 54 turns and Sepp Brunner (SUI) went one better to 55. I do not know what drove them there but the hill ran 1:18 plus Which is about 3-5 seconds longer than most of the runs in the past 8 seasons. More turns on the hill with swing makes that hill tough, and even tougher to beat Blardone. In the past 8 races there, the rang of distance was 26 meters on the pitches and opened to 30 down on the flat. When I set there I did something in that range and most sets I have seen have done that. I am thinking these started at 25-26 and just stayed there.
Max and Simoncelli are all about ski direction. They get the skis pointed to where they want to go very early on the hill no matter what the cost. When you slide the entry like they do you can pay in speed. But when the hill is as steep and relentless as the Gran Risa, you can still win. As long as you bring the massive intensity. Watch him in the start, he looks insanely fired up. But if you get a course set around minimum turns it becomes a more arcable all the way down and then favors the Ligety, Svindal and Raichs of the world. I have to wonder why Hoefi went that way with his set. Was it to favor Hirscher? I think if he examines his team he is better off with a little more room and let the slalom guys who ski GS figure out how to do it. And Brunner likely just copied it and added tried to shorten distances here and there. He is a tough course setter to read. I have kept a “book “on setters over the years and he is the least likely to do the same thing. That can be positive in that no one can nail him down from a scouting point of view. But it is also negative in that his own athletes cannot assume anything going into a race. And I will tell you that I have done some camps with Sepp over the years and I don’t think he has much rhythm in his setting. It translates into no fun for the athletes.
Regardless, Blardone and Simoncelli got course sets they could deal with and brought their usual heat to the race and it worked out. Ted was off his game from the gate. Maybe feeling rushed the whole way. That’s what it looked like to me. And as Ted would likely say, he was “pussy-footing” his way down the hill. Benni blew the race in one turn on the first run below the second corner. Janka over-skied the whole thing on run 1. Likely intimidated a little by the set but also all the blind corners, etc. It takes some getting used to.
AMERICANS:
Ted was mediocre but it is cool to see him skiing rather poorly for him and still finish high in the ranking. 7th is not all bad.
Bode was as expected. Too much attack and not enough tactical adjustment. Hammering direct into corners simply does not work there. The corners are sharp and there are constantly changing fall-away turns and terrain all the way. Too much, way too hard, not enough give in the line.
Jitloff: I cannot believe I am actually addressing this run. He was .89 out at the second split with nothing but flats and rolls to go. He pulled a stupid J3 move and who knows what he actually did? It wasn’t like he even put his head down tucking into the finish. It was totally ridiculous. I do not know what else to say. Look ahead? What? I am at a loss.
Tommy Ford! Congratulations T Ford! Now go get yourself some more points at Adelboden. It’s an even better hill for you. GO beat that thing and qualify yourself for the Olympics.

CANADIANS:
Dixon was just as bad as Jitloff, really. Well maybe not that dumb. But seriously questionable tactics. The rest of them are in a world of hurt. No points in GS and I don’t see any coming unless Dixon skis smarter.
GERNERAL STATEMENTS:
Alta Badia is a tough one. It does not get any easier. Adelboden is just as tough although with different challenges. The only easy GS they have left is the Olympic GS in Whistler. But the pressure of the Olympics is challenge enough for most. There has been a lot of chatter about injuries and why there might be so many this year. I think the answer to that is simple. There are a lot of guys pushing harder to try to step up and make their team. There are only 4 skiers in each discipline at the Olympics. No matter where you are from. It makes for a lot of risk.
I do want to compliment Ondrej Bank (CZE) again for putting himself deep in the points. It has been a good comeback year for him. And to Jansrud for another top 10. To Alexander Ploner (ITA) who seemingly has been on and off the Italian team 6 times in 8 years, for his 6th place. Ploner is from St. Vigilo, the same as the Moelggs, just 20 minutes drive from the finish area of the Gran Risa. And last to Leif Haugen AGAIN! For beating down the door of an Olympic slot straight out of Denver University. Great job Leif, keep it up!
ALTA BADIA SLALOM
At -18 degrees Celsius, the injected surface tends to stiffen more than normal. It did not look overly slick but at first glance I would say some skis had an issue of grip. As in not enough grip, especially on the steeper top section. Ted looked like he lacked the grip to hold to the tempo set by Ante Kostelic (CRO), as did Mario Matt. Kostelic set his usual statement making course. Doing things that are unconventional for whatever reason. He constantly wants to make a statement with his sets. He claims it is to keep things interesting. I guess it does, but he thinks little tricks are going to throw the best guys in the world off their games. Like into hairpins and off-set delays. But this does nothing to these guys. It is just annoying. An into-hairpin is just the same as a single open turn, just with a double gate to hit. The off-set delays are nothing more than the delay turned up-side down. It doesn’t actually accomplish anything. But all of that said, the worst thing he set was the 4-gate flush over a major knoll. I just don’t get it. Why turn a race into a tactical game? It is not, it is a test of skills and should test all skiing skills, not just hinge a run on a decision of when and where to slow down.
All the World Cup course setters are chosen in the fall based on how many athletes a country has ranked in the top 30. It gives you more chances to be drawn the more athletes you have ranked. You cannot be assigned to set in your own country so all of your chances come out of the hat so to speak. But I do have to express my dismay over this situation. I think that if your athlete falls out of the WCSL ranking OR pulls from the race, you should lose your right to set. It gives the setter very little motivation to set something competitive and more motivation to “make statements.” There needs to be some kind of adjustment to the course setting assignments based on rank.
And by contrast, Dusan Grasic (CAN) set an excellent course. Testing different skills on the appropriate point on the hill as well as testing tactical adjustments with rhythm changes. He even some long, swinging turns in the middle over the knoll. And then had the guys charging to the finish and looking good on the hill. It made for an exciting second run.
Reini Herbst made his mark again. He is tough to beat in his specialty. Manny Pranger made his presence felt again. Next time you get a chance to watch Pranger in the start gate it is a treat, very entertaining. I hope they can catch him at inspection some time on the live feed when he is visualizing. Anyway, a great show on the second run by the best slalom skiers in the world. Manny Moelgg completed a great weekend just 20 minutes from his home in St. Vigilio. As well, a big congrats to some guys we have not seen in the points for a while: Akira Sasaki, Naoki Yuasa and Kentaro Minagawa, team Japan got it done with 3 in the points. The Russian Aleksandr Hiroshilov with a top 30 in a regular slalom! And to the Canadians, Mike Janyk and Brad Spence. Excellent job, boys.
And last, but certainly not least, to Jimmy Cochran. That’s a nice way to get on the plane home and celebrate Christmas. World Cup top 10 finishes are hard to come by and I am sure Jim is at home analyzing it to see how he could have gotten onto the podium. But those are the ones you have in the bank to build on.

Alta Badia GS, My Favorite!

2009-12-19T18:58:00.000-08:00

So I have given you a run down on the Gardena and VDI races, and I am anticipating the DH at Gardena tomorrow. But I can’t wait for the Alta Badia GS. It is the best GS on tour (sorry Adelboden) although I might say Adelboden is the best when we get there. But Badia is unique, and I will tell you why.
First of all, you can ski from Gardena to Badia which is fantastic. You go up on a lift and ski down a pass to Corvara, then up a lift and down, etc., until you get to La Villa (Italian), Stern(German) and La Ila (Ladin) and you see a big yellow egg gondola going up. That is the hill. It is cool.
So here’s the story.
In 2002, I was in my first season with the USST and we were in St. Vigilio for a Europa Cup, about 20 minutes away from La Ila. We concluded our race and packed our stuff. We had decided on our starters in Alta Badia. Our NorAm winner in GS, Jesse Marshall, could decide to race if he wanted, on his earned quota spot. We convinced him to stay on the Europa Cup telling him to build more experience and work through the lower levels. So their plan was to go to Krompachy, Slovakia and the EC team was coming from Obereggen, near Bolzano. So in order to hook up with the EC group, the boys would all come to the World Cup hotel in La Ila and we were carrying radios to communicate easily, and wait for a pick up. As we drove up the valley, I saw to my left a large peak, sticking up almost on its own from the valley floor. Fully tree covered and in a pyramidal point, with a gondola going straight up the middle. Under the lift, a trail wound its way down, fenced in orange. I saw it and was shocked. For the first time I was there, the Gran Risa; beautiful and regal, in charge of the peak. As I drove by the hill on the way to the hotel , the radio crackled. It was Marshall. He said, “Can I change my mind? I want to race that hill, so bad.” Unfortunately, he could not change his decision, but it gives you an idea of the awe and motivation that the Gran Risa inspires, even from the road. I have never been anywhere for GS where It gives you that feeling, down below, just by looking at it.
I can go off on Badia for hours. The Hotel Dolomiti where the Pescolderunggs will do anything for you. Or to La Ila, to the beer and party tent in the finish area. They love having us here, they always have. But it is that way through the whole region. And they see themselves as Ladin. Not Italian, or Sudtiroler, or Austrian or even as a villager. They are Ladin, end of story and it is a wonderful place.
When you get off the top of the the Piz La Ila gondola, you can look straight back almost to the Val di Fassa. Little hills and valleys with lifts all the way back. When my son was 7, he and Shannon skied all the way back until they looked down on the Val di Fassa, then all the way back to La Ila. It took them all day. The granite peaks are breathtaking, to say the least. There is simply no place better. Then you slide off the plateau down to the start. Here you see the immaculately injected surface. Wall to wall and almost always perfect. It is 448 meters of exhilarating GS. The start is out to the left for 3 turns and a 90 degree to the right, then off a 50 degree pitch for 6 rhythm turns and bends about 70 degrees to the left onto a road, the 2 turns and 90 degrees to the right. Then about 6 turns on a moderate pitch to a 70 degree to the right for a delay and 1 turn and 70 degrees back to the left with about a 50 degree drop off. Then about 13 turns on a long pitch which eventually flattens as the trail bends to the left 30 degrees and flattens to the finish for about 15 turns. A brutal and exciting test the whole way. It’slike a road rally but on skis and down-hill, far more fun. There is absolutely nothing to match it in World Cup GS, except possibly Adelboden. When you get into the finish area, you look straight up and the podium is attached to a crane hanging above the finish and the bottom of the boxes says,” The platform at Alta Badia, hard to reach.” And add to that the air-show by the Italy Air Force as they rip through the tight alpine valley, it just closes the deal. It is great here.
For the real World Cup GS skier, your senses heighten here and it begins at the free ski. You are totally immersed now. There is no bull left in the schedule. It is all reality from here on out. Your morning excites you because you are Alta Badia, there is no better. You can describe it as you like but you know you have arrived at the big time.
Ted Ligety drew number 2 today and I have been waiting for him to win this one for a couple of years. I am going to call it again for him. It is the perfect hill for him. Blardone is historically strong here as is Simoncelli, Hirscher and Janka will be great here. As will Benni Raich. Watch also for Jansrud who is on a roll and I would think that Marc Berthod should re-introduce himself as a top-end competitor. Leif Haugen, who is now in the 30, should continue his assault on the rankings. Last, watch for Ondrej Bank(CZE) who’s first time in the second run was at Alta Badia. He might get in there again and has been skiing well.
CANADIANS:
Frank Bourque has a solid history on this hill but he hurt himself in Gardena in the SG and will not race. Other than that, I think the only chance they have at a second run here is Robbie Dixon. Sorry folks but with JP and Frank out, there is not much there. They might want to think of moving Dustin Cook up to the show in January after he has been dusting the field at NorAms in December.
AMERICANS:
Ted starts 2 and I will pick him to win. Love him on this hill. Jit starts 26 and needs to keep his head about him and ski within himself while pushing hard enough to get it done. I am not sure he has made it down this hill cleanly yet? Jake Zamansky starts 29 and he has a chance here. It is one of those hills where experience is extremely important and Jake broke through last year finishing 24th. Bode will do fine and move into the top 15 or so if he makes it down. And that frenzied pace we are so used to from him will not work in Alta Badia. I do not know when he is going to figure that out but it has to happen. It is just too steep and narrow to slam dead straight down the hill and make it clean. He might prove me wrong, he also might end up in the fence.
I am going to call out Tommy Ford. I know he probably feels awful about missing his start in Val d’Isere but it is time to grow up and pull it together. You are on the big tour Tommy, figure out your program and put away the childish stuff. It is time, you are good and you are talented. Get it together and focus on why you are there. This is no BS, it is win or not win. “DO or do not, there is no try” as Yoda once said.

My podium:
GS: Ligety, Janka, Svindal
SL: Lizeroux, Herbst, Hargin and I think Ted backs up the GS win with a top 5 and announces his return to world class slalom skiing.

Race Day tomorrow!

2009-12-17T20:08:00.000-08:00

The boys and girls are deep in sleep tonight as I write this, awaiting race starts tomorrow. The women are on a Super Combi, and what amounts to another training run on the Downhill for most. And the men are onto Super G tomorrow, a dreaded break in the program of Downhill. This is an issue the athletes constantly bring up as inherently unfair and even unsafe in the scheduling. Breaking up the downhill training routine with a Super- G. One issue that is often described by many of the top speed guys is that is ruins the rhythm of the week. They would much rather be racing downhill tomorrow, or have the week start one day later so the downhill could still be on Saturday after 2 training runs and then have SG on Sunday after the main event, so to speak. The other thing they mention is that they are used to certain gate placements on blind knolls, etc. and it can get confusing. In fact, they often say that it is not the Super -G race that bothers them, it is switching back to downhill on the day after. Increasing the speed back up to 80 MPH or so and then being a little unsure about which direction to go when approaching a blind roll. And Groeden has an unbelievable number of jumps and blind bumps and rolls. I think we were told last year that there are 26 actual jumps on the way down the Saslong; that you actually leave the ground for a noticeable amount of time at 26 different spots on the hill. Add to that all the rough bumps and high speeds, tough light and shadows and you have a great spectacle of sport. Nothing is like it, anywhere in any sport. 80 miles per hour, jumping 26 different times? Going in and out of shadows and going as fast as you can handle. It sounds cool to me. It cannot be explained and TV dulls it down too much to really appreciate it. You need to look for all the little compressions and bumps and jerky little rollers all the way down this hill. Unlike Kitzbuhel and Beaver Creek, it is not at all visually intimidating. The Saslong is more of a puzzle…a piece by piece run that requires you to have a tactical plan and put that plan together with execution on race day. That is why I think you see very disjointed training run times and splits. With guys all over the map during training runs. They are playing sections to see how they can figure out entry to Ciaslat, or double the Camel, or where do you aim when you land the Spinel Jump near the top. How much direction do you need exiting the Ciaslat to make it work to the bottom.
So looking at splits, I see the guys with interesting splits. I will doubt someone who is slow all the way down and wins the last split, ending up 5th on the run, is going to win. It will be someone who is fast in sections and does not push through the finish. That is why I am not super high on the winners from today. While I like Cuche, Svindal and Heel in general, I just don’t think they are going to be that fast. I think they are great downhillers, but with Olsson winning all the way down and pulling 33rd at the bottom split, he becomes a podium favorite. But I do not think he will win. He is likely playing it cool, and I think he will have some nerves come Saturday. So I look for him to be in the mix, maybe 3rd. I think Walchhofer is tough to beat on this hill, a 3 peat never happens but I am thinking about calling for it, at least just to jinx him! And the rest? Watch out for Staudacher(ITA) who is at home and has been skiing well this season. Klaus Kroell (AUT)is a standard top performer here, as is Ambrosi Hoffmann (SUI). But watch out for Old Man Jaerbyn (SWE). He is just about 60 years old now and still out there fighting. Really, he just turned 40 in April and is still in the top 10 occasionally. He cannot always train effectively but he keeps going. Make sure you watch him on the Saslong. He loves this course and can be a factor here. But I am going out on a limb here by predicting another big North American day at possibly our favorite stop on tour. Bode, Marco, Nyman, Fish and Weibrecht will all be in the top 15. I think Mac will shake his funk and get in the 30. Our friend Worm Transue will get his first points and it will be a big party. Because Manny Osborne-Paradis is going to win this race. And if he does, watch out Wolkenstein, and everyone should just close their eyes and walk away, it will be ugly. I think Robbie will be in the points and Guay will challenge for a top 10 too. I just think it sets up great for all the North Americans. We might feel the ripples from the party all the way over here.
SG Podium: Heel, Cuche, Defago
DH Podium: Manny O-P, Bode, Walchhofer and Olsson will tie for 3rd! How’s that for a call!? If this one comes true on Saturday, someone has to give me some credit.
In Val d’Isere I am inclined to just wrap this one up for Lindsey Vonn in the DH. She was taking it easy out of the start and then cruised at the bottom, winning all the turning splits. That tells me she is confident and ready to go. No doubt, she wins another cow. Ingrid Jacquemod made herself felt today and she Tweeted that she was ready to go. I am a little worried about Maria Riesch at this race as her splits have been all over the place. And the training video I was sent on-line looks like she just isn’t skiing very well. Her pressure not well distributed and often miss-timing entries into blind turns. Maybe the Combined will give her the opportunity to figure things out. I am still hanging tough on my prediction for Julia to bust out and I do think that Leanne Smith will get it done. I am very high on Stacey Cook, as you all know. I think her skiing skills are remarkable and she just needs to figure out how to channel the talent into speed. But I think she has it with an excellent training run today, I am ready to say she will get herself into the top 10 again.
The Super Combi is tomorrow. It will provide another training run for the downhillers in the guise of a race. Maybe even forcing Stacey or Leanne to run some slalom to finish off the race and get their FIS point back-ups out of it. But there are only 2 real leaders in this discipline right now. Mrs. Vonn and Maria Riesch. They are the 2 best downhillers in the world and among the top 5 slalom skiers in the world. It’s tough to beat that combination. They need to give it away for someone else to win.
Combi Podium: Vonn, Riesch, Goergl
I honestly can’t see the Super G shaping up. So this is a total guess and maybe a little sentiment for her to win at home, so here it goes. Ingrid Jacquemod wins! Vonn second and Fabienne Suter will finish 3rd.
Have a great weekend everyone watching these races on classic hills. It should be excellent action and don’t turn off that TV until the last person goes…both places have a history of the light improving a little in the early afternoon. It could be the difference between scoring and not scoring, or 11th and 10th or 3rd and 4th…Keep a keen eye on that sunlight late in the runs. Right around number 50…

Val Gardena and Vald'Isere

2009-12-16T15:48:00.000-08:00

THE SASLONG- VAL GARDENA
As we awoke on the west coast today to a blanket of new snow, the boys and girls of the World Cup Speed tours were finishing up training run 1 at their respective venues. In Val Gardena, Italy the men took their first try at the famed Pista Saslong. Situated deep in the middle of the Dolomites, high up a deep valley, Val Gardena goes by 3 names. 1 Itailan, 1 German and 1 Ladin. The finish area is below the overhanging road in the village of Wolkenstein or Selva Val Gardena as it is known in Italian. It is dark at the bottom this time of year and with a large jump (tunnel jump) there can be difficulty. This is one of my favorite places, in one of my favorite regions. From the great food, to nice hotels, beautiful peaks and wonderful people, this area of the Dolomites brings back wonderful memories of my time on the World Cup. The Downhill track is a classic with a long history of famous Downhillers as winners. Back that up with the tech events just over the pass in Alta Badia and it lines up as one of the best weeks on the tour. And with all the villages all lit up for Christmas, it is even more attractive than normal. I have to give a big thank you to Babs and the Hotel Alpino Plan for hosting us all of these years. It’s like being home for all the boys and the staff!
The Saslong starts right at the top of the Gondola that climbs up from deep in the valley. At the top, the Restaurant Ciampinoi sits where the athletes and coaches can walk up to the closed upstairs to enjoy a beautiful spread of local foods between warm-up and inspection and then again while awaiting the start. The view from up here is just amazing. You can see peaks in a 360 degree panorama. You can see skiing in all directions. The famed Sellaronda is at home here too. From here you can ski seemingly to anywhere from everywhere. You can ski to Pozza di Fassa, Alta Badia, Alpe di Siusi, even Cortina by using a system of lifts and slopes that range over the entire region. It would be a fantastic day of skiing and eating…and more. Anyway, back to the race hill.
Before we start on this, I want to say that the start seems to be awkward here. A number of athletes have caught edges and pole tips over the years. It is just slightly side-hill into the direction of travel and when the light is flat it is hard to see the snow. There is so much terrain on the way down the Saslong; in and out of shadows, over rolls and into compressions. The Saslong starts right off the top of the ski area and immediately drops down a pitch into the Spinel Jump and a roundhouse turn to the left. This turn is crucial because it is all of your speed -carry for a long, flattish, right-foot, side-hill traverse to the Moro jump which lands and adds a compression right away. There are an amazing number of compressions on the way down the Saslong. It’s like it is meant to be, downhill that is, a ski through the woods from the top of the ski area to the bottom, as fast as you possibly can. You need to stay on the ground here and work the terrain. This is where Erik Fisher made his splash last season. Starting late in the race, a first place split came over the radios, all the coaches standing with me lower down in the Ciaslat snapped to attention. Then you pass the Super-G start and the action starts. Off the Mauern jump and a little bit of swing down the Mauern pitch and charge directly into the Camel Jump. The Camel can be a very high-speed, long jump of up to 90 meters. Stop and think about that for a moment. If it does go out to 90 meters, that is one football field long from goal line to goal line, in shadows, going about 80 miles per hour. After the Camel, you pass the Jagerhaus Restaurant on skier’s right with its screaming fans who have hiked up and jumbo screen monitor. Just below there, you have a long turn to the right and then back to the left. When you turn back to the left, it is entry-Ciaslat. The famous left-right-left section of constant jumps and compressions as you turn. The rolls are the size of VW bugs and they just keep coming at you. Two on the left foot where you need to land in your apex, between the two rolls, then complete the turn before you take off of the second one, then land on your right foot and hit a smaller roll that just kicks you to the right a little bit, but relax and let it take you where you need to go because it will put you right on line for the 4 rolls in the left footer exiting Ciaslat. Stick with that foot and keep turning as you land. There is a double in there from 1 to 2 if you can time it right and come out on the highest line you can because the left- foot fall-away pulls you hard and you need to get back to the right foot to pull the next three turns and stay on line through the Nucia. You need to come out ahead in the Nucia as there is a little slapper jump there into the Schuss as you head toward the Tunnel Jump and the finish. The Nucia section does not get a lot of attention by TV coverage or a lot of respect from the athletes but a number of skiers lost podium chances here last season. The Tunnel Jump is built up and flies very nicely into the landing area and into the finish area, about 2 minutes after you left the start. The Saslong is a Downhiller’s downhill and a lot of fun. The boys love skiing this one and you should enjoy watching it. A lot of tucking, big air and a ton of terrain, fantastic!
Look for the big, classic DH guys to do well here. Walchhofer is a double winner here. Bode was second last year and Manny Osborne-Paradis was 3rd. Last year at Val Gardena was one of the most memorable for me on the World Cup. Bode was 2nd, Marco was 4th, Fish 7th, Nyman 9th, Lanning 10th, Mac 15th and Andrew 28th. We were ecstatic and I am sure the boys will feel a lot of momentum going in there again this season. Add to it with our buddies to the north finishing (Manny 3rd, Guay 5th, Robbie 13th, Johnny 22nd). 7 of the 10 guys on the podium at the flower ceremony that day in the finish area were North Americans. And we were all staying at the Hotel Alpino Plan. There was a lot of good feeling in the hotel that afternoon!
Predictions? I am going to hold off for a day before going there. I will add them in a comment or maybe do a short entry.

LA DAILLE- VAL D’ISERE
The Downhill at La Daille is also a Downhiller’s Downhill. Characterized by large sweeping turns, smooth take-offs and occasionally very high speeds. The top half of the race is in wide-open, above the tree line bowls and drainages. The athletes get up to high speed very quickly ff the starts and start to bend through the race track that is defined only by b-net and the gates at this altitude, high above the tree line. As the race enters the tree-line it starts to swing more back and forth but in very large sweeping turns. Then as you head down into the GS hill, the speed really picks up and so does the tempo of the course. When mistakes happen, it tends to be down in this area. Some quicker turns where it can be hard to keep up. Then a bend to the right into a side-hill schuss and very high speed. As the race hill bends to the left toward the finish, there is a little bump that pushes you out to the right and you need to fight a right-foot fall-away as you make your way back to the left and into the finish area. The girls will need to keep their focus here as things can come at you quickly and the push to the right is often underestimated. I saw Marco Sullivan put it in the fence here years ago as he was attempting to record his first ever top 10 World Cup finish.
Similarly to the guys’ race, I would look for the classic DH skiers to dominate in Val d’Isere. Some of the girls who maybe did not execute in Lake Louise could feel more comfortable here as the hill has a little more natural flow. I would look for the French girls to rise to the occasion at home. Ingrid Jacquemod, Marie Marchand-Arvier and Marion Rolland will lead the charge for them. Watch out for some charge out of some Austria too. I think this is a good hill for Maria Holaus and also for Lizz Goergl. For the Swiss I think Fabienne Suter and Nadia Styger are most likely to excel. The Italian girl Nadia Fanchini makes a return and she is very fast on this type of hill. If she can keep it out of the red room she could build into it by race day. And of course, Maria Riesch is a favorite every week and is built for this hill.
CANADIANS:
The Canadians have two really good gliders in Kelly Vanderbeek and Emily Brydon. Both could excel here. Britt Janyk is likely their best technical skier on the speed side and can do well anywhere. I would not be surprised at all to see Emily on the podium again and the other two in the top 15.
AMERICANS:
The entire squad could do well in Val d’Isere. With Mrs. Vonn already owning a cow for a win here in Val d’Isere a few years ago, she has to be the favorite. Chelsea Marshall and Leanne Smith ski well enough and are excellent gliders, they can get it done here. Stacey Cook scored her first World Cup point on European soil herein 2005 and needs to draw on that positive experience and get it done this week. She is capable of getting into the top 15 with good execution every week. She also did very well on the other side of the valley at World Championships last year, finishing 9th in the downhill. And watch out, Alice McKennis IS a real Downhiller, and this track is built for her. She just needs to go to school on the video this week during training to make an excellent plan and then go out and execute on race-day. Keely Kelleher is also there. Keely has excellent turning skills and can glide but she needs to learn this hill a bit too. And last, I am predicting a return to prominence for Julia Mancuso. Julia had a win and a 2nd place in 2006 on this same track and I think she will start to climb back to the top this week.
Downhill podium: Vonn, Rolland, Mancuso. Bet you didn’t see that coming…
I will include a little look at the SG and Combi in Val d’Isere along with the men’s Super-G prediction.
These are some big races coming up with good money on the line along with other cool prizes along with permanent recognition next to pioneers of the sport as the winner of a classic.

Val d'Isere and Aare, and Jackson Hole...

2009-12-13T18:00:00.000-08:00

Obviously, I gave the jinx to Janka this week. I am like the cover of Sports Illustrated so far this year. Anyone I feel confident will win, does not. I am currently in Jackson, Wyoming at a regional FIS race. It is a different level of racing but it is a lot of fun. Being back in the States and working at this level is rejuvenating. The kids are all enthusiastic and putting in the highest effort on the hill, no one is used to being coddled by the system. They are stacked into condos or hotel rooms to reduce cost. They get out on the hill early and stay out until the end of the day in most cases. They carry clothes for each other and cheer each other on at the start. It is a true moment in sport. For the most part, they want to do as well as they can, and they want their friends to do well too. Some kids become mini-stars within their peer groups for big move-ups or huge results. It is a very happy thing to behold. Even when pressed with something that might be controversial like a brutally tight and tough course set, the course setter takes some heat but with a bit of kindness rolled into it. We have all been there; we have all set something that we thought would run better and caused a large percentage of DNFs. In this case it was Tyler Palmer. I think I had heard of him before. Like from the poster on my wall as a kid racing in Vermont. He was a World Cup winner. He won slalom in St. Moritz in January, 1971 along with one in Sestriere in December of 1971. He caught a ton of light-hearted crap from everyone all day as the kids struggled with his 1968-era set. He himself said, “I saw Killy run this exact course in 1968, and he crashed too!” Anyway, it has been a fun 3 days getting back to the roots here in Jackson and we have 1 more to go. Great to be here!
But on the serious side, what did we see this weekend? The Val d’Isere hill on the Face de Bellevarde is supremely difficult and relentless. And when you see course workers beating on the surface with rakes and shovels, it cannot be good news on that difficult of a hill. This week, it once again earned the nickname Val de Misere. When I watched the races this afternoon I was struck once again with the difficulty. The difficulty to set a good course where the athletes can ski their best, and the inability for them to execute a plan with any success. Even the guys on the podium could not have been happy with the performance. With regard to the outcome I am sure they picked up the check, but I doubt they were internally happy with their performance. It’s possible that they are only happy to be out of there and on to Val Gardena and Alta Badia. I was pretty much an Austrian party in France this week. Taking advantage of others’ greater mistakes, the Austrians won all 3 races. Raich, Walchhofer and Hirscher all came with wins. A win is a win but I think it is un-cool when wins happen by default or attrition. Big weekends nonetheless from Hirscher, Raich and Baumann. A great job from Ted in the Super-G just to hang in the race, let alone podium in Super-G. That should show everyone that you never give up in a ski race. Rumor has it that he has a new pair of slalom skis that are working very well and we should be expecting resurgence from Ted in his breakthrough discipline. It’s funny how the misfortune of one can help another, figure that one out on your own.
Some other quick observations on the week in Val d’Isere. The Swiss, after handing it to everyone all season were pretty well crushed in France. Cuche hurt his ribs in a free ski crash on the Super-G hill. He raced the SG but pulled out of the GS. Berthod was their only guy in the GS finish area after 2 runs. Jitloff got his first points of the season. Zamansky scored again. And to Leif Haugen, who scored in his 3rd consecutive GS on 3 VERY different hills, “Right on man! College skiers all over the USA are on the bandwagon.” If you think the Face does not favor GS guys in the SG and slalom guys in the GS look at the result. How many GS points has Lizeroux scored in GS in his career? How many wins has Marcel Hirscher in GS? How many World Cup wins does he have, period? Look it up! Hop and switch Blardone brings the heat every time on that hill. Markus Larsson in the top 10? In SG you have Ligety on the podium, Raich 5th, Scheiber, Svindal, Gorza, Miller, Cuche, Hirscher!, de Tessieres, Baumann…All capable if not absolute GS skiers. What else happened? Miller and Cuche did not start due to injury. Miller with a chronic ankle problem that is exacerbated by the tough, steep, bumpy hill. And Tommy Ford just missed his start. Too much time in the restaurant at the top and miss-timed it. It happens. Not often but it does. I would like to remind him that Ted slept through an entire race day in Korea and came out and won the next day. So Tommy should expect big things in Alta Badia!
I talked to Pete Korfiatis today and he said he had to set about 22-23 meters all the way down that GS hill. I have to say that is not GS. Sliding and hitting just makes the whole sport look bad on TV and makes the athletes feel bad about their experience. I love the challenging hills on the World Cup in all the disciplines, but after being on this hill a few times I think it feels forced. I don’t like it and I don’t think I ever will. Move back to La Daille!
THE LADIES IN AARE.
The French girls swept the wins in Aare and I have to say I am a bit surprised in one way, but not in another. I expected the Swedes to make more of a push at home in the dark in Northern Sweden in December. The very grippy snow and the dark usually favors them. But I am not surprised at the French right now. The girls were all at the NorAms I attended last month in Colorado and I was very impressed with their chemistry within the group. You can tell by just watching them in the lodge or at the start. Very happy, relaxed and calm. They all seemed genuinely happy to be there at a Continental Cup and to be there with each other. I am also a big fan of Tessa Worley. She is a fantastic GS skier and will get more wins as her career moves on. I have been touting her all year and she came through this week. Just like what she brings to the hill as a skier and in her attitude. Good focus on the hill, an easy demeanor and good skiing. Look for more from her. Tina Maze continues to impress and make it look pretty easy. Brignone backed up Aspen with another good result! Validating a result with another is something we all hope for. It was great to see Sarah Schleper finish 8th in a World Cup. But even more importantly she won the second run. That momentum cannot be replaced. Her confidence should be skyrocketing! Further congrats to Chemmy Alcott making a statement in 11th for the Great Britain program! Mark Tilston should be happy. And to Ingrid Jacquemod for continuing to score in GS! And to Jessica Lindell-Vikarby for scoring again in her return after being injured.
The slalom was won by Sandrine Aubert. The girl from Les 2 Alpes was about a month late on my call from Levi. So I gave up on calling her for the win and she wins…I guess that is just the way it is. The Riesch girls crushed it onto the podium. The first time for them together! And I need to make a comment about tall girls in slalom again. Aare is a relatively tame hill with cold, grippy, slow snow. So the bigger girls, if they ski mistake –free, can win or equal their best. Weight helps with the friction in the snow but also the ability to block the gate high off the snow creates less resistance. Zettel got 4th and she is small, but she is seriously a better technician than most girls. A big shout-out to Anna Goodman of Canada with her first top 10! After 2 wins in Loveland at the NorAms, that should really boost her confidence as we move on. And to Hailey Duke, back in the second run! Boise’s own can build on that!

Racing on the Face de Bellevarde, not nice.

2009-12-10T14:50:00.000-08:00

Val d’Isere hosted this same race series last season on the Face de Bellevarde and again hosted on the Face in February for the World Alpine Ski Championships. There is one name that appeared at the top of the list in both GS races and the Super-G in the December races. The name is Janka, Carlo Janka. After the can he opened on everyone in Beaver Creek last week, I will go out on a limb to say he will continue to own the World Cup and open up his overall lead; which is already 105 points as of today. He could conceivably win all 3 races in Val d’Isere and add another 300 points onto his total.
Add to it that the hill on the Face de Bellevarde favors the type of skier Janka is. He can do it all. The SG there favors guys who can ski GS at the World Cup level. The top 4 at the World Cup SG last December was: Janka, Kucera, Ligety, Raich. All of them have very strong career GS resumes. And the World Championship SG was won by Cuche, with Ligety on his way to a podium finish before he took that power –slide all the way down the pitch. The GS on the Face allows the slalom/GS hybrid type guy to shine, or at least someone with solid slalom skills. The World Championship GS went like this: Janka, Raich, Ligety, Hirscher, Blardone. Everyone in that group is a skilled slalom skier except Max, who loves steep GS races to match his intensity and hop and slide style. The December GS saw Janka win and Blardone in second, Gauthier deTessieres(FRA) in 3rd with a charging 2nd run to move up to 3rd. Aksel was 4th and we know he has all the skills. And the Super Combi was Raich, Grange and Hirscher. The World Champs Super Combi went to Aksel with Julien Lizeroux second and Natko Zrncic-Dim(CRO). We saw “Nacho” display his skills again in Beaver Creek. He did the same thing in Wengen last year. But these were all DH combined races. I just don’t see him pulling it off on a GS-like Super-G like the Face de Bellevarde.
Your Super-G course setter is Hans Flatscher(SUI), the Combi Setters are Andy Evers(AUT) for SG and Reto Schlaeppi(SUI) for the slalom portion and Peter Korfiatis(USA) for GS run 1 and Christian Leitner(FIN) for the 2nd run of GS. They all have their own interests and all but Pete are very experienced World Cup course setters. They will be dictated to by the severity of the hill and difficulty of making minimum turns for GS and Super-G. Reto will have some freedom to move around the hill and set something in the normal ranges. The GS at 450 meters of vertical with no flat sections presents the most problems. First of all, I measured with my watch a couple of times while there in February and got 440 meters. Even that small difference in vertical gets you down to 48 turns from 50 turns which makes a huge difference when you are trying to squeeze in turns. That would allow you to spread each turn out 1 meter all the way down. Anyway, the FIS measured as they did and it is possible that my watch is off. So to get 50 turns, there needs to be a clear strategy and Peter will have a couple of days to plan it out. Pete has only had 1 other World Cup set. It was the GS in Sestriere which is a very fun hill to set on with no problem making the minimum turns. The only real way to get it stretched out to close to normal (and here I am talking 24-25 meters) is to try to meander around the hill as much as they will let you and eliminate the delays. Last year we saw sets as small as 19 meters in some places on this hill. It is relentless and steep. It has not one flat area to make up gate count. Look for very tight (18-20m) out of the start and gradually relaxing the distances as the set continues to the main pitch. And even there you need to keep your head because it is very steep and probably icy there too. It will be a lot of work to get the gate count up to minimum and have the race have any flow at all. It will be a chore. If Pete does a good job, look for Herr Leitner to match it or move it over. Christian has a ton of experience and might reset the whole thing. Also, Finland is missing the great Kalle Palander and Marcus Sandell has not expressed that he will race in Val d’Isere. So it is possible that Leitner will be without an athlete in the second run. There is certainly no guarantee that Jukka Leino will qualify. If that is the case, who knows what Leitner will do? The slalom portion of the SG Combi is not an exceptionally difficult task for the course setter. I set the slalom for the Super Combi at World Championships last year and made minimum turns with a few to spare. The hill is very wide and still steep but with a few big rolls. So there is a flat spot on which to traverse out from the start to the middle of the trail and then edge back to skier’s right, then back to the left a little. Hans Pieren, FIS Technical Race Director, will try to keep the setter to the right to stay out of the potential GS track. And to have the gates closer to the TV platforms. But you can do what you want in order to make a nice set and a good race, within reason. Reto should have some leeway. If you work the hill, there should be little problem making minimum turns. And I have said many times in the past; if the hill is difficult enough, don’t set anything tricky. Just let the hill and the athletes shine!
CANADIANS
The Canadians start L-P Helie, Ryan Semple, Robbie Dixon, Mike Janyk and Manny Osborne-Paradis in the Combi. It is pretty obvious that they start Robbie and Manny to get them an extra shot at the Super-G hill. Mike is almost strictly a slalom skier these days and will likely leave himself too much time to make up after the SG portion of the day in the Super Combi. I can get behind Louis-Pierre for some points but that is about it in the Combi race. The GS boys are all good enough to get it done on this hill. The loss of Johnny K definitely will be felt this week in all events.
AMERICANS
Starting just 3 boys in the Combi (Ligety, Miller and Weibrecht), it looks as though some tactical and budget oriented decision making went on this week. Obviously, Ligety has a chance to win the Combi with good success last year in Super G on this hill. Miller can win any race at any time. And Andrew has been on fire of late so it is clear to me why these guys are in the SC. Ligety, Miller and Weibrecht have the best developed GS skills of the group starting the SG so they are the ones who can score here in that discipline. And Ligety is the current GS World Championship Bronze Medalist on this hill.
Super Combi Podium:
Janka, Ligety, Raich. Some good dark-horses: Hirscher, Zurbriggen, Kostelic, Viletta(SUI)
As we look toward the SG, I still think Janka should win. Watch for Cuche to pull it together and challenge. But I still think the GS guys will do well in this Super-G. Any time Ted and Benni have been presented with a Super-G like this, they have done well or at least been in the hunt. Ted was 3rd in December last season and was in the game for a podium when he crashed. He was also in there in the SG in Lenzerheide which is similar. Benni has been in the top 5 in this Super-G and had a great finish in Lake Louise.
I think we could see Janka, Cuche, Raich for the Super-G podium.
And the GS? Janka again, followed by Blardone and Ligety. I think Aksel could be in the conversation but if his leg is still at all bothersome, this hill will bring that out. And the GS is the third race in 3 days. Sorry Bode fans, I just cannot reconcile my image of Bode’s movement patterns and attitude with this hill. I watched him live twice in GS last year on the hill and he will find it hard to get past the first interval timer without a major mistake.
I think it is entirely possible for Janka to sweep these 3 races for 6 wins in a row. The biggest foe for him is probably the Face de Bellevarde itself. It is a relentless, steep, icy face that requires the course setters to keep the boys turning the whole way. One bobble and it can be over. But he is the most likely to win in each situation.
Before you go, please read this. I have stood on the Face de Bellevarde and watched the best in the world look humbled, angered and even confused. The hill is simply difficult to the point of being unfair. The GS has to be set 4-8 meters shorter distance per gate than the most difficult World Cup GS races in order to fit in the minimum number of turns on the hill. Add to that what they did to the hill with the incredibly slick ice, and the recipe is for awful skiing. To put a product on TV that simply looks like it is, difficult. It is so far out of the ordinary that ski manufacturers all made new (slightly shorter) models to try to grab the advantage at World Championships. In my humble opinion, I would much rather see these races take place at the old venue in La Daille.
Good luck to all!

Lindsey and The Lake

2009-12-08T10:23:00.000-08:00

Even with an awful weekend in Aspen, Lindsey Vonn still leads the overall World Cup standings. And the rest of the girls should feel relieved they are still so close. Maria Riesch is not far behind but Zettel is already 169 points out. She is in the lead because she is by far the best Downhiller in the world and is also the best Super-g skier; even if she handed the race to Lizz Goergl in Lake Louise. Lindsey had that race won and mysteriously lost over .5 seconds on the bottom flat. And they are on the same ski brand.
Looking back at the DH races at the Lake, Lindsey was obviously the heavy favorite. She won by large margins of victory in the past and it just kept coming. The 2 wins in Lake Louise make it 8 for her just at this venue. The combination of sweeping turns, cold snow and long glide sections make it the perfect hill for her. She consistently executes the fall-away section as well or better than anyone, every time. And then keeps her head about her in the very fast Gunbarrel and even more importantly, exiting Gunbarrel. There is a camera switch there so it is difficult to see on TV sometimes. But the trail bends to the left at almost 90 degrees at that point and there is usually a little against the grain turn there and if the girls fall asleep, thinking it’s over, then they can chisel that one and begin dumping speed the rest of the way. I believe this is what happened when Lindsey lost the Super-G. She had a large lead with good speed and no mistakes coming into Gunbarrel. But there is a little bounce in her right leg in that corner, and with the very cold snow temps and sharp crystals, the friction can slow you down quickly.
As I mentioned earlier in the week, Downhill 1 was a big day for the North American contingent. The girls stacked themselves in the points. And many of them expressed sentiment that they were very happy to have another crack at it on the following day. And some of them certainly took advantage. Brydon backed it up with another podium, Britt Janyk locked down another top 10, Alice McKennis followed up her first-ever points with her first top 10. Cookie moved up to 11th, solidifying herself in the top 30 on the WCSL. Julia was 12th, and don’t get me wrong, I think Julia is still a great ski racer, but she needs these small victories to build her confidence as the calendar steams on toward Whistler. Kelly Vanderbeek was 13th and Larisa Yurkiw finished 16th for the Canadians. Leanne Smith was 23rd and Chelsea Marshall was 25th. The American girls scored 186 World Cup points on this day. That is a huge number and has to help morale as the girls bounce back from the Aspen troubles and head to Europe.
The Super-G was an interesting race. Fishnet showed how difficult it can run. If you were not sound technically there, you killed speed or just did not make it. It looked as though the FIS injected that section to save it from falling apart. No one likes that change in snow, but it happens a lot and the teams know it in advance and the girls all see it at inspection. Nonetheless, it increased the degree of difficulty. Congrats to Larisa Yukiw again for scoring in SG and to Shona Rubens. It was a nice, solid and professional run out of Britt Janyk. This week is the best she skied in years. She was in the front of the boots, driving the skis and looked physically strong in every turn. Aside from a sloppy jump at the bottom, so was Kelly Vanderbeek. My only problem with watching her is that I keep waiting for her edge to grab and slap her to the ground. She just constantly looks like she lacks control over the front of her skis. And my last mention is to Keely Kelleher. 20th place in the Super-G for her personal best World Cup finish! Congratulations Keels and build some momentum!

General comments and observations on the women’s races.
There was far too much hanging on to the turn from the entire field. Finish the turn earlier and get on to the new one, all of you! The more you hang on, the later you switch. The later you switch, the harsher the pressure. The harsher the pressure, the more you slide or grind. And, when you switch too late, you lose snow contact and we all know that is slow.
What terrain are you looking at? Almost everyone was getting bounced around like crazy, especially in the SG. Everyone needs to inspect terrain better and look for it when you are approaching it. And I am not talking about jumps and big breaks. I am talking about small rolls, ripples and bumps. These are the ones that knock you out of your tuck or just bounce your skis around.
I am amazed that the FIS allows 2 DH races at the same venue at the World Cup level. I understand it after a cancellation has happened but to do it at the opener just puts the entire field behind because you know that Lindsey Vonn is going to win if she executes. If I were a nation with a big voice like Switzerland or Austria, I would be screaming about this schedule.
Last, I want to give a big hand to Sarah Schleper. She had a tough go at Aspen, basically holding on and skiing tentatively. She blamed only herself. She went to Loveland to the NorAm on the injection and skied inconsistently on day 1 but acknowledged that she needed to get pressure on the ski higher in the turn and get off sooner. She did that on the second slalom day and got herself a podium and a nice 6.80 result losing by just .08. Good luck in Are!

Beaver Creek Review or Carlo Janka is really good.

2009-12-07T15:40:00.000-08:00

I am a working ski coach; I also offer my services to ski teams and clubs to help train their staff. I will work with anyone who is interested to help bring their staff up to speed and all working together. So when I write this blog for entertainment purposes and to call attention to my business, it can be time consuming. After skiing with my group all day today at Mission Ridge, I sat down to catch the replay on Universal Sports. The past weekend told us a lot of what we already knew, but also gave us some fun surprises.
BIRDS OF PREY DH BEAVER CREEK
First of all, I want to gloat. Look it over, I don’t have the time but I called a lot of the podiums and the back to front moves. I also told you that Bode would start his ascent up the DH rankings. He was 4th, I think that qualifies. In watching the race I did not see much surprising and the Americans did well if not spectacular. I have to say, I was a little concerned with Nyman’s performance. I thought he would do better, because I thought he would execute more cleanly. I am more concerned, however, with Mac and his mental state. I am a huge fan but I think he occasionally fights demons and he needs to overcome them. You can see it right away when he skis; he goes from athletic to static and stiff.
Janka…I saw it coming and I see it coming like a storm. A strong, steady, consistent storm. He will be here for a long time and there will be difficulty dealing with him.
SUPER COMBI
Barely worth comment, Janka wins…Without Albrecht and Berthod, their 2 best combi guys…the Swiss are still the best at this discipline. Are we or anyone else going to embrace this discipline? Or are the Swiss just better all-around skiers? Are they training specifically for the Super-Combi? Are they selecting 4 event skiers to begin with? Or are they actually making more time in the preparation period to train 4 events. Not necessarily using more days on snow, but spreading their available days among 4 events more effectively and understanding that GS and Slalom training helps a skier in speed events , AND vice-versa.
GIANT SLALOM
The things we knew that came true:
Carlo Janka is going to be tough all season long. Ted Ligety gets 4th place more than anyone in GS, especially at Beaver Creek. He is well acquainted with the “wooden spoon.” Both guys ski GS extremely well and understand inspection and line. They both use the correct movement patterns which allow them great consistency and versatility. They love clean turns and their “feel.” And they never panic or push too hard or risk too much. They have great confidence in their abilities and ski within themselves. They will both challenge in Whistler.
Max Blardone and Davide Simoncelli had to risk too much to keep up on that kind of hill and it made them pay by the end of the day. This does not bode well for them in Whistler.
Kjietl Jansrud is a strong guy and a strong GS skier. He is also big, so hills like this favor him. Watch him through the season and see where he ends up going into Whistler. Watch him carefully on easier hills.
The Downhillers showed their stuff in Beaver Creek and it was obvious that they had an advantage. There is very little chance that Jeffrey Frisch(CAN) would qualify on any other hill in the World Cup. I would expect to be put in his place in Alta Badia if they choose to start him there. The same goes for Adrian Theaux. This also made Hirscher(AUT) finish back in the points. He simply does not have a light enough touch to be versatile on the longer turns, flatter hill and grippier snow.
Things we learned:
Benni Raich still has not corrected his seemingly over-canted, bouncing left foot. It cannot feel good and I can only guess that he does not want to mess with his set-up from week to week and will just deal with it as it is. It has been going on in varying degrees for 8 years.
JB Grange(FRA) hurt himself and it does not look good. The knee injury that happens without a crash is a fairly common injury. He looked fine the whole way, he did bounce once or twice and his knee did “jiggle” a few times. I watched in very slowly and it was tough to tell where it happened. But he definitely reached for his knee and did not take his second run. Hopefully he just bruised it on a gate or on his other boot or something like that. Look for news on this soon.
Ondrej Bank(CZE) is a good skier. And looking at his splits, the Elan ski ran on the flat pretty well at the Beav. It has not always been the case and was often a source of criticism of their GS skis in the past.
Leif Haugen(NOR) has now qualified in 2 consecutive GS races on 2 very different hills. I think his style will actually be better in Alta Badia and Adelboden. I would look at him as a Norwegian Olympic starter come February. And this is straight out of Denver University!
AMERICAN TROUBLE
What happened on the first run to the USA boys in the corner by the second tree-island? I stood there for every Beaver Creek GS held since the race moved away from Park City and it is a very important section. On the first run it is not a place worth risking. It can only hurt you as one little bobble severely hurts your “carry” of speed across the Screech Owl road. Bode made a bobble here and as he always does, he starting risking more after a mistake until he went out again, for good. This is a pattern in Beaver Creek that is disturbing. Jitloff did the same thing. Too much risk for that turn, it does not make any sense. Tommy Ford I can excuse on this one because I am sure he was too amped up. But at the same time, it is the coach’s job in that corner to make CLEAR what is to be done and executed and get buy-in from his guys. And recognize that T Ford is going to be a little amped up and try to cut some corners. Tommy Ford, Tim Jitloff and obviously Bode have the speed, they do not have to take extra risk. Jake Zamansky stayed within himself and he got a second run. Tommy Ford is faster than Jake Zamansky, of this I am sure.

THE SECOND RUN
That was a very exciting race. A lot of very good skiers going at it hard to make a move to the top. The top 4: Janka, Svindal, Raich and Ligety, were all expected to be in the hunt. I was a little surprised by Cuche but in all honesty, he looked like he lacked energy to me. He lacked his normal snap in his transition. He just looked tired. But at 35 years old and having been at high altitude on a very demanding hill for a week, I do not think it is anything to worry about. He has the right skill set for the Whistler GS.
Jansrud executed a lot of clean turns. Almost as many as Janka and Ted. Ted lost the podium on Red Tail jump, getting a little inside there, getting low and losing speed across the flat to the finish. This flat to the finish line is longer than is looks on TV. And with the very cold snow, any mistake on Red Tail can cost a lot of time.
And last, the Fanara crash was huge! Almost as big as Rahlves’ crash in Adelboden. But this was all pilot error. He came in too direct and was sliding his initiation rather than arcing it. He did not point deep enough with his ski tips into the apex and slammed his shoulder and neck into the panel, this yanked him around to the point where his inside ski hooked up in the snow and high-sided him into the B net. That being said, if you watch this crash carefully, a lot of things went right after the panel contact. First of all, the panel came off. Second, the B net stopped him. Third, the bags were there waiting for him if he did go through the second layer of B Net. A nice job by all involved.
A women’s look back at the weekend in Lake Louise will come tomorrow. See you all then!

Beaver Creek GS Preview

2009-12-05T17:30:00.001-08:00

The season is just getting started and already we have a new star on the scene, not that he should have been ignoring his presence. He is the reigning GS World Champion. He has won at every level on which he has raced. His name is Carlo Janka(SUI) and I doubt we can keep him off the podium tomorrow either. GS is his bread and butter, always has been.
The Beaver Creek GS has a few characteristics that need to be covered. It is run on the bottom of the Downhill so it is not injected with water. It is not super-slick. Instead it is grippy, or aggressive as the athletes like to call it. It is very grabby with their extremely sharp skis but hard enough that the skis need to be like razors. The very cold weather they have had recently guarantees the snow will remain hard and grippy and very cold through the race tomorrow.
The hill starts at the top of Russi’s Ride and runs to skier’s right of the first tree-island and traverses across to the skier’s left of the second island. This section can be a bit choppy because the hill has been groomed vertically earlier in the week and there are only 2 DH turns here when there are about 16 GS turns. Through the transition of the 2 DH turns there has been very little pressure on the snow and the groom lines still exist. Add to it that it is a fall-away right foot section and it becomes obvious why it breaks away on the right foot in the GS. Always happens, probably always will in Beaver Creek. Then the track bends around the second island and off Screech Owl. You need to carry your speed across the flat to Golden Eagle by making an excellent turn on the back-side of tree-island 2. You’ve done that, gotten a little light on the jump and tuck turns to Golden Eagle and off you go. Things will start to turn more as you approach Golden Eagle and you head off the pitch for 4 very steep turns down into the Abyss which ordinarily has a hard compression at the bottom with a tough right foot delay in the middle of the fall-away. You nail that cleanly and set up the last pitches and find the fall-line, staying ahead of the rhythm until the finish below Red Tail Jump. There is one more, tricky spot there as you come off the little Red Tail Pitch. It is not difficult but you are tired and if the course set turns a little more or a little deep on the flat, one chiseled turn can dump precious hundredths, or even tenths.
The two course setters are Mateo Guadanini(ITA) and Mauro Pini(SUI). Mateo has been around the World Cup as the Italy GS Coach since the 2005-06 season and has set at least 3 GS runs per year since then but has never set in Beaver Creek. Winners of runs set by Mateo include Bode Miller, Ted Ligety and Max Blardone. Joel Chenal has won twice when Mateo has set and both times in Adelboden, which really does not have much to do with Beaver Creek. Mateo’s tendency is to open races setting 26 meters and opens gradually to 30, even on the steeper, more traditional trails like Adelboden and Kranjska Gora. This is Mauro’s first set on the men’s World Cup.
Beaver Creek is easy to set on because it rolls a lot and is not that steep. It also traverses near the top, giving the setter more room to set gates without taking up any vertical meters. So a course setter can set virtually whatever he wants and still make the minimum number. He can set a lot of delays (we have seen as many as 5) and he can open it up a lot. It is not unusual to see 34 meter turns on the flatter areas. The course setter can play around a lot. He can make it easier on the back of rolls and can play with the terrain. The compression coming off the narrow and dark Golden Eagle pitch can cause some trouble if the setter loses focus or decides to be an SOB. Over the last few years, we have seen the setters open with 26 meters on the start pitch, mostly because they want a clue of gate-count before they open it up. But that is not necessary here. If you wanted to open at 30 and go at 30-32 meters the whole way, you could still make minimum.
There is one more characteristic about the Beaver Creek GS. It is on a Downhill track. This gives advantage to guys who have been on the track all week. It always has, on any GS run on the bottom of Downhills. That is one of the reasons we started running Ted and Dane Spencer and Erik Schlopy in Downhill training or in the Super-G in past seasons. We did it mostly to get them used to the snow and visual changes in the hill. This seriously helps and it happens in Bormio every time, and Sestriere last spring as well. AND it will happen again in Whistler! It is a very similar track, on the bottom of the DH. Add the large turn size and watch out for the DH boys, and Ligety who is one of the best tight-set Super-G skiers in the world. Cuche, Svindal, Ligety, Janka, Raich and Miller all ran the DH and/or Combi. Look for all of them near the top of the result sheet in GS.
Other athletes to watch:
Romed Baumann(AUT): He ran the Super Combi and he makes nice, clean, large turns. Very simple in his approach to skiing. He is disciplined.
Kjietl Jansrud(NOR): A big, strong kid born in 1985. He skis all disciplines and can challenge for a high finish here.
Max Blardone(ITA): Max has done very well here in the past but has to ski with a lot of intensity which is one of his trademarks. Not only does he need to do that but he also needs to be almost mistake-free. His margin for error is smaller because he has not been on the hill and because he is a lot smaller than most of the other contenders.
Davide Simoncelli(ITA):Very similar to Max in that he needs to ski with intensity and be clean at the same time.
Marcel Hirscher(ITA): He won the NorAm GS races in Aspen last week but that was a much different story. Those races were on a steeper hill with shorter gate distances and injected snow. All that being said, he is a tremendous talent. Marcel was born in 1989.
CANADIANS:
JP Roy had the best opener in Soelden for the Canadian boys. He can definitely do damage on this hill and could pop another top 10. The other one who should be able to mark his comeback is Francois Bourque. He needs this race to boost his confidence. The distances on the hill will allow him to carve more effectively. Robbie Dixon starts 34 and can definitely do well on this hill. He meets all the criteria.

MORE AMERICANS:
Tommy Ford: Tommy is a 1989 year of birth athlete out of Bend, Oregon. He has displayed excellent GS skills on all surfaces and all types of hills over the last 2 seasons. He has moved up quickly through the ranks and is ready for his big breakthrough. He will score GS World Cup points in this race.
Tim Jitloff: Jit had a great season last year and his best finish was 5th in Sestriere. That hill has very similar characteristics to Beaver Creek so look for him to make something happen.
Jake Zamansky: Jake got it done here last year and needs to do it again to be able to board the plane to Europe with confidence and head into Alta Badia knowing he can do it again.
Andrew Weibrecht: Horse has been on a roll of late and with an 11th today don’t count anything out. It is a tough task to break-in from his late number but he has been skiing well and confidence goes a long way.
The Beaver Creek GS is often a very fun one to watch because the boys go hard from start to finish and they tend to risk pretty hard, even on run 1. The margin is often small between 1st and 5th and also tight to get in the top 30. Look for the boys coming around the 1st tree-island, where they tend to run the line out a little and try to pull it back in the traverse. Sometimes that low line just pulls them too much, causing some big crashes. If they go a little too straight off of Screech Owl; they can kill all their speed for the flat. And a too-late line around the second island can cause a similar outcome on the flat because they do not have enough hill to get their speed back at that point. Too straight off Golden Eagle also causes trouble for that pitch, often sending the boys off-course. From there down it is hammer time.
The all-important podium prediction: Janka, Ligety, Cuche.

Have fun watching the boys get after it. Then they pack up and head for Val d’Isere! It is hard work to get from Colorado to Val d’Isere. Get back to the hotel, pack up the cars and vans, drive to Denver, wait to check-in with all the other teams, get to the hotel late, stuff down a late dinner, get to bed. Then it’s up early and on the plane through wherever. Could be Toronto, Chicago, Atlanta, DC, Frankfurt, depending on your airline. Then the US boys will land in either Zurich or Munich and make the long drive to Val d’Isere. Last year I drove from Munich to Val d’Isere after this race in a blinding snow storm with a portion of the Autobahn closed. I had to hit the back roads just after Geneva for about 60 kilometers. All the way up the mountain road to Val d’Isere. Arriving there around 11 PM, 10 hours after I left Munich.
And last, congrats to the North American ladies in Lake Louise. Lindsey for her continued dominance of that hill, Emily Brydon in 3rd, Britt Janyk in 8th, Alice McKennis for her first top 10, Stacey in 11th, Julia 12th, Vanderbeek in 13th, Larisa Yurkiw in 16th!, Leanne in 23rd and Chlesea in 25th. That is a big day, girls and a lot of points for both teams! Enjoy.

Birds of Prey, Beaver Creek Preview

2009-12-04T16:56:00.000-08:00

The Birds of Prey Downhill in Beaver Creek, Colorado is one of the toughest Downhill races in the world. It might be a little shorter than most and is definitely shorter than the 2 ½ minute monster in Wengen, SUI. But it is action-packed thrill from the time the athletes hit “The Brink” just above Talon Turn to the finish.
The ride opens with a long flat, gliding section with some built-in rolls for about 25 seconds. This section is extremely important because you can be out of the race before you even get to “The Brink” by making a bad ski choice or lacking in gliding skills. The Americans always try to get up on “The Flyway” to test skis before the FIS closes the track usually 5 days prior to the first Team Captain’s Meeting. This is time and money well spent as I said. The skier needs to be at least in the game after these first 25 seconds.
You can’t get lulled to sleep watching the hill go by because it’s go time from there down. Shift gears with a couple of swinging Super-G sized turns into The Brink and Talon. Talon is where I was last year and is a visually intimidating pitch with a 90 degree turn at the bottom of it. It is an essential section because it sets up your speed and line for the rest of the race. As you break-over all you see at the bottom of the pitch is “A Net” at a 90 degree angle to your direction of travel. And even more, the correct line is to travel out away from where you want to go as long as you dare in order to use the fall-line of the pitch and pick up the road early that comes in from skier’s left. Then you can use your left foot to follow the road as you jump to the right into Pete’s and Pump House. Keeping elevation here is extremely important as you tuck and absorb small terrain past the Super-G start and the GS start into Russi’s and then Screech Owl. Russi’s is a long right foot turn around the 1st tree island and a left footer around the 2nd tree island below the GS start. Then flatten out for Screech Owl which is a little slapper of a jump headed into the flat. This flat between Screech and Golden Eagle is very, very flat and if any turn is blown up above the time lost will show up by the end of this section. This year the right foot roll is more in play before Golden Eagle because more swing has been put into the course to slow you down. But it makes it trickier to re-direct the skis and get them flat at take off. Golden Eagle can be a huge flight, sometimes 30 to 40 meters. You will land on the pitch and then head into The Abyss; which is named as such because it is always dark in there. Especially if it is a bright, cloudless, Colorado day and you fly from the bright sunshine at take-off to the shade of the The Abyss. This is where Aksel Svindal crashed and was injured two years ago. There is a large compression with a small “double” jump where you will jump off one roll and land on the back of the next then left foot turn of the Harrier Jump. Below Harrier, there is also a little bastard roll right in the transition to the right foot and then speed toward the Red Tail Jump and into the finish. You will need to stay aware here too because the compression before the jump can catch you if you don’t prepare with some length in the legs. Dreadful mistakes have been made prior to hitting this jump in the past.
So, you’re done. 1 minute and 45 seconds more or less. That coupled with the high altitude of the Rockies and you are pretty exhausted. Just enough energy to pee in a cup, get your skis and boots measured, pick up your trophy and check, do a press conference, share some champagne with your family, friends, staff and coaches and spin your recovery to be ready for the GS on Sunday! A simple life.

TOMORROW’S EVENT

The draw will likely play a large role tomorrow. With the temperatures to remain cold, the snow will stay crispy and have very sharp crystals; guaranteeing slow snow for the early guys. The track will hold up very well because Tommy Johnston (USSA Race Director) and the rest of the crew at the Beav will make it happen. So the big boys holding the top spots in the DH ranking will pick as late as possible and the rest of the top 30 will be hoping to draw between 23 and 30.
Who do you like in the race? Historically, this is a strong venue for the American boys. But also for Michael Walchhofer, Klaus Kroell, Didier Cuche and Defago. Cuche seems to like every venue so far this season so I would not count him out at all. And, aside from his awful crash in December of 2007, Aksel Lund Svindal has had great success here. And this season, although he is nursing a leg injury, he will love the snow. The snow texture, aggressive feel and extra cold temperatures will give him an advantage. It is a lot like racing in Norway and Sweden and he could do very well despite the injury. And while Heel and Innerhofer have not had great success here in the past, they have grown into real World Cup athletes with the passion to win. Keep an eye out for the two Sudtirolers! Walchofer drew 17, Kroell 18, Cuche 21 and Defago 20. Heel got 22 and Innerhofer is 12. Mr. Svindal, the King of Norway, drew 16.
AMERICANS:
MILLER: Aside from the win in 2007, what else has he done? Aside from winning 30 some-odd races over the years. All the fingers point at Bode when he fails, and the cheers are louder when he wins. He will do his best . I do not think he will win here, but I do think his ascent up the DH rankings starts here this year. His late start to the preparation period will hurt him still at this point but he will start to catch up. And watch out come February because he will be fresher than he ever has been in that month because he started late. Bode drew 8. He had a late pick and was likely left with 8. Not great with the snow how it is but he has overcome worse.
SULLIVAN: He is the team leader and bounced back from a disappointing DH in Lake Louise to get himself a little confidence in the Super-G last week. Sulli was 10th in December 2006 and has not done much since at BOP. It can be tough on him. Family is there, a lot of media attention and therefore some added pressure. He pushes the line too much and possibly thinks too much about the outcome when at home in Beaver Creek. I think he snaps out of it here with a strong finish. Sulli starts 27, excellent!
NYMAN: Steven has been 3rd, 2nd and 7th in the last 3 attempts at the Beav. The 7th last season was even more impressive as he had been battling back problems all prep period to that point and the back ended up shutting him down about 2 months later coupled with the crash in Wengen. The Stormin’ Mormon is back this week! Steven starts right behind Sulli which is not great because he will not get course information from Marco. But Fish will be down early enough to get a quick course report up to him. The finish guys and start staff will just have to be on it.
SCOTT MACARTNEY: Mac keeps coming back. He started his comeback last year here with 10 World Cup points and it could start here again. He knows this hill as well as anyone and just needs to execute his good, athletic skiing. The front of the boot stuff that allows his athletic skills to shine. Mac goes 33, really good in conditions like this.
ERIK FISHER: Fish started his run last year at BOP finishing 28th. It was just a few points but gave him the confidence to get that big body pointed down the hill in Val Gardena and in Kitzbuhel. Fish is a race-horse. He has the guts, no doubt and this hill plays right into his wheelhouse. Fish drew 23 which is fine. It is directly after the 3 minute TV break and the crew can get some work done in the turns. As long as the slip crews stay off the track on the Flyway and Screech Owl flat, all will be good.
ANDREW WEIBRECHT: He electrified the world in 2007 with his run to 10th place. Prompting even Klammer to state that Andrew was a “real” downhiller. Obviously drawing comparisons to his own style while winning the Olympic Gold in Innsbruck in the heart of Tirol in 1976. Andrew tried a little too hard last year to repeat that performance and put himself in the red room. But he has been skiing better and better technically and can come out of the back to make a statement again. Andrew starts 47.
WORM: Our friend Worm needs to step up to the challenge and score. Get him into race mode right now and get it done. I am sure there are internal discussions about whether or not to take him to Val d’Isere and Val Gardena based on this performance.
CANADIANS:
ERIK GUAY: Guay was 3rd here last year and is super solid. He has a great number at 15 so any adjustments can be made in plenty of time and he will have a good glaze on the flats.
MANNY OSBORNE-PARADIS: He is coming off the big SG win in Lake Louise and has loads of confidence. But I think the BOP has taken its toll on him and he will have a hard time overcoming his mental hurdles here. He starts 19.
ROBBIE DIXON: Robbie starts 30 which is a fantastic draw in this weather. He is a solid skier with excellent turning skills and plenty of guts. He can make it happen tomorrow.
Dark Horses:
I have only 2 for tomorrow out of the back besides the American boys.
Natko Zrncic-Dim(CRO): After today’s performance, momentum is on his side and he can punch in there for some points. “Nacho” starts 53.
Kjietl Jansrud(NOR): I love the way this kid skis. He is big and strong and fearless. He could make a late charge into the top 15 or so. Jansrud goes 56.
Podium: I like Cuche for the win, Defago second and Svindal third.

The Lake and The Beav...

2009-12-04T00:15:00.000-08:00

We are on the eve of the Lake Louise Women’s World Cup DH and for the FIS Men’s World Cup Super Combi in Beaver Creek, Colorado. I am on the plane flying home from the Women’s NorAms in Aspen and Loveland Valley, Colorado. I have been on a lot of injected hills over the last 8 seasons. I have done probably 40 nights worth of injection myself during that time. I have been on hand-watering missions on the glacier in Soelden with about 5 psi and I have been on the end of a bar that had so much pressure one evening that when one of the coaches who was holding a bar-end, tried to answer his phone, the pressure blew the bar 10 feet in the air above us and sent us all scrambling for cover. I have been on the bars in all conditions as well as hand-watering a number of times. Anyway, all of this anecdotal background is being included because you know that almost 100% of all Men’s World Cup Tech Events over the last 8 years have been injected, with varying degrees of success. I just wanted to go on record that the GS hill in Aspen was as hard and slick as anything I have been on in that time with the exception of a few well-documented venues. Add to that the difficulty of Aspen as a GS hill and the relative experience of the athletes racing in the Nor Ams, I think they all did well and deserve a pat on the back. So if you are sitting at home reading this just give a little thought or energy or whatever you want to the boys and girls who hit the Aspen and Loveland Nor Ams on the injection this past week and energized their learning curve. They might not know it yet, but they have.
On to the Lake Louise World Cup! Training runs are now over and there are people happy, or wondering, relaxed or stressed. And some of them know exactly where they are, or think they do… With regard to DH races on hills that are repeated annually, it gets increasingly hard to figure out who did what in training. You can read the splits on-line, but when Lindsey Vonn has the highest speed in Gunbarrel and then pulls 48th place on the bottom split, you tend to think she stood up before the finish. And then Stacey Cook has the 3rd highest speed and also is not fast at the bottom, you start to wonder. Did she stand up too? Does she have the history and confidence to stand up? Then on run 3 she is making up time on the bottom. Where was Alice McKennis today? The darling of the first 2 runs was 36th with some tough splits in the turns in the middle of the hill. Maria Holaus(AUT) was around a lot but was fast on the bottom today. Was she looking for confidence based in a training run win? And let’s not forget Keely Kelleher stepping up today in run 3. That could give her the confidence she needs to put one down tomorrow. Those training runs need to be about each athlete within their tactical plan and what their service guys need to know on skis. Then keeping it in perspective and putting it down on race day, which is tomorrow. We can treat training runs like they are real races and often we do. But they are not. The better you are, the more you mess with line and with skis trying to optimize your chances. There is a good chance that if you have little experience or have a lower confidence level, you will push harder in the training runs to gain confidence, etc.

The Lake Louise Preview:

Lindsey Vonn has won the last 3 Downhills in Lake Louise. In the 2007 season she won the 2nd DH after "losing" to Maria Riesch in the first of two races. Lindsey's last 3 wins have come by 1.33, .78 and .61 at The Lake. Which is obviously a decreasing trend, but not enough to cry about. With regard to the Lake Louise Women's DH there is no preview. Lindsey is the winner until someone else steals it from her.
Who else can win? Riesch, she won one in the 2007 season. And Goetschl....oh sorry, she's retired. Then who? Holaus, maybe but I am thinking a top 5 for her. But not a win. I could see Nadia Styger and Dominique Gisin of Switzerland making a push for the podium too.

AMERICANS?
They have all looked great in training but that does not necessarily mean much. Stacey Cook has the best recent result outside of Vonn in 4th in second race in the 2007 season. But Keely Kelleher, Chelsea Marshall, Leanne Smith, Julia Mancuso, surprise girl Alice McKennis and the aforementioned Cook have all had strong training runs. Maybe with a little confidence built they can put together "the day." The day when they all score, when 5 are in the top 10, when you have the ultimate team finish. Something like Lindsey in first and all the others in the top 20? It is not out of the question. Laurenne Ross could also make a push for her first World Cup points.

CANADIANS:
I do not know where they are physically. With litle or no inside knowledge, I do not know where to go with them. I think that Vanderbeek is good and so is Britt Janyk. She is the best technical skier of the bunch and has been strong in training. Brydon? I also have no idea. But on the hill in Lake Louise I think she is their best bet. She is the only one with 2 top tens there to back it up and is very big, which certainly does not hurt on that bottom flat section. I think all 3 will score points but I doubt any of them make the steps.

Dark Horses?
Maria Holaus(AUT): She has been in there in the past and is an up and comer.
Andrea FIschbacher(AUT): She has been fast in training and has a solid history on the hill. Maybe she sneaks onto the podium.
Nadia Styger(SUI): Solid results here in the past and some strong training gets her in the conversation. I am not a fan of her skill set but she can go fast and is a strong glider.

It is obvious to me as the first Downhill of the season approaches that we will miss Lara Gut(SUI) challenging the established stars for wins.

The podium? Vonn(USA), Riesch(GER), Holaus(AUT)

THE SUPER COMBI AT THE BEAV
In all honesty I am not a fan of Super Combi. To make it it's own discipline and give a globe for it seems contrived. In addition, it forces development programs to put them on the calendar at the Continental Cup level, at least. Asking developing athletes and programs to spend more money, more time on the road and miss more school. Personally, I like the traditional combined or paper combined that still takes place at Kitzbuhel and until recently took place in Wengen. Using the already established Downhill and slalom races and then just combining the times. Hence the name. NOW, we race Downhill in the morning and Slalom in the afternoon. I makes for a very long day for the athletes with a tough recovery and turn around to the real Downhill in the morning. Add in the shortened course for Downhill in Wengen and you are heavily favoring slalom skiers at that venue. I was the Combi coach for the USA for a while and I have not seen the kind of interest with the live crowd that the FIS claims is there. We will see as it develops. The up-side is that a lot of the top skiers on the tour do compete in the event. The Swiss have an excellent Combi team.

Super Combi in The Beav. After the DH portion is done, The slalom starts at below the Golden Eagle jump and heads down the bottom rolling section to the finish. It is a very moderate slalom hill. The guys really can rip this hill up.

As I said above, the Swiss have an excellent Combi team. Even without Daniel Albrecht in the race. Zurbriggen, Janka and Defago have all challenged for or have won Combis. The French have JB Grange and Julien Lizeroux. Both of whom are acceptable Downhillers and excellent Slalom skiers. Especially on moderate slalom hills. Norway has 3 real threats in Lars Myhre, Aksel Lund Svindal and Kjietl Jansrud. The Austrians put most of their hope in Benni Raich.

Dark Horses:
Natko Zrncic-Dim(CRO): He goes for it. High risk versus reward type guy in both ends of the discipline. He could put down some fast runs and could also put it in the fence. A fun guy to watch.
Onrej Bank(CZE): On his way back from a major knee injury. He is a skilled skier with some hope in this event.
Markus Larsson(SWE): A very aggressive skier who has occasionally threateed in this discipline. A very fast slalom guy who can compete with a decent DH run.

Americans:

Ted and Bode hold all of our hope. They start 32 and 33. Andrew Weibrecht really needs to win the DH portion to have a chance at the podium by the end of the day. But he could rack up some World Cup points for sure.

Check out the races on Universal Sports TV and www.universalsports.com. I am planning on watching all day long!

The weekend in review.

2009-11-29T15:57:00.000-08:00

Ok, so my excitement and anticipation didn't help our USA teams much this weekend. We definitely fell short of expectations on almost every level and we lost our friend TJ Lanning for yet another season to a fractured vertebra and a dislocated knee. But that is Downhill and stuff like that happens. You combine 70+ MPH speeds and snow, ice and poor visibility and you have to think something bad can happen.
Get well TJ and hopefully we will see you soon!

MEN'S LAKE LOUISE DH

The conditions were not good. Visibility was horrible at times. Some flurries in the air and some loose snow outside of the track. Cuche put the smack-down and made it obvious that he is the most prepared for the season right now. Werner Heel ran a very smart race and kept himself high on the hill from fall-away on down. That was good work and he carried great speed. He is an excellent glider as well and it came together. Carlo Janka just conitnues to be consistent and fast at the same time. Walchhofer probably does not think much of his 4th place finish but he seems to always bounce back so look for something better in Beaver Creek. Johnny K and Robbie Dixon were excellent in 6th and 8th and the old man Jaerbyn at 40 years old was awesome in 7th. I have to say that it was the most impresssive performance of the day from my point of view. I know him pretty well and it is a process every day to drag himself out there on a physical level. He obviously loves what he does but it has got to be difficult on his knees and other joints every morning.
The USA boys had an awful day. I feel for everyone and especially for TJ. Sad does not even begin to decribe my feelings. I first met him when he was a J3 man-child, laying waste to entire fields of 14 year olds all over the world. He has always been the most talented athlete we have. A guy with all the speed. Maybe more speed than he knows how to deal with? He is a special ski racer and I hope he can bounce out of this one. He is only 25 years old...he can bounce back. If Andrew Weibrecht did not save the day it would have been exceptionally dark in the American camp. Andrew got a little bit of good light and took advantage of it gunning it into 12th place. Congrats to him. Another big shout-out to Criag Branch(AUS). A few World Cup points to open the season must feel pretty good. The other guys, who I thought would have great start numbers, were likely spooked by TJ being air-lifted but they all blew the same turn near the top above the SG start. With the quality and experience on that staff, I am sure that we need to chalk it up to the guys being distracted by the accident. Flush this one, forget it happened and move on. That's all you can do. The best thing about ski racing is that there is another test just around the corner.

MEN'S SG
MANNY OSBORNE-PARADIS! His first World Cup SG podium, and it is a win. His 2nd World Cup win...Fantastic job, what can you say. Very, very impressive. You knew that he would push things a little today because he was obviously disappointed yesterday in the finish area. Guay and Dixon also did a great job. Hopefully they can roll it over in less familiar territory. The loss of Johnny Kucera is going to hurt the team. The Canadian Cowboys lost one of their mainstays and leaders. That bitterweet feeling when one guy wins and another loses his season is always a possibility, and always painful.
Walchhofer had a podium again in Lake Louise and continues to be very consistent there. Adrian Theaux(FRA) did a great job going from 42 to 6.
AMERICANS:
A much needed better day. I know the boys go out there every day expecting and wanting a podium. But sometimes you need to evaluate with some perspective and look at the positives. Ted was 8th. He has never, ever done that well on a course that requires this much gliding. A fantastic finish for him and maybe a little confidence for later races? Weibrecht into 12th again. He backed up his DH performance with another Horse-like performance. Sulli bounced back a bit today. I know him well and he is not out there for a 15th place finish, but it is not bad and sometimes you need a lift. He can look at this like it is a stepping stone. Fish in 23rd is not the goal but after yesterday's lack of execution, he needed this and can use it to feel confident going into The Beav. Build on it boys.

WOMEN'S GS

I want to let you all know that the hill in Aspen was slick. And that is tough on the girls. They do not always ski on injection in GS and it exposes a lot of weaknesses. And in Aspen, they will always inject the slalom hill. And it being the bottom of the GS hill, you do not want the athletes coming off of super-grip hero snow to injected ice half-way down the course. Not only is it uncomfortable, it is unsafe.
I will go further on the injection issue. I personally have injected countless training hills and I know you can mess it up. I have messed it up. You can make puddles that freeze, you can over water, under water, etc. Sometimes it ends up perfect. I was on the hill today and I can tell you that there were slick spots. Most of it was very skiable but there were some puddles that were not nice. This is not an indictment of the inection process, it is very difficult to get it perfect. We do have to question the use of injection bars for ski races. They started to be used as a last-ditch effort to make things hard and fair when the weather was not cooperating. Now it has become a short-cut to a hard surface. Now, you can make snow and not pay attention to the finished product thinking, "we can always inject." When wet snow is made and rolled out while still wet, there is a good chance with some skiing and slip pressure the product will turn out very hard, and you don't need to inject. Then, and only then, if the snow product is not consistently hard and fair, you choose to inject. I truly believe we can create man-made snow surfaces that are hard and fair and skiable through normal snowmaking procedures. As long as we work hard, be smart and proactive and put in the hours to get it done. Tommy Johnston, who is the Race Director for USSA once told me speaking of Birds of Prey, "If I do my job right and the weather cooperates, we should never have to inject. Injection should be a last resort."

WOMEN'S SL

I hope you read the above rant about injection. The slalom in Aspen was brutal. I watched it live and was a very hard race to watch. The separation in times was huge. 5.28 to qualify in 30th? Almost 8 seconds to 30 in the final standings. Anja was 4 seconds out in 10th place! There is a lot to question. Not to mention the lack of performance out of team USA.
Twice in my career with the US Ski Team did we not have any athletes in the second run. Once in Flachau and once in Garmisch, both were slaloms. But both times it was due to major mistakes or DNFs. Somehow that was more acceptable than just being slow. It is very hard to describe the feeling when you are watching the second run from the finish area or on TV rather than having athletes participate and try to move up. Getting "shut-out" is like getting kicked right in the lower mid-section. First there is pain, then nausea, then acceptance. You have to just move on and believe in your program. That if you are true to what you believe and it is based in fundamental skiing skills, the team's poor performance on any given day was just a blip on the radar. Hopefully, that is where we are at with the women's slalom program. I know Lindsey is a great slalom skier and will bounce back. I also know that Hailey Duke is a good slalom skier and she will get the job done next time. The rest I am not so sure about. They did not display quickness, strength or determination. One spectator and ski coach mentioned that they girls needed to "learn how to fight" and maybe a "come to jesus" speech might be forthcoming. We will see.

Congratulations to Sarka Zahrobska(CZE) for teaching the field a lesson and to Marlies Schild(AUT), Kathrin Zettel(AUT, Susanne and Maria Riesch of Germany. And most of all a big high-five to Anne-Sophie Barthet(FRA) who backed up her charge in GS with a 6th in slalom from 58th start position. AND for her dance skills in the finish area. Great job!

Men SG in Lake Louise and Women SL in Aspen

2009-11-28T13:56:00.000-08:00

Right about now, SG course setter and Head Men's DH Coach, Chris Brigham is done creating his masterpiece in Lake Louise. His staff was with him, helping him judge speed and angles entering the many corners and pitches in Lake Louise. The Super-G typically starts down the steep pitch with a little swing in the course onto Wee Waxy Flat. Then the rest of it works similarly to the Downhill except there are 35 turns, minimum. Virgil (Brigham) set last year as well and we all helped out; giving advice, looking ahead around corners for him, standing in front of an approaching blind spot so he can measure distance. And aside from some whining from the Austrians about it being too fast, it was an uneventful affair. The course ran well and Marco did well, finishing 5th. Funny that the Austrians were crying about it, seeing as the legendary Hermann Maier won the race. Or maybe that was why they were whining? Because they thought he might win? Hard to say. Anyway, I am sure Virgil is done with the set and has checked it over and will now need to deal with the reality of checking on TJ Lanning, again. I can't remember the last time TJ made it through a full season unscathed. It seems like we are visiting him in the hospital more often than not. Get well TJ, the boys will miss having you on the hill!

On to a little SG preview.

Really, Super-G is a different kind of test than all the others. To me it's the purest version of our sport. Downhill has training runs, sometimes as many as 3. So you get to practice on the track. Super-G has no training runs. And in the tech events you get a second run to redeem your first if necessary or hopefully to defend your first run position. Super-G has one run, and one inspection on World Cup. So you better be able to judge speed and turn shape, make a good plan and execute the plan. Or it's over before you know it. It IS racing. I love Super-G, if that is not yet apparent.

Aksel Lund Svindal is the SG globe winner from last year. He does not look ready and the flat light is not helping him. Defago made some bad choices and executed poorly today. Obviously, Heel and Cuche will compete. Both guys turn well and had a great day today so they have the momentum. Look for another good performance from Carlo Janka. He is the GS World Champ and had his second DH podium at Lake Louise today. He was 21st last year starting 48. He will have a much better number this year. Walchhofer was 4th last year in the Super-G and he should be a player again.

CANADIANS:

A strong contingent this year with good start numbers. Johnny Kucera is one of the best SG skiers in the world on any hill, anytime. Johnny was 2nd last year. Erik Guay is a strong technical skier and can do well in Lake Louise as he also has good gliding skills. I am increasingly impressed with Robbie Dixon in all his disciplines. His skiing is up to par, he has a very even-keeled approach and he inspects very well. Even if his cheesy moustache is not working for him. And Manny has a lot of speed. I like him to step it up after today's showing. He is a competitor and I don't think he likes finishing where he did. I can only assume they will start Louis-Pierre again after scoring 9 World Cup Points today.

AMERICANS:
Marco Sullivan: Our highest ranked SG skier. As I mentioned yesterday he has been working hard on his GS skills and it paid off last season. He was 5th in the SG at Lake Louise last year after a similarly disappointing DH finish. Look for Marco to step up and get in the mix tomorrow. I am sure he's pissed off.
Bode Miller: Bode did not look very confident today. Which is difficult for me to say because I know him as one of the most confident people on the planet. I think he will bounce back tomorrow too.
Ted Ligety:Ted is ranked 23rd on the WCSL in Super-G. Mostly due to a 7th in Beaver Creek and a 13th at the World Cup Finals, which is a limited field. He was headed for a medal in Val d'Isere in Super-G too last year. If you look at all of those results, there is not a hill with any gliding in it. Lake Louise has about 30 seconds of flat at the bottom. Ted's weaknesses are straight gliding and those low edge angle glide turns. Ted's buddy Sam Sweetser thinks it's too flat for him to do well.
Andrew Weibrecht: It will be nice if Horse sneaks into the top 30 on the board tonight so he gets a good start number. After today's performance he deserves a little luck. If not, his FIS point rank is 49. Also an excellent technical skier, he can do well in the LL Super-G.
Jeremy Transue: Worm's FIS rank is 45. With a few injuries ahead of him on the list, he will start around 40. He has skied this hill many, many times growing up on the Nor Am circuit. As I said before, he is talented, he needs to execute.
Erik Fisher: Fish has a late start number and will need to pull out his best skiing and every bit of his available grey matter to make this a successful trip to the Great White North.

OTHERS:
Hannes Reichelt(AUT) has been a good SG skier for years but has trouble in Lake Louise. I am a big fan of Marco Buechel(LIE) and he is a great Super-G skier. He is pushing the envelope on his career at 38 years old but Lake Louise could be good for him. He will need to dig deep into that 38 year old body to make it happen.
I need to throw our english speaking buddies a bone here and mention Edward Drake(GBR). Ed was on the podium in Reiteralm, AUT earlier this season in a Europa Cup Super-G so he seems to be skiing fast. He would be the darkest of horses but he deserves some mention. And Craig "Bud" Branch(AUS) getting a few World Cup points today! Congrats and maybe a few more tomorrow?

Prediction: Cuche doubles up. Podium: Cuche, Kucera, Janka.
Swiss are tough. Just wait until Dani Albrecht makes it back.

ASPEN WOMEN'S SLALOM

Did anyone see that hill today? It was slick on the first run with some slick spots in a couple of left footed turns. That hill took it's toll today. Congrats to Kati Hoelzl(GER), Kathrin Zettel(AUT) and Federica Brignone(ITA), a 19 year old out of Ski Club Courmayeur! Also congrats to Squadra Italia with 3,7,8,9 plus two more in the points. Excellent job. The weather during the second run seemed to warm up a little and the hill began to soften. The girls definitely had more grip on run 2.

Hopefully for tomorrow's slalom is is more like run 2 than run 1. The girls have been on the hill now too, so things should look a lot better tomorrow. plus they are all far more used to skiing on injection on slalom skis than on GS equipment.

Favorites:

Maria Riesch (GER): No reason to think she won't do well in Aspen after her victory in Levi. I saw her training in Vail last week and she looked very solid, if winded and jet lagged. But she should have adjusted by now.
Sarka Zahrobska(CZE): She won here last year and I would not put it past her to repeat. The hill is pretty moderate from the slalom start down through Strawpile to the finish and Sarka is very good on that type of hill.
Tanja Poutiainen(FIN): She has pulled from the race tomorrow, but you have to give her credit, she was out there banging away on the ice and qualifying and scoring points. Competing to win year end globes.
Marlies Schild(AUT): Her comeback continues and she skis extremely well. If you are not too close to the training course when she skis, you would swear she looks like Benni Raich. Very, very solid.
Sandrine Aubert(FRA): She let me down in Levi and the was not great in Aspen last year so I am not sure she will get anything done. Although the number 1 bib could be an advantage.
Kathrin Zettel(AUT): A great result today after being sick with the flu earlier in the month. We'll see what her recovery program is for tomorrow. But obviously, Guenther Obkircher and the rest of the staff did a great job handling her heading into today and should be on top of it for tomorrow.

CANADIANS:
Anna Goodman will start 23 which gives her a great chance to score deeper into the top 15. Anna was 24th in Aspen last season and had a great finish in Levi, finishing 16th. I like her chances to get her first top 10. Marie-Michele Gagnon starts 30 which is a great break for her. She was 14th in Levi and looks to build on that. Brigitte Acton will start 36 and also is coming off a good score in Levi in 17th. I love their chances in Aspen.

AMERICANS:
Lindey Vonn- She needs to and will bounce back tomorrow in slalom. She might be a Downhiller now but she grew up at Buck Hill, MN and knows her slalom. I am sure she will have her skis dialled and will compete for the podium again.
Hailey Duke- She will start 27 and have a shot at scoring some more points. She is a very solid skier in slalom and is coming back from an ankle injury in the fall. But she was 21st in Levi and 21st last year in Aspen.
Sterling Grant- Sterling starts 35 and she was 29th in Aspen last year.
All the other girls are going to start very late and Kaylin will have to repeat her huge move-up from Levi to get anything done. Kaylin relies on momentum and confidence and she should have some good feelings going into Aspen. Mancuso starts 52, Schleper 53 and Kaylin Richardson 63. Julia Ford starts 55 in her first ever World Cup. Good luck Julia!

Others to watch:
Fanny Chmelar(GER) has moved into the top 15 and has a lot of momentum after a 9th place in Levi. Teammate Susanne Riesch is also on a roll and looked very strong on the injection here at Vail within the last week. I was also fortunate to see Sanni Leinonen(FIN) train this week. She starts 28 and she looked very fast but did have occasional probems on the injection. Michaela Kirchgasser(AUT) also looked excellent all week. Look for Nina Loeseth starting 29 and her little sister Mona starting 48 to do something big. The hill should hold up well and they were 20th and 14th respectively in Levi. Also watch Sophie Barthet and Federica Brignone, who had the races of their careers today. They start 58 and 70 tomorrow. I have no idea if they are good slalom skiers but if momentum and confidence mean anything they will be worth watching.

Podium guess? Schild, Riesch, Vonn.

I am heading to Aspen myself in the morning to watch the slalom along with Mission Ridge Ski Team athletes Brooke Wales and Clare Wise. Both of whom will be racing Nor Am GS at Aspen on Monday and Tuesday against many of the same girls you have been watching on TV or the internet today.

Thanks one last time to Ski Club Vail and Vail Resort. It could not have been any better. I hope it snows here soon, after I leave on the 3rd!

Can you feel it? 2 World Cups tomorrow!

2009-11-27T17:17:00.001-08:00

That's right, two races in North America tomorrow and I cannot wait. My Palm Pre will be on live timing all day while I am on the hill and I will watch the races as soon as possible tomorrow. I am a junkie, I can't stop watching racing and the anticipation for tomorrow is almost too much to take. Last year at this time I was trying to sleep before the race in Lake Louise and not doing very well at it. Not really nerves, more like excitement! The season is about it get into full swing.

LAKE LOUISE MEN'S DOWNHILL

The training runs were marred by weather. The 2nd run was canceled which really does not have an impact on the guys. I think they would rather only have 2 runs most of the time. But it does change things for the service guys and ski selection. They will have less information, some of which is not reliable. Both training runs were strange and inconsistent. There was softening snow on day 1 and then the residue from the 15 centimeters of snow that fell on day 2 when they went out of the gate on day 3. According to Uncle Virgil (USST Head Men's DH Coach, Chris Brigham) today's run was fluky. With some groomed snow on the track and changing light and weather. The light was good early and then went away later. The wind picked up and was gusty at times. You can look at the times all you want from today but it just can't tell you anything. And race day brings out the true competitors.
The draw might tell you something too. Walchhofer chose 16 with the first pick. Kroell grabbed 19 with pick number 2. Svindal 20, Defago 22, Cuche 18,Manny Osborne-Paradis picked 17 and Bode 21. What does that say? They do not want to start early. And Bode wants to see the other guys go because 15 was open when he selected. So in the random part of the draw, Austrians drew 4 in the first 5 starters along with Adrian Theaux(FRA). If the big boys are right about how the track will shape up, these Austrian boys will have a slow track starting early. In contrast, Sullivan drew 23, Lanning 24, Fisher 25 and Nyman 29. Again, going off of how the highest ranked guys chose, these would seem like great draws. Directly after the TV break so some hill work gets done and very close to where highly ranked guys chose.

FAVORITES:

Walchhofer(AUT)- A downhill like this has to favor him. Right in his wheelhouse. As I said before, this is a big downhiller's downhill and he is a big downhiller. A consummate pro who has excellent skiing skills. He is often derided as not being a good skier but he has been in the top 30 in the world in slalom and has scored world cup GS points numerous times. He has won slalom runs on the world cup level.
Kroell(AUT)- Another strong Austrian candidate in this race. Good glider, good skier, strong and big. He was 5th last year at Lake Louise.
Svindal(NOR)- One of my favorite skiers and people on the tour. But recovering from the leg injury it sounds like he is not quite willing to risk. His Tweets this week seem to hint that he is not 100%. 7th last year in his first DH back from his injury in Beaver Creek the previous year.
Defago(SUI)- He proved last year that he is a great downhiller winning Wengen and Kitzbuhel back to back. The 2 most legendary downhills in a 7 day period. He was 8th last year here and I would think he would not do worse that that this year.
Cuche(SUI)- Geting better with age. He won the first training run and should compete for the podium this year.

CANADIANS
The home hill and adrenaline definitely pays off. Sometimes it energizes and sometimes it pressurizes. The undisputed leader of their squad, Erik Guay, finished 10th last year in a somewhat fluky race. He did look tight and made some line decisions that were too risky. Manny Osborne-Paradis was 30th, he really should do better on this hill but again, was there unseen pressure? He might be the best glider in the world. John Kucera should have a shot at the podium. He is the World Champion in Downhill, granted on the opposite type hill. But Johnny is a great skier and can get it done for the home fans. Robbie Dixon came off the Nor Am circuit to finish 24th last year starting 60th. Dixon starts 7th, he should score. Jan Hudec is big, strong and fast but is coming off yet another injury. And Louis-Pierre Helie has been skiing well in the training runs. He starts 60. Tyler Nella starts 64 in his 2nd World Cup. He was 51st in Wengen in his only other appearance. I watched Tyler improve dramatically through the week in Wengen. He is a strong skier and I would not be entirely surprised if he snuck into the back end of the points.

AMERICANS

BODE MILLER- Probably the best chance we have in Lake Louise. Always the competitor and always fast on that hill. If he keeps his plan together he will podium.
Bode was 16th last year after winning training runs. It was a strange day last year, funky weather and an ill-timed hold in front of him and behind him due to fog.
MARCO SULLIVAN- A true downhiller. He has worked on his GS skills diligently for the last 2 years and it really has showed. Especially in his Super-g. With a little luck last season, he would have had a much more productive DH season as well. Marco was
23rd last year in a dense fog.
TJ LANNING- Last year, TJ charged from the back to finish 9th in stormy and foggy conditions. He showed his strength both physically and mentally. Finally announcing his big time arrival on the FIS World Cup. He has a great number at 24.
ERIK FISHER-Fish came on last season after the big day in Val Gardena. He followed that show up with 11th at Kitzbuhel. The kid has it for sure and I saw him last week skiing much improved GS. I see Fish finishing in the top 15. He also has a great number at 25.
STEVEN NYMAN- Believe in Steven! I do. He goes 29th.
SCOTT MACARTNEY- Mac is back again this year. The horrific crash in Kitzbuhel cut short a fantastic season and his knee injury in Wengen cut-off his comeback. He was doing great when he got hurt. Hopefully he can get this comeback underway here tomorrow. Mac starts 35.
JEREMY TRANSUE- We know him as "Worm" and that he will be in this blog for the rest of the season. Worm has battled injuries his whole career but has great natural talent and might be as good at gliding as Manny Osborne-Paradis. Worm wears 57 tomorrow.
ANDREW WEIBRECHT- "Warhorse" or "Horse" or "Warbird" (he'll answer to any of them) is a fantastic talent and was on his way to a top 20 finish in Lake Louise last year when he inexplicably almost fell over while on a straight, flat glide section only 20 seconds from the finish. He starts 64.
TRAVIS GANONG- "Traw" is starting 71 and in his first World Cup. He was 13th today coming out of the back in training. It would be unlikely for him to score a point tomorrow but it sure would be exciting for all involved.

DARK HORSES/OTHERS TO WATCH

Hans Olsson(SWE) has a great history on this hill and is a big guy with great gliding skills. He starts 11. Werner Heel and Christoph Innerhofer of Italy will do well, they always do. Heel starts 9 and Inner starts 12. Innerhofer was 6th last year. Carlo Janka(SUI) is a great skier and starts 15. Janka was 2nd last year at Lake Louise. And Andrej Jerman(SLO) is starting 27th. He has won World Cup Downhills and is a strong glider too. "Jerry" could pop into the top 5.

THE PODIUM: Miller, Walchhofer, Cuche.

ASPEN WOMEN'S GIANT SLALOM

I did most of the writing on this one the other night. But with the start numbers out it seems there is more to say.
I spoke with Stacey Cook who will start 56 tomorrow. They had their free ski today on the race hill and her reaction was clear. "It is really, really hard." It was injected on Tuesday, skied on today, it will be raced on tomorrow. She also said, "I don't have to worry about the course deteriorating."
That being said, let's go inside the numbers.
Maria Pietilae-Holmner(SWE) drew 1. Hoelzl(GER)2. Goergl(AUT)3. Poutiainen(FIN)4. Zettel(AUT)5. Maze(SLO)6. Karbon(ITA) 7. Our friend Lindsey Vonn drew 9, which is great. Little grooves and bouncing chatters can happen on that hard injection and 9 is a great place to start. Julia Mancuso is 18, Megan McJames 30, Sarah Schleper 35, Leanne Smith 41, Stacey Cook 56. Canadians Gagnon and Janyk start 29 and 54 respectively. With McJames sneaking into the top 30, I really like her chances. As I said before, I like the way she skis, she needs to get the job done in Aspen. I think she will.
One last mention that needs to be made. Sarah Jarvis(NZE) is on the start list at number 69. I used to coach Sarah at Mammoth Mountain, California when she was a J3. I was surprised to see her on the list and it might be a way to get her on the hill before the Nor Ams start in Aspen on Monday. Sarah is making a push to qualify for the New Zealand Olympic Team headed for Vancouver in February.
The other night I picked Karbon, Poutiainen and Vonn in that order and I am sticking to it.
Turn on your Universal Sports TV tomorrow or watch on www.universalsports.com. Two races in one day, the only thing better would be three.

Hurry up and wait. What the cancellation in Lake Louise means

2009-11-26T15:59:00.000-08:00

Downhill at any level can be a funny and fickle sport. Whether you are in Lake Louise this week for the World Cup or Bormio or Big Mountain, Montana for a FIS race. "Safety" is paramount and it is a relative term. When officials and coaches and athletes talk safety, they are talking about whether or not the conditions put the athletes at an unreasonable risk over and above their normal risk. So going 80 MPH or flying 40 meters off a jump at 70 MPH is being judged on relative safety. There are A nets, B nets, big fall-zones, crowd control. These are all in the realm of safety. But races and training runs are canceled due to weather and track condition more than anything. The training run in Lake Louise was canceled today due to unsafe conditions from about 5 inches of snow fall overnight. As FIS and the organizer look at it, they have 3 runs scheduled, the weather looks reasonable the rest of the week. So why not use the day to remove snow and have a good, clean training run tomorrow? They are banking on the weather forecast being correct. And the strong backs of the "Sled Dogs" as the Lake Louise volunteers are known; in order to get this training run off tomorrow, and the race the next day. There is also a Super-G on Sunday and everyone needs to get to Beaver Creek. So there is no margin for error in the calendar.
So let's say the forecast is good. The guys get their training run off tomorrow and the race on Saturday as scheduled. What did today's cancellation mean? The reality is that it did not cost anyone much. Everyone will be able to get another look at the hill, take another run and try to go fast. The service guys will get on there one more time to look at the new snow, etc.
What changed because of the cancellation? New snow crystals in the surface changes the waxing and ski preparation program. They were on old snow on run 1 and snow that was deteriorating in warming temps. Now there are new, sharp crystals mixed into the surface. More work for the already over-worked service guys. Different skis will go out tomorrow and more attention will be paid by the technicians to the surface as it changes going into race day.
Let's say the forecast is bad? It keeps snowing and they race on Saturday but without a training run on Friday. So you've had a training run. A lot of guys took it easy out of the start, or skied the pitches with less than full intensity. Or did not push all the way through the finish. If you are a skier who did that and does not have a lot of experience on the World Cup or at Lake Louise, you might not be able to judge what happens in C turn or Fishnet or Claire's having not carried full speed into one or more of those sections. It could lead to mistakes and crashes on race day. Because the guys are going to race. That is what they have been doing their whole lives. Competing as hard as possible with just a helmet and DH suit between them and the rock hard snow. They have made it where they are because they have guts. Because they go like hell where most of us would just as soon side slip.
The boys will knock it down, push for all of everything from start to finish. But if someone wasted day one either being cute, saving energy or only working hard for certain sections, it could hurt them by Saturday if there is no training run tomorrow.
The last thing is that the snow has changed dramatically since training run 1. No matter how you did or if you tried all the way down. IF there is no training run tomorrow, everyone is starting from scratch on Saturday.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

Aspen Women's GS- Preview

2009-11-25T18:57:00.000-08:00

It is Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving. Those of us on the road this holiday will give thanks and eat turkey with our teammates and friends rather than our families. It has been like this most years of my coaching career, and this year is no different. It is one of the things that make our teammates like family. Why it becomes so hard to let go of them and of the sport as we get older. The bonds that are created by having holidays together are tight.
Tomorrow, the men will take their second training run in Lake Louise and the women will travel to Aspen and settle into their housing, and get ready for free skiing on the race hill on Friday. According to Aspen Valley Ski Club Director, Jeff Kai, the hill is in great shape with man-made snow and injection they did last night. From all that he has said it sounds like the conditions will be excellent
The race hill in Aspen is officially called Lower Ruthie's by the FIS and it has a few places to watch carefully. The first is the bottom of Spring Pitch, which is basically the last bit of Aztec. The ladies need to charge down Spring Pitch and nail the last few turns on the pitch to carry speed as the course bends to the left onto Summer Road. This area is make or break. Someone who can take a little more risk earlier on the pitch will be able to carry more speed across the road as long as she can execute the turns cleanly as the bottom of the pitch approaches and the compression there does not cause a problem. The decision making here along with execution can define their run. After the road the girls will enter Strawpile. As you can tell by the name, this section has large rolls and terrain features. Side-hills, drop-offs. The good terrain skier with some guts will do best through here. After Strawpile things are pretty mellow to the finish. All of this action with injected snow will cause some errors to be made. Both in judgement and execution. The decisions made during inspection and before the start will make a mark on this race, as will the execution of these decisions.
Course Setting:
Last year, both courses were set within 2 turns of minimum which tells me the courses can be set open. Plenty of room between gates. A lot of carving and a lot of fun.
The first run will be set by Guenther Obkircher(AUT). Guenther is a long-time men's coach on all different levels in the Austrian system. From Development to World Cup and back down. Now he is with the Austrian Tech girls. Zettel, Schild, Kirchgasser and Brem are his best. Liz Goergl is not in his group but was 3rd in Aspen last year. Watching him set here in Vail all week, it looks like he will set 26-28 meters for distance most of the time and open it up a bit at the finish. His girls have been skiing well all week. He will try to stick to his own identity as a course setter so his team sees things that they are used to seeing. I would expect them all to have good first runs.
The second run is set by Stefano Costazza(ITA). The same will go for him and will help his athletes. Costazza set in La Molina, Spain last season and set 44 turns, within 4 of minimum. The run he set was won by Zettel, Moelgg was 2nd and Maria Pietilae-Holmner was 3rd. For Americans, Julia was 12th. We watched the La Molina race last year on TV in our apartments near Innsbruck, AUT, the weather was very funky. Warm and very windy with injected snow that was failing under the strength of Mother Nature. This does not discount the results, they are as real as any others. But it does ask the question as to the relevance of the course setter with regard to results in that type of situation.

THE SKIERS:

Tanja Poutiainen(FIN)- I saw Tanja a bit this week and I did get to watch her ski. As I mentioned earlier in the week she was very detail oriented and solid. I watched her free skiing and saw she was making strong transitions and working hard on clean initiations. Great stuff from a great skier. She was happy, relaxed and polishing her approach. She basically said, "One race at a time..." Sounds like any professional athlete anywhere who has been winning. She was second in Aspen last year and will easily be in the mix this week.
Kathrin Zettel(AUT)- She had the flu during the Levi slalom and could not race. She then had to fly here after recovery. The Austrians seem to be keeping her on low volume and few repeat days. They seem concerned with her health and hydration. I will go on a limb and say that she will be less likely to be a factor in Aspen. Recent illness, air travel, jet lag, low volume, the dehydration that flu brings on? It will be tough for her to get it done.
Tina Maze(SLO)- Tina looked very strong and clean in all of her runs in Vail this week. I have been impressed with her skiing,speed and consistency. I would not doubt if she competed for a podium in Aspen.
Denise Karbon(ITA)- I think she is the best female GS skier in the world. I will bet on her every time. She was absolutely crushing the pitch here in Vail today which ends with a bend to the left like in Aspen. She won the first run in Aspen last year and had a problem on the 2nd run, finishing 15th. The only negative for her in Aspen is there might not be enough pitch for her over the duration of the hill.
Kati Hoelzl(GER)- She was fastest here yesterday in some timed runs with girls present from Italy, France and the USA. No other top 7 girls were present for the timed runs. She is a good skier and can compete. The Germans have also been in Vail for about a week.
Tessa Worley(FRA)- She won in Aspen last year, she is a fighter and she seems to be skiing pretty well. Repeat wins are hard to come by on the World Cup but I do think she can be competitive.
Michaela Kirchgasser(AUT)- She has been coming on in GS, her coach is setting, she has seemed very happy and relaxed around Vail all week. I don't know how much pure speed she has in GS, but she is an excellent skier and has an advantage with the course setting. They have been here since the 17th. Look for her in the top 10 by the end of the day on Saturday.

AMERICANS:

Lindsey Vonn- Last year, Lindsey had her best GS result finishing 4th in Aspen. She was 7th after the first run with a mediocre start number. Now she starts 8-15 and is skiing GS better than ever. She is another month on her new equipment since Soelden. She has had unbeatable training in Vail since returning from Levi. She has had her own lane at times, full length, prime real estate. Today she looked very strong and was going on a tight line while making clean turns. I would expect an excellent performance from her. She also seems to be used to her new skis and very happy with the whole equipment package.

Julia Mancuso- At his point I can only hope she does well. The few runs I saw were not exceptionally fast.

Megan McJames- As I have said in previous blogs, I love the way Megan skis. She makes a very nice transition and clean initiation as long as she has time to do so. I think the course sets in Aspen will give her the time. I also think that Colorado snow and Park City snow are very similar. She grew up on this stuff and it does help. So will the home crowd. I am very high on Megan's chances.

Sarah Schleper- Home snow and she was 13th last year in Aspen. Pretty good stuff and a chance to repeat that type of performance.

Jess Kelley- Jess is a great technical skier who needs to find her groove. To get herself in gear and just get after it. She is highly trained after years on the ski team and numbers of years on the World Cup, she needs to put aside any drama and just go.

Stacey Cook- My personal favorite as I was her coach at Mammoth before I moved on to the ski team. Stacey even lived at our house and remains one of my wife's best friends. Stace won the time trial the ski team held for selection. She has scored World Cup points in GS in her career so it is not a shock she won the spot. But her rank is 113 on the FIS list which means she will start near the back. The circumstance cannot drive her performance, she needs to take chances and make it work from back there. She is playing with house money and needs to ski like it.

CANADIANS:

Simard will sneak into the top 30 on the start list so she has a chance. Gagnon is a great young skier with a good number but unless she is able to make major changes from Soelden, I don't think anything earth shattering is going to happen.

DARK HORSES:
Look for Viktoria Rebensburg(GER) and Stefanie Koehle(AUT). I just think they are both excellent skiers and competitors and will eventually break through.

The Podium? This one seems tougher. But I think I am going with Karbon for the win, Poutiainen 2nd and Vonn 3rd. Her first World Cup GS podium.

Choices

2009-11-24T21:05:00.000-08:00

We all make choices. With skiing, and more specifically ski racing, we make choices about many things. Training venue, training conditions, travel days, days off, using or not using an opportunity that is presented. When you look at the contrasts in these choices, they do not seem like much. Like they will not make much of a difference. But when you look at a sport that is measured in hundredths of seconds, and probably should be measured in thousandths, these decisions make all the difference. Between 1st and 2nd, 3rd and 4th, 30th and 31st. All the placings that really matter in World Cup and all ski racing usually are decided by very small margins. So when to fly, where and when to train, when not to train, what to eat and when, hydration, sleep, when to do conditioning and what time to do so all play a role. What can inspire? What can call to question? All these things make a difference. This is what the coach does in approach to a race. To make these choices but also to take advantage of relationships, call in favors. To give their athletes the best possible chance to take advantage of their opportunities. When you do all of these things well, all you have done is give your athletes the opportunity to excel. You are not and are never guaranteeing anything, but you can help them succeed by making better decisions.
All of that being said, we are just days away from free skiing day on Friday in Aspen. Teams are spread throughout North America training and making decisions. There are some things I would most likely take into consideration. The first is geographic proximity to the race. Why? Short travel time into the race, similar snow temperatures and texture, more control over days off, avoidance of air travel to name a few. So if you were going to race in Aspen why would you fly from Europe and go to Canada to train? It's like flying from the USA or Canada and prepping for Alta Badia in Norway! But yet teams do this. And even here in Colorado you have differences. Vail is closer to the same elevation of Aspen than Loveland or Keystone. It is even closer geographically. Sleeping at higher elevations has a negative effect on recovery. Even if by only 1000 feet. My opinion is that everyone who has trained at Vail this fall is at an advantage at Aspen. Does it mean that the people training here will prevail in Aspen? No, of course not. But it does give them an advantage.
In talking to Jeff Kai, the Program Director of the Aspen Valley Ski Club, the race hill is well prepared with excellent man-made snow and they injected the hill today. The temperatures have been great here and the water will take very well. They have 2 more days to prep the surface and make it smooth for the ladies' race. I do not think it will be overly slick as their plan has been good. With good but not extreme temperatures and night and good care of the hill.
So who has trained here a lot? Poutiainen, Maze, Drev, Hoelzl, Vonn, Zettel, Kirchgasser, Schild, Leinonen. Maria Riesch just got here so she is fighting some jet lag and training. Mancuso maybe did 2 days here in the last couple weeks, Schleper? I haven't seen her here. Hometown and all... Decisions, I am not criticizing, just observing. And I am sure there is a valid reason for every single decision made and it does not make them incorrect. But it does allow for 2nd guessing.

Lake Louise and Aspen... here we come!

2009-11-22T19:00:00.000-08:00

We are 5 days from the GS free ski on the race hill in Aspen for the girls. The boys arrive in Lake Louise on Tuesday. A lot is about to happen here in the ski racing world in North America.
World Cup DH staff and skiers are making their way to Lake Louise from their training venues in order to arrive there before the first Team Captain's Meeting on Tuesday evening. The World Cup DH boys are headed to Lake Louise Tuesday to start the first training run on Wednesday. Three training runs are scheduled for Lake Louise, primarily because it is early season and everyone can use a few extra DH runs to figure out skis and other equipment issues. Not to mention figure out the line on the downhill. The boys and staff will settle in quickly on Tuesday afternoon, do some recovery work and start watching video almost immediately. Putting together archived video of previous races so the guys can see how they executed in the past and who executed better and what they might have done differently. Also, serious discussion happens, lead by the most experienced downhillers to help educate the younger guys and to analyze with the coaches what led to certain difficulties the previous season. The athletes at that level are the best analysts of their problems and successes. Of why results or lack of them happened. Along with the extra pairs of eyes the coaches provide, it ends up being a collaborative experience. As long as everyone is as objective as possible and set ego and feelings aside.
Lake Louise is considered a downhiller's downhill. Very fast in spots, a lot of tucking and tuck turns and the technical sections are still at high speed. Guts has it's role here for sure. But there are a few little glitches along the way that can cause consternation. The Fishnet and C turns always pack a little G force and the Gunbarrel coming off a steep pitch to a flat, narrow section has a nice compression. The trail then bends to the left and crosses under the chair before making the turn to the right in Claire's Corner. Then it rolls and glides to the finish. But Claire's can be tricky and guys can blow the race there by going in too straight, or even worse, applying left ski pressure too late. As one of my favorite cliches goes, "You can't win it here, but you definitely can lose it."
There are 3 training runs in Lake Louise which seems like a ton of time to figure things out. But teams work hard to get the line right on day one. At least as close to perfect as possible to try to adjust for the next day. With 7 cameras on the hill during training, the US Ski Team staff will be knitting video camera views together to watch full runs of each athlete as well as everyone else who was top 3 in any split. Or run winners. So after everyone gets back to the hotel, eats lunch (late) and does their dryland and recovery, they sit down to another hour or 2 of video to make a plan for the next day's attempt.
One of the cooler things about Lake Louise is that the girls race on the same track the following week. The FIS and race organizer do some things to change it. They attempt to soften the surface (usually without success) and they set some different gates that control speed in different places on the hill. Maybe they lower the start a little. But it is essentially the same track and Lake Louise is the only place that happens in DH.
I am in Colorado and most of the women's teams are here in Vail. They are here getting ready for the tech starts in Aspen. We had the good fortune to share the hill with Lindsey Vonn, Tanja Poutiainen(FIN), Tina Maze(FIN), Michaela Kirchgasser(AUT) and Kathrin Zettel(AUT) today among other solid World Cuppers. Lindsey had her own space and was fine tuning for the Aspen GS. Maybe testing some skis, ramp angles or mounting points.
Tina trained GS next to us with Sanni Leinonen(FIN), Ana Drev(SLO) and a few others. Tine Maze looked great on the hill. I have seen her ski a lot over the last 8 years and she looked very strong today. Physically as well as technically.
Kirchgasser and Zettel trained slalom and were very solid and relaxed. If they take that kind of skiing into the slalom at Aspen, they will be highly competitive.
And last, Tanja Poutiainen was free skiing on both sets of equipment.
And I want to make a few points about what I saw.
1. She was definitely trying to feel out some canting and ramp issues. The good thing about her is that her service guy speaks German and she speaks Finnish, so they speak English to each other. Much easier for me to understand.
2. When she skied GS she skied in her GS stuff. GS boots, GS poles, GS helmet, etc. When she skied on slalom skis it was the same deal. Slalom boots, slalom helmet, slalom poles. Attention to detail, over and over and over again.
3. She is in a great mood after her good start early but is keeping it all in perspective. Saying things like: "It's a long season." " I only think about the next race." All one day at a time type stuff. Watch out, she is skiing very well, making a very strong weight transfer when free skiing to create bend in the new turning ski with total control of the where and when.
So here we are, 3 days from the first training run of the first DH of the season and 6 days from the Aspen GS. A lot going on to get ready. I am sure the equipment adjustment game is on. The high and dry Colorado snow, even when injected, is totally different from the it's European cousin. Much drier, more easily carvable, better grip. So edges can be less aggressive, cants can be adjusted, ramp angles can change, or even pick a different pair of skis. To adjust for the .01 that gets you the win or into the flip.
More coming! Ladies' Aspen preview should be up by Thursday and the Lake Louise DH should get a preview after training run 2 or 3. Thanks for reading!

Getting Ready for Aspen

2009-11-21T08:51:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning on our 7th consecutive day of perfect weather in Vail. Clear and cold, as it should be. We have a day off today after some excellent days of training which included 2 days of slalom on the injection. While we were unsure our Mission Ridge Ski Team athletes could handle it, they did handle it and handled it well. It is something that they have never even seen in person, let alone tried to ski on. I am sure they were nervous and intimidated about it. The first day we did sections of ten turns and the injection was still a little rough. So we had some better grip. But as it got skied on more, it got slick. This was the second time Ski Club Vail injected this section because it snowed last week. Anyway, injecting over injection with very cold temperatures can often produce skating rink type smoothness. And after skiing on it for a couple days, that is what we got yesterday. Dane Spencer and I were talking and we both felt it was similar to Flachau in January, 2005. It was a legendary injecting situation and was a very slick surface. Dane actually hurt his back on the third turn because he spun out a little on the ice. At Flachau, the organizers and FIS decided to re-inject after it had snowed and it then got extremely cold. Pretty much the same situation we have here and it showed. All of that said, we set 33 turns on the injection and the kids tried their best. They learned a lot about slalom yesterday and about themselves. They learned that their flaws will be exposed on this type of snow and they learned to fight to stay in the course on every close call. Hopefully they also understand ski tuning a little better. And they will be able to watch World Cup through much more educated eyes. I am very impressed with the group as a whole in their adjustment to the situation we put them in! Great job!
So I am sure you must be thinking that this all must have a point. The point is that the USA girls have been training here on excellent conditions. Hard injection, hard man made snow and ice. A great hill with excellent rolling terrain to train on that has been prepared with care and focus. The Austrian tech girls are here. The Swiss have made a day trip here. The Slovenian girls are doing their work here as well. They are all in good shape as far as I am concerned with their choice in venue for training. Right now they are all smiles and focus. Confidence and low stress in the feeling around here right now.
I was talking to Guenther Obkircher yesterday. He is the slalom group coach for the Austrian women and a long time friend going back to a FIS trip in 1998 I took to Austria with some Western Region athletes. He was out there on the hill for his first time yesterday and was thrilled with the hill and the preparation. He set some GS and we watched some of his girls. Kirchgasser looks pretty good on that hill.
The other thing is that the hill here in Vail has some similarity to Aspen. A steep pitch that flattens suddenly as it bends to the left as well as some rolling terrain on a moderate pitch at the bottom. It mimicks the Spring Pitch area and then the Strawpile section on the Aspen World Cup hill. On top of that, Guenther sets run 1 at the Aspen GS. He will set here all week so Zettel and Kirchgasser will get to ski his courses on a similar hill. He will get a chance to set some visually similar sections to what he will set in Aspen. I am liking their chances at this point, a week away.
Thanks again to Ski Club Vail and Vail Resort for having us here and all of their hard work!
Get well, Resi!!!!!!!!!!

Lake Louise Snow Check Approved

2009-11-17T10:38:00.000-08:00

Men's World Cup DH is the coolest thing on earth. The start is almost always at the top of a ski area, and ends at the bottom. At the top there are amazing views. In between there are turns, rolls, flats, jumps, sidehills. Whatever you can think of. It is the ultimate challenge. Fastest to the bottom wins, end of story. It's like when I was a kid growing up at Stratton and we would all line up on Sunday afternoon at the top of the ski area and race to the bottom down Wanderer...or even better, Work Road/Wanderer. It was flat but fun and had some jumps and a lot of tucking. Just legs burning at the bottom trying to get your skis as flat as possible. So much fun trying....and winning. It's the same thing for the big boys on the World Cup and it all starts in 11 days in Lake Louise.
The area around Lake Louise is absolutely beautiful. Huge peaks, enormous trees and solitude. If is truly breathtaking. The World Cup is housed in the Chateau Lake Louise which compliments the surroundings. I took my family there during the races last season and they had a ball hiking and skiing and checking out the pioneer era history of the area.
With Lake Louise passing their snow check today, the game is on. World Cup DH is only 11 days away. Lake Louise has 3 training runs, the men will be heading there soon.
The track at Lake Louise is widely considered very easy by Men's World Cup standards. And I would agree with that opinion if you base downhill only on guts. It is not only about that in Lake Louise. It is still a fast track with a lot of terrain, tricky turn sections,tactical adjustments as well as some jumping. You can be the ballsiest downhiller in the world and not win in Lake Louise. All the skills are tested. Guts, gliding, turning skills, tactical awareness,jumping. It is a strong and fun opener. A lot plays into it. The flat light of late November, stormy winds, the cold canadian weather. The three training runs themselves can take a mental and physical toll. I saw Andrew Weibrecht, at the end of a potentially top 15 run, totally bonk on a dead-flat straight glide section above Claire's Corner and almost hit the fence. He corrected and held it together but ended up outside the points. I can only point to stress and fatigue from the 3 trainers for the cause.

The hill opens with a straight shot schuss down the start chute onto a flat with a little compression. Then it bends to the right with some rolling terrain in a very narrow section. It breaks over into the super-g start and down another steep shot with very little swing. Another compression bending to the left into an open meadow and on to the steeper, turnier sections. Add an off-kilter left-footed take-off jump and the technical prowess and tactical awareness come into play. Then the downhiller's Downhill begins again. Big sweeping turns down a good pitch through a compression and into a narrow flat chute. Just pinning it as hard as possible. The trail bends to the left and then another straight shot crossing under the lift and into Claire's. This is where I saw Weibrecht sit on his bindings. Then Claire's, which is a turn to the right where you need to get way out near the fence as you are carrying good heat and finish your turn early enough to stay on line. There is another big roll/jump just below Claire's. Then a highway to the finish.
This section near the bottom is typical of Lake Louise. It is not visibly intimidating but there are tricks everywhere. If you don't have a good mental grasp of the plan, and/or you don't execute the plan you leave there with an empty feeling. A feeling of what should have been. This race has left a lot of excellent racers scratching their heads.
I am currently in Vail training with the Mission Ridge Ski Team, my home club. The training is fantastic and I would like to thank Ski Club Vail and Vail Resort for having us here. It could not be better!

Men in Levi, What was that?

2009-11-15T17:45:00.001-08:00

Every once in a while you get one of those races that just does not turn out well. Maybe it's the snow, the course set, poor light and shadows, bad tactics by the athletes, bad advice from coaches? All or any of those things can happen. Sometimes it just doesn't look great as a product on TV and maybe the smartest guys made the podium today and not the purely fastest guys?
First, I have to address course setting. And I was not standing there on the hill so I do not know for sure, but the turn totals looked high and the second run was a little out of the range for this hill to run well. Christian Hoeflehner(AUT) set and his guy won so it is all ok there. But he lost 2 guys of his own in a section that took out a bunch of guys. Maybe that was the plan? The hill deemed too easy for the men so he set some tricky rhythm changes? I don't know the plan but the Austrians usually have one. But in my mind, that hill runs best in the range from 57 to 61 turns, not 65. You can set it turny and with some room to carve and you get very close, fast and fun racing. Instead, it turned into a war of attrition. To me it looked too fast entering the pitch and for a turn or two after the break and then turned them a bit too much, too late on the pitch with not enough distance to recover if necessary. Lizeroux, Grange, Ligety, Cousineau, Myhrer and many more had major problems in the same section. They were a little late with the pressure there, like Hirscher and Matt, then trapped in the very aggressive snow in the already late groove, and were done.
But enough of that. When you get the information or see it on TV at the start, change your tactics. The run 1 leaders all get to see plenty of guys make mistakes. Get on the radio and call your coach in the area, or listen to what he is already saying, or just change what you want to do based on what you are seeing.
Herbst just skied within himself, used his lead over the people who had gone before. He put himself in the lead and let the others try to catch him. Kostelic did the same thing. Very smart, and then executed well, and finished 1-2.

I want to write about Mattias Hargin(SWE). He has only one gear, all out. And he paid a little in the section in question too. It will be interesting to see if he learns over time when he needs to give away a little line and make some good turns to get through a tricky section. Usually that takes more experience in the top 7 to establish that kind of confidence. The confidence that your speed is high enough to win as it is. And then usually it takes that confidence to recognize the issue, but then also the confidence to actually do it in the heat of a slalom run. Tough stuff. He still turned in a great performance and should be very happy with the outcome.
Some other things I saw.
Jimmy Cochran(USA)- I was pretty happy to see him ski as well as he did. I think he skied technically better than I have even seen him recently. I hope he can fix those consistency issues a little further to make his move into the upper level once and for all.
Axel Baeck(SWE)- What can you say about him? The Swedes just seem to keep pushing new slalom guys into the show. He is the newest one and moved from 48 to 15! Good stuff.
Marc Gini(SUI)- A very strong performance from him. He started in the late 20s and finished in 10th. That type of hill is good for him, almost every time.
Lars Myhre(NOR)- He was great today. Sometimes he just has these moments of brilliance but rarely backs it up with another run or race. It will be very interesting to see if he can back it up next time.
I want to go on record to say that I jinxed the American boys. I rarely predict odd-ball wins like that. If a guy does not start in the top 7, I will rarely pick him to win. I just had one of those really good feelings about all the boys but it just didn't work out. I have done this before and should have learned my lesson. Ask Robi Kristan who tuned Bode's skis for a long time. We were in Adelboden in 2003 and riding up the tbar. I looked at him and told him "I have a good feeling about today!" He said, "Really? Awesome." We started 8 guys that day. Daron finished 22nd. Schlopy fell on run 2, 2 guys did not qualify, and 4 fell on the first run. So I should know better about my "good feelings."

Levi Women's re-cap and Men's bib draw

2009-11-14T19:15:00.000-08:00

I spent most of my day flying and driving to Vail today to get ready for our Mission Ridge Ski Team fall camp. I can't wait to get out on the hill Ski Club Vail has prepared. I have heard nothing but outstanding reports and look forward to getting a lot accomplished here.
I got a chance to watch the women's race today on Universal Sports when I got here. The video was a little glitchy but I got the gist of it. First of all, congratulations to Maria, Lindsey and Tanja! As well as Susanne Riesch and Michaela Kirschgasser. That's the top 5 and they all did a great job. Lindsey let me down a little because I picked her to win, but losing by .08 is well, .08. I thought she had it won when Maria had lost ground by the end of the top flat but Maria held it together when she could have lost it. Congrats to Lindsey, a great start to the season. Start racking up those points in slalom and GS and dominate the speed stuff again and the big globe will be yours. Great job! And Tanja as well, right in the mix in the first 2 tech starts. Susanne continues to ski well in Levi and I am so glad to see Michi Kirchgasser start to put her slalom back together. She has been struggling with it for a while but it looks to be back in order. Very cool.
Most impressive stuff:
Nina Loeseth(NOR) coming from 46th start position to 20th place. But even more impressive was younger sister Mona starting 51 and moving up to 14.
The Canadian girls! All 3 got in the flip and finished back to back to back in 14-16-17 (there was a tie for 14th). Nice job ladies.
A solid day for Hailey Duke in 21st place, well done.
And most of all, the 2 girls coming out of the 70s to get second runs. Kristiina Rove(FIN) born in 1990, made the flip and got a second run. She finished last in the 30 but had a smile in the finish area so big that lit the place up! Congrats to her and hopefully it is the beginning of more to come. And to Kaylin Richardson for making a second run happen from start number 70 to finish 23. I really did not think she would get it done and she did, with room to spare. Fantastic.
Now for a not so positive. Anja Paerson can look at this race and think it was an error and keep banging away at slalom. But I see slow feet and the loss of the ability to recover at speed while carrying speed. The last 1/3 of the course on the second run is where that kind of stuff happens when fitness and quickness decline. Is it really just a little mistake? Or is it symptomatic of something more? Is she on the decline, especially in slalom?

MEN'S BIB DRAW

What number a guy draws in the top 7 likely will not mean much with the way the surface looked for the girls up there on the Levi Black. The place looked perfect, and just as I remember it. Frosted over, Acrtic ice fog hanging over the lights. Not quite dark but definitely not light. Very hard snow that holds up extremely well. One real difference between the men and women is the men beat up the hill a bit more. They put more pressure on the skis and they cut harder into the injection. So it can be worse than what we saw today.
Manni Moelgg of Italy drew 1 but I stand by my opinion that he is better on steeper, tighter, straighter courses.
For me, Herbst at number 2 is a good draw for him as is Hargin at number 4. JB Grange drew 7 and I do not think that will cause much problem for him. I believe he will do well. The other great draw his number 9 for Mike Janyk. That will help him in confidence and therefore with his focus going into the race.
Bode at 16 is a great number for him and will have a shot of getting deep into the top 10. Head skis went 1,2 today so that looks good for Bode. Ted is in at 18 and I think the race is winnable from there. If he can stay within three-tenths after run 1, I really believe he can get it done. And remember that Lindsey won the Levi slalom with bib 18 on last year and on Rossignol. I know that sounds superstitious, but I'm just sayin'.
Others and their numbers? Watch for Mark Gini(SUI) who snuck into the top 30. He could get it done on a moderate hill. He won 2 years ago at Reiteralm which was a replacement for Levi.
Four Canadians start between 35 and 45 and will need to hammer to get into the flip.
One thing that is interesting is that there are a lot of great slalom skiers with late start numbers and are worth sticking aroung to watch. Even if they don't qualify, they will entertain with speed and agility as well as high skill.
One of my favorites is Akira Sasaki(JPN) starting 44. Sake-bomb is a cult hero in central Europe and very popular in Austria. Watch him slash his way down the hill as he tries to reclaim his spot in the top 15. Jimmy Cochran starting 46 has a fantastic chance and a great history on this hill. Tim Jitloff starting 49 is, by all accounts, skiing as fast as anyone in slalom. Watch him move into the top 30.
Home-boy Jukka Leino starts 50 and always brings the heat.Jens Byggmark, a former top 7 guy is starting 55. Watch out! He is likely to blast in there too. Thomas Fanara(FRA) starts 56 is a fast skier as is Natko Zrncic-Dim(CRO) at 57. There is a lot of speed in the back at this race. The last guy I want to mention is Stephane Tissot(FRA)starting 63. He was the best slalom skier in the world not long ago. Consecutive injuries have put him into the back but I look for him to regain his old form sooner rather than later.
Check out the race and enjoy!

Women's bib draw in Levi: What it means and why should we care?

2009-11-13T10:10:00.001-08:00

The bib draw is an amazing thing. The night before most World Cups, all the best 15 in the race show up at a stage, usually with a band, and choose their numbers out of a bin, or a hat, or whatever folk art is popular in the area. And usually the bibs are delivered to the athletes by a local junior skier. But whatever happens, it is a huge party to get the thing kicked off. In Levi it already happened today and local hero Tanja Poutiainen got the "hole shot." It's like Jimmy Johnson getting the pole in a NASCAR race in his home town. It's awesome, and exciting. She will be amped for that first run like never before and it will be very interesting to watch the outcome. Schild got 2 which is ok but still a little too early for someone who has been out for so long. If I were her I would prefer #4 which is what our hero Lindsey Vonn drew. I think a perfect first run number in Levi. With the normal 2 minute interval for the first group, she will have about 8 minutes to get herself into the right mood. I have said this before and I will again. She's a pro. She knows her job and she knows herself. I am very impressed with her entire approach to the sport. She will get it done here. Riesch is 5 which is good for both her and Lindsey as they are good friends and will likely relax each other. Sandrine Aubert(FRA) pulled 7 which is always disappointing but I don't think it will matter much. She should be in the mix. I don't think the next group of 8-15 packs much punch for this race. Maybe Therese Borssen(SWE) will get something done. I can hope all I want for Manu Moelgg(ITA) but more as a fan and friend than an analyst.
The real meat of any World Cup first run is the rest of the field. Will late top 30 starters stay in the 30 and get a 2nd run or will the girls in the back bounce them out? Especially this early in the year. Some of them are ready and others are not. One of my favorites, Resi Steigler will be starting 27. She is finally returning to the regular World Cup tour after consecutive knee injuries. She will be racing on her 24th birthday and my 46th. We are Scorpios and we all know that scorps kill it on their big day. Resi will get a second run and move up into the top 15 for a nice start to the season. This is a great hill for her as it matches her grip and rip style. Hailey Duke out of Boise will start 29. This is a big deal as she is nursing an ankle injury and a later start number could really make her feel it. Sterling Grant, the NorAm champ starts 34 which gives her a great chance at scoring some points as well. Unfortunately, Sarah and Kaylin are starting in the weeds at 58 and 70 respectively and that takes a lot of risk, guts and luck to get in the flip from there.
The Canadians all have decent numbers and could all be there in the 2nd run. Anna Goodman starts 25 and was very consistent last season. I think she will start to break into the top 15 instead of the top 20 starting tomorrow. Marie-Michelle Gagnon and Brigitte Acton start 35 and 36 and have a great shot at getting in there for a second run. If Brigitte can get it rolling early in the run and find her rhythm, she can be fast. If she struggles or bobbles early, she has a hard time bouncing back.
Some young girls to watch:
Christina Geiger(GER) She was born in 1990, yes that makes her 19 years old. She's starting 32 and was 2nd in the Europa Cup slalom standings last year. Bernadette Schild (AUT) is also a 1990 year of birth and for Austria to bring her up to Finland for one race means they believe she can get the job done. The same goes for Nadja Vogel(SUI) who is also a 1990. Even younger are Elena Curtoni(ITA) who is a 1991 and Mona Loeseth(NOR) who is also a 1991. Both are younger siblings of established World Cup slalom skiers and I think that the younger brothers and sisters tend to out perform their older siblings.
Start times are 11 AM and 2 PM CET. Stay up all night and fire up the computers to check it out!

Levi Slalom: Men's Preview

2009-11-10T12:53:00.000-08:00

Who is going to win this race? The one who skis the fastest...Really? Is that it? I think in this one it really is. There have been only 2 men's World Cup slalom races on the Levi Black and there were 6 different guys on the podium. (Grange, Miller, Matt in 2008) and (Raich, Larsson and Rocca in 2006). Here we are in 2009 and no repeats on the podium to draw from. And not really any repeats in the top 10 that we can draw anything from. Look at last year's podium. Grange is a great skier who is excellent on moderate hills. Miller is possibly the fastest, while most inconsistent top slalom skier in history. And Matt is among the most consistent in history. In the 2006 podium you have a winner who is super consistent and was on his way to a slalom globe that year, Larsson who rivals Miller for lack of consistency and Rocca who is the streakiest slalom skier ever. So, if I put all of those facts together with a qualification margin of 1.40 last season and 1.71 in 2006, I see flat-out, wide-open racing. The course setting is likely to be fairly open for the hill to ski well so we should see more of the same. I expect a high-risk, leave-it-all-on-the- hill approach even in run 1 because if you play it too safe, you will find yourself too far behind to make up the places. Or maybe watching it from the finish area?
With the courses expected to be open, I see very little tactical adjustment or planning. Maybe a tiny re-direct of the skis at the top of the pitch to be ahead of the tempo for 3 or 4 turns and then a full-gas approach the rest of the way.
All of this makes it incredibly hard to pick, but a lot of fun to watch. It also leaves some favorites for their style of skiing. I will hit on some of that here and have a look at the favorites, and their positives and negatives.

TOP DAWGS:

JB Grange(FRA): It all seems to be leaning in his direction. The hill is mellow, the courses will likely allow a lot of carving, he's the slalom king and defending champ. Along with a top 7 number and watch out. JB is definitely the favorite. His one real weakness, the lack of a classic pole-plant move, will not likely be deadly on this kind of hill.
Manfred Pranger(AUT): Always a threat and a guy who gets extremely ramped up. I actually think that will hurt him on this hill. He might get overamped and not even make it through the rollers on the top flat. Plus, Manny is much better on tighter courses with less swing. I expect the opposite type of sets in Levi.
Julien Lizeroux(FRA): I like his aggressive style and positive attitude. But I think he is similar to Pranger in many ways on the hill and I think he might push for a little too much and be a DNF or have a major error.
Ivica Kostelic(CRO): A big, strong guy and always a threat. His best is 5th in Levi and I think it's because he is also a little better at the straighter, tighter stuff. Just not versatile enough. He also is very energy-dependant. Sometimes he looks like he is just not into it. He also carries nagging injuries into the early season after their overly aggressive preparation period training volume.
Reinfried Herbst(AUT): I think he is built for this type of hill. A lot of success in similar venues over the years. I am pretty high on him in Levi and with Hoeflehner setting run 2, I think he can charge onto the podium on run 2.
Manni Moelgg(ITA): I am a big Manni Moelgg fan. He hails from St. Vigilio, a beautiful place nestled deep in the Dolomites near the Kronplatz and Alta Badia. A great place you should visit at any time of year. I do think he can be ok in Levi but he tends to excel on steeper, tighter, tougher stuff.
Mattias Hargin (SWE): This hill is tailor made for him! You heard it here! A free-swinging Swede who has found himself in the top 7. Similar approach to Byggmark. It's like a heavyweight fight that opens with a flurry of punches when this guy hits the hill. Unbeleiveable energy and speed. With a fairly gentle hill, watch out for a big breakthrough.
Mario Matt(AUT): One of the most consistent slalom skiers of this generation, along with Benni Raich. He will likely do well but I am not sure he will risk enough to win.
Marcel Hirscher(AUT): Super fast young guy. Born in 1989 and just making his mark on the FIS World Cup. He can be in there for sure.
Benni Raich(AUT): See Matt above. I think he lacks the risk for this hill even though he did win here in 2006. If there is going to be a winner by default or attrition, it will be Benni.
Mike Janyk(CAN): Here it is Canadian brothers, Mike Janyk will compete for a podium in Levi. The hill sets up perfectly for him and if the courses have room and swing, that is right in his wheelhouse. Good luck Mikey, let it rip!

AMERICANS:
I have avoided being a homer in the blog so far this season. But I am hearing so much good stuff out of the American training sessions, I just have to chuck fairness out the window. The news has been positive, I believe they are talented and skilled.

The USA is starting Miller, Ligety, Jitloff, Cochran and Nolan Kasper.
Here it is in a nutshell. The word from the American training in Taernaby is that Ted has found his speed and is ready to go. Ligety will fight off a mediocre first run start position to win this race. Ted has never won a FIS World Cup slalom. He has 6 podiums, the last coming in Wengen on Jaunary 12, 2008. He went all last season without a World Cup podium. That streak will end, the winless streak will end. Ligety will win on Levi Black.
Bode will do very well too. He is likely not ready yet but this is a great hill for him and will compete well for a top 10 finish.
Jitloff and Jimmy C will fight off some tough start numbers to qualify and then turn in excellent 2nd runs to make the top 20. And while I like Nolan as a skier, I think he has too much to overcome in start number and nerves to get it done here. But not to worry, he is a good skier and the tougher hills might favor him more. I think we come out something like: 1, 8, 13, 18.

CANADIANS:
As far as the neighbors to the north, I think they have a lot to cheer for. Janyk is ready to make a move, for sure. When you look at he rest of them, you have occasional qualifers in Trevor White, Brad Spence, Ryan Semple and Julien Cousineau. They all ski well on this type of hill. They just need to get a little lucky with course conditions and risk/reward but they can get it done.

Other dark horses to watch? Giuliani Razzoli(ITA), maybe Mark Gini(SUI) to come from outside the top 30. The same with Christian DeVille(ITA). Sandro Viletta(SUI) also brings a lot of heat to every run. One last one, this was the first big breakthrough for Jens Byggmark in 2006. Watch for him again, this time on Volkl.

Whew, that was a whirlwind. It just got me so fired up for this race!

Levi Women's Preview, Size Matters.

2009-11-09T08:39:00.000-08:00

While certainly not the only ingredient for success at Levi, size has played a role in the results over the years in Levi. As has been mentioned in the previous blogs, Levi is a flat hill, with a long flat out of the start and another long one at the bottom after a steep, then moderate middle pitch.
When you put the hill profile together with the course setters, you get a recipe for carving style slalom and higher speeds. Just the pure impact of the gates at higher race speeds gives the advantage to the bigger girls. They can pound through the block with less disruption, then can carve slightly larger radius turns and are will not likely be required to be too quick on the pitches. And it just goes to common sense that they would be able to grip better on a slick surface.
Both course setters have set close to the minimum turns at other venues and both have very tall slalom skiers on their squads.
The result history backs this up. Last year's winner was Lindsey Vonn, 2007 was re-scheduled to Reiteralm, AUT. 2006 was won by Marlies Schild who is fairly tall as well. Prior to that, the Levi race was a women's only event in the late season with 2 races per visit. Those races were won by Kostelic, Paerson, Poutiainen and Maria Riesch. All of whom have size on their side. Last year, Maria Pietilae-Holmner was 2nd and Riesch was 3rd. The only really "small" girl with a podium on this hill is Kathrin Zettel (AUT) who is truly tiny. But I would argue is one of the best carvers of a slalom ski on the women's tour.
So does that mean that only the bigger girls have a chance? No, of course not, it is a ski race and we all know that anything can happen. Start numbers, fog, wind, snow, rain, a funky course set. The possibility of anything happening is part of the fun. "That's why they play the games" as one NFL analyst is prone to say.

FRONT RUNNERS:
Maria Riesch (GER): 3 podiums with 1 win in the last 6 starts in Levi. With good product on her feet, I think she is a contender again. Her coach sets run 1. She should get out to a good start and could hold on if the conditions are good on run 2.
And don't forget, she is the reigning World Champ in slalom.
Maria Pietilae-Hlomner (SWE): Maria was 2nd last year in Levi. I do think racing in Scandanavia will help the Swede this weekend. She is good enough and will have a top 7 start number. For her to get a win here she will need to ski a perfect race. Full speed, no mistakes, smart tactics.
Sarka Zahrobska (CZE): I think Sarka is a good slalom skier with a lot of opportunity to win this season. I just don't think it is here. She is a notoriously slow starter to the season and has had very little success in Levi.
Kathrin Zettel (AUT): As I mentioned earlier, she is a great skier. One of the best carvers of slalom turns on the women's tour. Very consistent and very quick. She truly needs to risk to overtake some of the bigger girls on this hill but she can do it.
Sandrine Aubert (FRA): Watch out for her. Very tall girl and coming off a roll at the end of last season. She won the last 2 World Cups and was leading the World Champs SL after run 1. I am sure the pressure was just too much racing at home in France but she showed her ability on a tough hill in Val d'Isere and went on after that to put up the 2 wins. I think she is primed to move into the slalom elite along with Maria Riesch, Mrs. Vonn, ET AL.
Anja Paerson (SWE): I know this is not the most popular opinion, but I just don't think she has much left in the tank. She won her first World Cup in December 1998 in Mammoth and has been going at it in 4 events pretty much ever since. 11 years is a long time on that tour, plus factor in 4 event skiing in the winter and all the days on snow in the preparation period to be ready to ski 4 events. I am not buying into her as a contender in slalom anymore. She might be able to steel herself for a push for one last Olympics, but I have been watching her fade a little at a time the last couple of seasons and slalom is usually the first to go. I will continue to count her out until she gets the job done.
Tanja Poutiainen (FIN): Never count out the home country! The Levi fans, while only about 5,000 in number, are extremely vocal. They are very loyal and proud of the home team as well as highly lubricated. They will push her to a good finish. I do think she can win and is riding high after the win in Soelden.
OTHERS TO WATCH:
Frida Hansdottir (SWE): A strong end to 2009 and racing in Scandanavia. She could get something done.
Ana Jelusic (CRO): She has a top 5 here in the past but her lack of size will work against her. It puts her in the high risk/reward category.
Therese Borssen (SWE): Again, a strong finish to the season last year and some decent results in the past at Levi. Scandanavian racing is different and there is some history for the Swedes, Norwegians and Finns getting strong results above the Arctic Circle. The snow is just different and the light is very, well...not light.
A few others to look for are Fanny Chmelar(GER), Susanne Riesch (GER) and Sanni Leinonen (FIN). The 2 German girls and very big and strong with their coach setting run 1. And Susanne had her first big World Cup breakthrough on this hill in 2006. Both Fanny and Susanne will start in the top 15. Sanni is at home and is a crowd favorite.

AMERICANS:
Lindsay Vonn: It is tremendously hard to pick a winner. There are so many variables involved as mentioned above. Plus, add that Lindsey recently switched ski companies late in the prep period. I am not sure she really knows what the skis will do. But, that being said, she is very professional and very focused in all areas and can certainly figure that out quickly. Her dedication will be on display throughout the season in 5 disciplines as she fights to retain the overall World Cup globe and earn an Olympic gold or two on the way. I do think Lindsey will defend her Levi win from last season and win this one too.
I do have one criticism however. And I do know that there are bigger things out there this season than the Levi slalom in mid-November. She had to come back to the states after Soelden to do the promo tour. I hope she got herself back to Europe early enough to fight the jet-lag.
In 2006, when Soelden was canceled, we took our team home to the USA and had training on our "private" slope in Keystone. We had injection for slalom. To shorten the story, the boys never could sleep through the night once we arrived in Levi. The jet-lag was the worst any of us had ever had. And we did not recover in time for the race. 3 of the 4 boys did not qualify while Jimmy did well, finishing 15th.
I think Lindsey got over there earlier than we did in that scenario and can find a way to overcome that issue.
As I said before, I do have confidence in her to get it done and win it again.

Resi Steigler: Resi will be racing on her 24th birthday. It is my birthday too but not my 24th! I think she has a great chance to start her comeback in slalom if her start number is decent. It is a great hill for her as she can take that full-attack style to the hill and make it cleanly to the finish.
Hailey Duke: Hailey had a great season last year. She is sitting in 28th on the current World Cup Start List in slalom which is great news for her. The only negative is that she is not 100%. She is nursing an ankle injury.
Sterling Grant: Sterling has a great opportunity with a high 30s or low 40s start number. The snow usually holds up very well in Levi so she will have a shot at getting a second run.
Kaylin Richardson and Sarah Schleper round out the American effort in Levi but with very poor start numbers, I do not expect a lot.
Julia Mancuso: As far as I know, she is not starting in Levi. No comment on that, yet.

CANADIANS:
With Anna Goodman leading the way and starting in the low to mid-20s, it will be tough for them to get a lot done. Anna had her best result at Levi last season finishing 23rd. She had a solid year last year and did her best racing toward the end of the World Cup season. At this point, I do not know who else will be racing but based on world rank I can only guess that Marie-Michelle Gagnon and Brigitte Acton will be their other starters.

The podium?
Vonn, Poutiainen, Aubert.

More to come, stay tuned!

American Men update.

2009-11-06T09:37:00.000-08:00

While I was not planning on blogging again today, I came into some information that I felt I should pass along. Especially since I dropped a rumor bomb at the end of the last one.
First of all, I have been in contact with the American staff who just got done training in Wittenburg, Germany in the indoor dome. They report that Bode is fine. There is no problem with his knee and has been training well with the team. As has been the report in the past month, he has been a great teammate and is really pushing the other boys. Of course, as expected, his consistency is not yet there in slalom as he has very little volume to this point. But is very fast at times. Forest Carey, his long-time friend and former coach, says "Bode will be on the podium again in Levi!" He has good slalom skis and is very happy with their performance on ice.
The rest of the report is very strong. The indoor training was excellent. Very hard conditions and good work for flats. By all reports, Tim Jitloff has really been fast and hammering along. The boys are training in their normal patterns and look excellent. They are very happy with all of their slalom skis and all felt confident in their grip on the ice in the indoor.
The staff also communicated that they were excited where Jimmy Cochran is with his skiing right now and looking for him to make a big move in Levi. He also has a good history on this hill and tends to be fast on moderate terrain.
In short, they are confident in all the boys and excited to get up to Sweden this week for some more training under the lights.
There will be more blogging this weekend, Monday at the latest. The next planned blog is the full women's preview! Look for it.

Levi: The Course Setters

2009-11-05T08:52:00.000-08:00

As I wrote recently about the Levi course, it is not difficult. And really no stress to set on regarding making minimum turns. It is only 180 meters of vertical and has a long flat at the top. Only needing 54 (-3) 51 turns to make minimum and a lot of opportunity to put in flushes on the flats, there is really no problem making "the number." In the past, setters have been up around 60 turns without really setting tight. When I was there, and the rule was 55 turns without tolerance, the sets were 61 turns on run 1 and 60 on run 2. Both were over 11.5 meters the whole way with the combinations set at 5.5 to 6 meters.In fact, the 60 turn course was closer to 12 meters the whole way. Last year, the women's courses were 59 turns and 61 turns respectively and then men were 63 and 62 turns respectively. With all that said, it looks like we will see courses in the 11 to 12 meter range for both genders.
THE COURSE SETTERS
WOMEN:
Run 1: Christian Schwaiger (GER).
Schwaiger is the German women's technical coach after spending years as the men's Great Britain tech coach. Taking care of the Baxter boys, et al. As a course setter, I have only seen him set in person in training venues, but he tends not to get too caught up in novelties and funky combos. As well, he has some good slalom skiers in Maria and Susanne Riesch and Fanny Chmelar. All 3 are very tall, big girls. I would assume he is going to set to their strength, which would be the slightly bigger turn. It is really good news that Christian is setting in Levi for all 3 of these girls as they all have good histories on the hill. It gives them an excellent opportunity to be competitive on run 1 and build confidence. The last SL Christian set was in Aspen last season and the run was won by Nicole Hosp (AUT). That will not happen again as she tore her ACL in Soelden and is gone for the season. She is making noise about returning in Garmisch at the FIS World Cup Finals but that statement does not make sense in so many ways.
Run 2: Phillippe Willman (FRA)
While I know very little about Phillippe's course setting skills, I have spoken to a few women's FIS World Cup coaches about him and they all feel confident he will set a nice course. His history by the numbers is that he hits the minimum turns often. However, even if he sets 13 meters the whole way in Levi, he will still likely be over the absolute minimum of 51. Again, this is all good news for the bigger girls. Higher speed, less foot speed is necessary, hit the gates harder at higher speed so "size does matter." Both setters and the hill lean toward defending Levi champ Lindsey Vonn, Maria Riesch and the other Garmisch giants and Sandrine Aubert (FRA). The last time Phillippe set was in Ofterschwang, Germany. The race was won by Aubert, his own athlete. The run was won by Alexandra Daum (AUT). Hailey Duke of Boise, Idaho was 3rd and Marie-Michelle Gagnon was also in the mix, giving the Canadian camp some hope going into Levi.
MEN:
Run 1: Manfred Widauer (GER)
Manfred is new on the scene as a course setter. He was the German assistant tech coach last year and is now the Head Coach of the German Tech group. Felix Neureuther, Stefan Kogler and maybe even Dominik Stehle look to take advantage of this fact. Kogler and Stehle both got 2nd runs last season at Levi, and given the fact that they are really the only people who have skied Manfred's sets, they have an advantage. The Germans did train with the Americans in Coronet Peak, NZ this past summer so Ted, Jimmy Cochran and company have likely run some of his stuff too. According to the USA coaches there was nothing out of the ordinary or "freaky" going on with his setting. In my own experience, the first World Cup slalom set I made was very basic. With all the distraction of people measuring and Hans and Guenther telling you what to do, you tend to default to basics on your first World Cup set. Also, with little concern with making minimum turns, I expect something solid and basic with plenty of distance. Close racing for sure.
Run 2: Christian Hoeflehner (AUT)
Now this is a guy I know a lot about. He has been with the World Cup SL guys in Austria off and on since 2002. We came into the World Cup together and spent a lot of time together those first years when team USA and the Austrians were official training partners. Our friendship did not dissolve when the teams ended the agreement nor when he was promoted to Head Slalom coach. He is responsible for the dominance of the Austrian slalom machine. Herbst, Hirscher, Pranger, Raich, Matt. Watch out for a strong run 2 push out of these guys. Historically, "Hoefi" has liked to set out past 11 meters. The turn count of 63 last year sounds like 11 meters to me. Even though Herbst and Pranger are better at tighter courses, this hill just does not run well at 10 meters and Hoefi is aware of the aesthetics of World Cup racing. It has to play well on TV. He wants the product to look good and the boys to look good on television back in Austria. Last year, Grange won the run Hoefi set, Ligety was 2nd and Bode was 3rd, just .01 behind Ted. JB won the race. Grange also won a Super-Combi slalom run set by Hoeflehner. Huh...
As an aside, I doubt much if Bode is ready for this race and there is a persistent but yet unconfirmed rumor that his knee is bothersome and he will not start in Levi.

Levi confirmed yesterday. WC Slalom season starts.

2009-11-03T13:44:00.000-08:00

Here we are again! 10 days from the ladies' free ski on the race hill in Levi, Finland. Levi is a very interesting place. Getting there is a struggle, it is only light out this time of year for about 2-3 hours. Please notice I said light out, not sun. The sun sort of sweeps over the hilltops above the arctic circle in early November for about an hour and a half. You see this dull, yellowish orb straining to light the earth and warm all the creatures below. It does so feebly and ineffectively. Then, as quickly as it scraped the tree tops, it's gone and it's back to the darkness. Leaving teams to find very creative ways to keep busy. Train a little on the hill, eat some lunch, take a nap, do some conditioning. And then, well then what? Watch some video....ok then what? Exactly why there are more "restaurants" in Levi than any other establishment. Pubs, bars, discos, whatever you want to call them. They are everywhere, and they are packed! Try the Wanha Hullu Poro for starters, and go from there.

There are all sorts of ways to get ready for Levi. The one most teams have settled on is to get themselves to Lapland somehow and train a few days. Get used to the lack of sunlight and the funky schedule. The American boys are going to Taernaby, Sweden. The famous hometown of Ingemar and Anja. They will train a few days and then make the drive across the tundra to Levi. On arrival there it is just train, free ski and race.

Yesterday ,Hans Pieren, the Technical Race Director for the FIS, approved the hill in Levi for the races on the 14th and 15th. He said they would start injecting as soon as possible and be done with the injection by Wednesday night if the weather cooperates. If not, they would have to draw out the process another day or two. This is not a problem and still will leave the crews plenty of time to smooth out the surface and get the protection and finish area all done. According to Hans, they will use 2 million liters of water in prepping the hill. That translates to just over 500,000 US Gallons. That hill will be hard. Combine cold weather, no sunshine and 500,000 gallons of water pressure-injected into the hill, you will get some very hard snow. Ice? Yeah, ok, ice. Ski areas don't like that word so we don't use it. The "Levi Black" trail will be shiny. And as it gets slipped off by the ski school and then the track gets slipped by the athletes, it will be slick. The good thing about the injection is that it will provide a measure of difficulty to an otherwise benign hill.

"Levi Black": Last year, the qualifying margin for the women was 2.16 seconds, for the men it was 1.40 seconds. That is tremendously close racing on both sides. It creates an atmosphere of intensity and risk at the start and on the hill. Everyone is searching for an advantage and trying to find the correct measure of risk. It can also make the course setters try to separate the field a little with tighter course setting or tricky combinations. The thing with Levi, is that it is flat and fairly long, so if you set too many gates it gets monotonous. I still fall on the side of keeping it basic; set to the strength of the hill and let the athletes sort it out.

Levi Black starts out with a long, 20-25 second flat section with a few man made rolls in it. The rolls are fairly sharp and can cause problems (Ted crashed on one of them in 2006). But nonetheless, it is an opening highway where the athletes really do not have to think or plan, just go fast. As they approach 20 seconds or so, there is a sharp break over into the main pitch. it is steep for about 4 or 5 turns but causes little trouble. If the snow is very slick, there can be problems here. For instance, if a given ski company is having problems with grip on ice, you will notice it there. After about 5 turns it gradually flattens and eventually bends to the right to run-out toward the finish.

For the girls, you will see some difficulty in dealing with the break over into the main pitch and dealing with ice on a pitch. There it is really about skiing cleanly with good grip and making good solid turns until you can let loose into the flat section to the finish. For the guys it is somewhat the same except there will likely be a choice from each athlete about where to start risking coming off the pitch. Some will try to push the envelope higher on the pitch, often based on any mistakes that have been made above and feeling pressure from knowing that the qualification margin normally is so small in Levi.

With an easy hill, perfectly fair conditions and fair light (artificial) you will likely see a similar story as in the past. Couple that with a hill that is not stressful for the course setters and there is an even better chance you will see that kind of very close race.

Course setting for 24 years, and counting.

2009-11-02T12:03:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine and current World Cup coach, Pete Korfiatis, suggested I write something with regard to course setting at the different levels. Your own awareness, pressure, experiences change as you move up the ranks. J3, USSA, FIS, NorAm and World Cup. What responsibilities lie with you, what goes through your mind? Well, as I have tried to outline this one and get some sort of clarity on what to write, which theme to stick to...I decided, it's my blog, I'll do what I want. I will just write away, see what happens. Have a read-through and post it.
I have been in the sport for 38 years or so since my first Pee-Wee Race on Suntanner at Stratton. That must have been 1972? I loved those races. The little wood blocks awarded with a black, blue or yellow ski school pin embedded in it. Or even better, the "Best Time of the Day" award.
I digress. I am entering my 24th season of coaching. My first year was at St. Lawrence University in 1986-87. I was a 5th year senior with no NCAA eligibility left. I needed a gym credit and worked in trade with the ski team and with Tom Aicher, my friend and our alpine coach that year. Tom had graduated in 1985. We were winging it. Clueless and trying hard to get it right. We didn't really know how to do anything. Hotels, entries, meetings, FIS entries, state associations, drills, radios, chargers. Forget course setting skills. We did our best and worked it out. And got a lot of help from Horst Weber and the coaches at NYSEF.
When I went to work at Stratton Mountain School in the fall/winter of 1987 I knew I was doing what I wanted to do and truly wanted someone to give me a leg up. I could talk the talk and work hard and all of that. Fritz Vallant was the Head Coach there at the time and was famous for telling you to "figure it out!" When Fritz left to go to some FIS races along with most of the rest of the staff, I was left at home for a weekend training session and was told I would be setting the first run of GS for the Janeway Cup GS. A USSA Master's race on North American. I started shaking almost immediately and tried to beg out of it. I had not even set a training course yet that year. Fritz simply said, "don't worry Needle, you're a natural." It turned out fine. I raced and trained on that hill my whole life. It should have been easy to set on and it was. I knew the things I hated to try to execute on that hill and avoided them. Later that year, I also set a FIS GS at Owl's Head in Quebec. It was one of those things where it was sprung on me at the meeting the night before. I stammered and said, "ok." I was there alone with girls and boys, some of the girls were in the first group so they felt it was correct form to offer.
That one turned out fine too. It was an extremely narrow trail with lift towers involved. A lot of work. All I could think of was to try not to set "into" any towers or trees.
After setting a hundred of race courses or so and maybe even a thousand training courses, I was standing on the side of my first World Cup as an insider and "inside the fences." I had been to all levels, I had set everywhere and all levels. I had set training for our World Cup boys that fall. I was ready to set a big time race. Unfortunately, that didn't happen for me my first season. But I did get to help Dave Kerwynn set SL in Kranjska Gora and was involved intensely in the process. I knew from going to almost every course set that season that this was a different deal.
I set 14 World Cups in 6 years including the World Championship Combi SL this past season. I don't get nervous anymore when called on to set. That wasn't always the case.
World Cup course setters are assigned by nation (with some rules) for the entire season in early October. So everyone knows who is setting which race for the whole year. Tendencies are studied and collected. The first run is almost always set the night before the race. This brings at least one coach from each nation onto the hill behind the setter. As well, you have World Cup Race Director, Guenther Hujara present and Technical Discipline Director Hans Pieren there as well. Plus another handful of assistants, local dignitaries, the TD, local coaches and staff, hill staff, media. It's a busy hill. Everyone behind you is measuring the distance of every gate whether it is GS or SL. Counting your turns, measuring vertical distances as well. It can be very daunting. Not to mention that Hujara is there pointing out camera angles as well.
Flachau, Austria, January 2004: Home of Hermann Maier and the Apres Ski Temple, Hofstadl. You have to check out the Hofstadl if you are ever there. Crazy.
I got my first course set assigned. First run of a World Cup Slalom. I had my plan, knew exactly where I wanted to go and what distances I wanted. And thankfully, Flachau is a relatively benign hill. It was very icy however. I started off with my helpers and started getting into a rhythm. I was setting along and there were a lot of coaches out there looking at the course. But this was before the tape measure really got going. So, we were feuding with the Austrians a bit due to the dissolution of our training agreement along with some other little battles and they knew it was my first World Cup set. So I get about 2/3 done and they come down with a little chain. Which is marked with 4 labels. 15m, 6m, 4m and .75m. Of course measuring legalities. But we don't know if their measurements are correct, etc. I complain to Hujara about it. He looked at me and shrugged. He said it looked about right and I had to go change some of my combos which I had measured with ski length. They laughed and taunted. I laughed and vowed to get even. I finished my job, the course ran well and my first one was in the books with little issue. That week, I bought a tape measure, took a clip from one of our ripped GS panels and built my own tape. The first of it's kind. And showed up at the next Austrian SL course set (Wengen) and started measuring for real. We all got a good laugh out of it but by the time we got to the World Cup Finals, Liski had build one from a logger's tape and everyone had one. Every gate of every slalom course has been measured since then.

I have had a lot of opportunity to set at the World Cup and have always been amazed at how much input the FIS gives you. Everything from safety issues to speed control to TV towers and angles they want to see. For instance, the basketball turn in the GS at the bottom of Adelboden is basically demanded by the Race Director as necessary due to camera angle. And he really would prefer if you used a delay to give the camera man a reference.
Since my first set in Flachau there have been a number of setting rule changes in slalom. 15m maximum to 13m maximum. 55(52) minimum turns, to 55 minimum, no tolerance to 30-35% of vertical drop in meters. All in an effort to create a shorter turn shape. To make the guys slide more and therefore go slower. This has worked to an extent but course setters on the WC have tried to push back out to 11 or 12m slalom. Some hills allow it, some do not. What the last rule change did was make the longer, steeper SL hills even more difficult by putting more turns on them and the shorter ones easier because you no longer have to fit more gates on them. Kitzbuhel has become easier to set on, Wengen is exactly the same and Schladming has become more difficult. Schladming has become more difficult to set on and to ski.
There has been an effort by the FIS to slow the athletes down through rule adjustment and lowering of stand-heights. To reduce carving, in short. We have seen the changes happen and the tendency has been for the course setters to barely make minumum turns. To make the distance as easy as possible for the athletes. To test certain skills like turning but to let them shine and look good. When I was working on the FIS tours and NorAms, the focus was really on fairness for the field based on the snow conditions, safety and then on testing skills. I always like the athletes to show me who can turn. And trying not to set something tricky. When I got to the World Cup a lot of the focus became speed control and safety. I always looked at it on the World Cup as a 3 way goal: let the athletes have fun, let the athlete shine and to let the hill shine. We can look at it the same way at a FIS race. The comment I am really hoping to hear from an athlete who just finished a course I had set is that it was fun.
As I said before, I don't get nervous setting anymore, but I always have a plan. And I always hope the athletes enjoyed it.

Course sets for the USA this season:
Women:
Trevor Wagner set run 2 in Soelden last week.
Seth Macadam has run 2 of the slalom in Lienz, Austria at the end of December.
Alex Hoeldelmoser has the SG at WC Finals in Garmsich which winds through the woods and is a challenging hill.
Men:
Chris Brigham has the SG at Lake Louise as he did last year.
Pete Korfiatis has the first run of GS in Val d'Isere. This one is interesting because they had originally said they were going back to the old hill. Rumours have it that they will race on the Bellevarde, the World Championship hill. A much more challenging set and almost impossible to let the athletes look good.
Rudi Soulard has run 2 of the SL at Adelboden. Super steep!

The Life...It's not all Wengen and Kitzbuhel.

2009-10-30T08:51:00.000-07:00

Wow, 5 days since the last blog. I am addicted.
First, I want to thank PSIA-NW and specifically Kirsten Huotte for the opportunity to speak to your group. It is a passionate and knowledgeable group. Thanks for the hospitality and great venues. Also thanks to Gonzaga University, Mt. Hood Community College and Seattle Pacific University for allowing PSIA-NW to host at your campuses and in such well-equipped facilities.
But really, what am I writing about today? It is Friday, I feel like I need to get something up before the weekend. What to write? I got an email from Ted Ligety the other day briefly outlining the schedule for the Men's World Cup Tech group and then a more detailed one from WC Tech Coach, Peter Korfiatis. It got me thinking. We got to go to all of these beautiful places when I was with the team and all of my neighbors at home are always amazed by the "glamour" of the job. Mammoth, New Zealand, Portillo, La Parva, Vail/Beaver Creek, Wengen, Kitzbuhel, Schladming, St. Anton, Alta Badia...you get the idea. All the big resorts, all the time. Well, I will give you a brief look into the other side.

The WC Tech group was in Europe from October 15th. Saas-Fee for training, then drive to Soelden, race on the 25th, pack up and drive to Haus, Austria (about 3 hours). Train 2 days there, pack up again and drive to Patsch (about 10 minutes outside Innsbruck). Some conditioning work, some recovery work, press conferences and some socializing for 3 days. Most people don't know but Innsbruck is a great city with a lot to do. And excellent Thai food! 2 restaurants, owned by the same people. Thai-Li and Thai-Li Ba. Thai-Li is a tiny restaurant in the Alt Stadt and Ba is a large open glass room in the Galleria. About 2 blocks outside the Alt Stadt. Anyway, great food and good relaxation.
Then pack up again and hit the road to NE Germany. Wittenburg indoor ski dome (they will host a Europa Cup SL in November). This is about a 9 hour drive through flat, grey and often foggy Germany, fun. Train 3 days of SL there, which can be trying...very flat and somewhat boring after a while. Then hop a plane up to Taernaby, Sweden and train for 4 days in the dark, northern Sweden wilderness. Then drive to Levi and the heart of Lapland. The self-described "North Pole." No fun task as the roads are all snow covered and ice rutted, it is always dark, reindeer and moose all around and almost constantly dark this time of year. It can be a stressful, long drive. Then arrive in Levi, free ski on the race hill and let it rip on the "Levi Black" piste.
Pack up and fly home. Which means a flight out of Kittala, to Helsinki, Munich, Atlanta (Delta hub) and finally to Seattle for Peter. Pete will finally see his bride of 5 months after a month on the road in Europe;totally spent and jet lagged upon getting home. He will enjoy this time like none other but not for long. Soon it will be off to Colorado for a little tune up and Beaver Creek World Cup and back to Europe!

Sounds fun, doesn't it? And I can tell you from long experience, this is all done out of love of the sport, a sense of loyalty to the athletes and a strong patriotic feeling. There is not much money in it for a US Ski Team coach. The American ski coach in Europe can be a celebrity,if the boys perform. But an exhausted one.

Soelden Men: "The Good,The Bad and The Ugly."

2009-10-25T17:52:00.000-07:00

Since I started this thread with the girls on Saturday night, I will follow it up with the same format for the guys.
First a little summary. From what I saw, I liked the course setting at Soelden. Speed control for the men was pretty good except the usual trap of letting them go a little too soon coming off the pitch. There is always a temptation to straighten out the set thinking you are off the pitch when setting. And, with the long flat stretch to the finish you want the athletes to have speed to carry through the very flat finish line. The big mistake is that the course setter often lets the set go and does not keep it straight enough or does not give enough room. And, as usual, the hill at Soelden showed her teeth causing a lot of mistakes throughout the field. Even the best had problems. The second run was characterized by dark, flat light, bumpy terrain after almost 200 attempts on the hill and some broken through turns with some bally snow. Now on to the GBU.

The Good:
Great job by Cuche, Ligety and Janka. Proving that they are prepared to make an assault on the GS globe and GS gold in Vancouver. And that they can tough it out in not great conditions to have strong runs.
Ligety's success validates training this summer with less time on snow. It also gives him confidence in his knee and rehabilitation program.
JP ROY! Great job following through on first run success and getting into the top 10.
Robbie Dixon: Great job from that start number and maybe a stepping stone to more?
Both JP and Robbie's success today validate the Canadian preparation period.
Leif Kristian Haugen (NOR): Fantastic performance coming out of Denver University and the NorAm circuit. Awesome!
Kjietl Jansrud (NOR); Once again the winner of run 2 in Soelden. I am sure there is more to come.
Ondrej Bank (CZE): Welcome back to the 2nd run after missing almost 2 whole years with a severe knee injury. VERY IMPRESSIVE!
Tommy Ford (USA): The 20 year old from Bend, Oregon in his first World Cup getting to 32 falling just short of qualification. Qualifying in Soelden from over bib 50 is statistically the toughest in the world. Good job, and make that leap in Beaver Creek!
Switzerland: 1st, 3rd and when you can qualify Zurbriggen in GS, you are doing well.
In general I thought it was a pretty strong showing for the field. With a month to prepare for the next GS in Beaver Creek, the competition will be much deeper.

THE BAD:
Like the ladies yesterday, 3.25 margin of qualification is way too high. Soelden averages 2.56 over the last 8 years.
Not qualifying:Christoph Gruber (AUT), Markus Larsson (SWE), Tim Jitloff (USA). You guys should qualify every time. Even with mistakes, one pole, whatever.
Austria: 5th, 13, 14,18, 25, 27. The long-term decline of their GS skiing is starting to show. Long-time quality GS guys looked horrible.
Thomas Fanara (FRA): You are known for attack, you did not.
Stefan Goergl: See Austria above.

THE UGLY:
Almost the entire field for not picking up the point at which you could let things go coming off the pitch. Almost every guy in the race did not control the ski and keep elevation long enough coming onto the flat. Go download the splits and you will be amazed by the amount of time being given away on the bottom.

To every guy in the field who blew the little turn just above the finish. 6 turns above to be exact. It is there every year. Sometimes a delay, sometimes not but there is always a little ripple cross-rut there from the traverse from the ice box after they start building the finish area and a lot of you chiseled away time there. Pay attention.

Manny Moelgg (ITA): How could you do that after Manu did the same thing the day before? The St. Vigilio/Kronplatz fans are not happy this weekend!

Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR): I am speculating here and no one has reported anything yet. But watch the video. Aksel goes inside and down with his hip skiing right to left and then goes to switch to his left foot and skis out. He immediately lifts his left leg off the snow and does not put it down. Then on stopping, he reaches for his left knee. I am not saying I know anything but that is a classic move to rupture something in your knee. Not always ACL but meniscus, etc. Again, I do not know but watch the tape. Aksel knows if something is wrong. And that would be ugly if what I thought I saw actually happened. I sure hope not!

So that wraps it up for Soelden! We saw a lot, and it will all change by the time they get to Aspen and Beaver Creek. Next is Men and Women SL in Levi, Finland. I will start blogging on that one as soon as it makes sense.
Alpine Race Consulting just finished 2 speaking engagements this weekend for PSIA-NW. Thanks for your hospitality and reception. It was a lot of fun. See you all on the hill this winter!

Soelden: Men's draw, A Look at the Women's Race

2009-10-24T20:27:00.000-07:00

First, let's look at the men's draw for tomorrow. It will make a difference too. With the temps the girls had (high of +13c in the finish)this afternoon, they beat it up pretty badly. And with similar if not warmer temps forecast for tomorrow, that number means something. Great draws for Cuche, Raich and Ligety. For me, 3 is always the best place. With a long start interval for the first 7 there is plenty of time to get Ted some info if necessary. And he is early enough to get a good track. Bad for Grange and Janka. The hill could break by 6 or 7 and really put pressure on them. Hirscher and Baumann drew early in the next 7 and Kostelic and Schoerghofer drew late. Not sure it matters much in the 8-15 group UNLESS it suddenly breaks somewhere in there. Great news for JP Roy, Tim Jitoff and Frank Bourque who run 24,25 and 28 respectively. And even better news for Jake Zamansky starting 30. Had he not moved up into the 30, he would have had to fight out of the mid 40s. I think Kucera in 31 will be a big mover. Robbie Dixon is a tough kid and will have a good chance from 36. And Warner Nickerson and Tommy Ford are starting much earlier than expected in 47 and 52. They just need to be tough as nails and stuff it down the hill. Just hope it doesn't go to hell too soon! Let's go boys!

NOW THE GOOD STUFF! THE GIRLS' RACE...I was going to go on a tirade about the poor skiing and how the hill dominated the race. How the girls were not prepared in any way to compete on that hill as it was. BUT, I will back off that comment and soften it a little with a little Clint Eastwood. " The Good, The Bad and The Ugly."

THE GOOD: Sarah Schleper qualified and then finished 23rd. Good for her and I hope it springboards her to more good stuff.
Tanja Poutiainen, Kathrin Zettel and Denise Karbon. I am sure it felt horrible all the way down but you guys hung in there and put it in the finish and ended up on the steps! Great job and great toughness!
Lindsey Vonn: For someone to switch ski and boot companies just months before this race and record her best ever Soelden finish, fantastic. Great job and take the points, go home, and go win in Levi!
It is early in the year and there is a long way to go. And a month to the next GS. Go home and train and get ready for the real season!

THE BAD: Michaela Kirchgasser on run 2. I love Michaela Kirchgasser as a skier. I think she is great. But to run it out 2 or even 3 gates too soon coming into the flat? Questionable tactics and decision making. I know that the course set was likely too straight through there, but at this level you cannot afford to sacrifice WC points or even a podium for that kind of risk.
Maria Riesch: C'mon Man! Really?
The podium girls on the 2nd run. I know you toughed it out but those were some bad runs under pressure.

THE UGLY:
4.52 seconds to qualification in the top 30? That is the definition of ugly.
To the FIS: Is it smart to hold women's competitions on a hill like this with questionable preparation? Is there a reason to have a bally surface. Kuegeln? Not really. Is it smart to lose star athletes(Niki Hosp) to that decision? I would much rather see the men on an easier hill this early in the season too.
Manu Moelgg: I am a big fan of you, Manu. But that was ugly on run 2.
Julia: We have been lead to believe that she has rededicated herself to training and the pursuit of gold and crystal. I don't see it. That looked physically weak today. I hope it gets better, Juju! We need you!

I know this sounds scathing, but it is written with care and with love of everyone in the sport. Get it together girls! You have 1 month before the next GS!

Soelden:The Luck of the Draw!

2009-10-23T10:29:00.000-07:00

The women's draw is done in Soelden. Some were lucky and some not so lucky. Count among the lucky ones as Manu Moelgg (ITA) and Elizabeth Goergl (AUT). Not lucky, Zettel(AUT) and Hoelzl(GER). Lucky: Michaela Kirchgasser(AUT) drawing 8 and Maria Pietilae-Holmner(SWE) 9. Not lucky: Viktoria Rebensburg(GER) and Andrea Fischbacher(AUT) drawing 14 and 15. Julia Mancuso starts 18 as expected.
And great news for the girls sitting outside the top 30 who were staring down late starts if left to FIS points. Gen Simard (CAN) could have started in the mid 40s if left to FIS points. Due to 4 top 30 withdrawals, she snuck into the top 30 and starts 27. Even more lucky were Marie-Michele Gagnon and Megan McJames. Both were tied for 36th on the start list and Megan was staring down a start in the 50s or 60s.
Now, due to the withdrawal of 6 athletes ranked above them, they tied for 30. By FIS points, Gagnon gets 30 and McJames 31. Great news for both of them and an opportunity stares both North Americans in the face. They can move deep into the top 30 on the first run and make a good charge at the top 10 on run 2. Start numbers of 37 for Resi is as expected but 39 and 45 for Sarah and Jess are better then expected earlier in the week. Good luck girls!

The course set is also done. Set by Anders Paerson and only 42 turns. I have been involved in many course sets at Soelden and 42 is reasonable but pretty open. Only 3 over minimum turns. There are 3 delays making for 45 gates. This is a very standard type set at Soelden and favors those who can make bigger, cleaner turns.

I hope everyone out there is fired up! Only a few hours lie between us and the first race of the new World Cup season!

Soelden: Men's preview. Aksel, Ted, Didier and then?

2009-10-22T08:34:00.000-07:00

Soelden is always an interesting race. This is my first time not there in 8 years! It feels strange, empty. But exciting nonetheless. As a coach, you have had a full preparation period. You've done your coaching. You picked the best GS skis. You have watched hours of video. You left no stone unturned in your quest for greatness. Now, here it is. You find out how good your program has been. Will there be validation of your program? Or is there a lot more work to do before Beaver Creek?
3 days away and all the teams stream into Soelden. A tiny resort town at the end of a steep Tirolean valley. The Oetztal winds south from the autobahn toward Italy and ends here. By Friday night there will be thousands of people partying in the street and flowing in one large mass from bar to bar. Drive through town on Friday or Saturday night? It can't be done. All of these revelers welcoming the new race season will end up at the glacier on Sunday morning to see the ski stars. No doubt disappointed that Miller, Albrecht and Palander will not race. They are simply not ready or recovered enough to race so soon. Marcus Sandell will not be there either. And of course, 2005 Champion and ultimate Austrian ski star Hermann Maier announced his retirement this month. If you look it up, you'll see that 4 of the last 5 winners (Miller twice) at Soelden will not race.

MILLER, MAIER, PALANDER, SANDELL, ALBRECHT, NEUREUTHER WILL NOT START

Bode Miller will not start. He decided too late to join the US Ski Team and is simply not ready. A great move by Bode and the staff to not start him here. He has 5 top 5 finishes here inlcuding 2 wins and a 2nd place. But he has never really enjoyed this race. The hill is brutal. It is often bumpy and dark and really does not have a great rhythm to it. It is also very early. By all accounts, Bode has been great within the team environment. Like the pre-Torino Bode. Helpful, hard working and positive. In short, a good leader and teammate. Great news for all involved!
Maier, we know, has retired. Kalle Palander continues to struggle with his tibia fracture issues and still has pain. One Finnish coach said, "This is not good, really not good." His teammate, Marcus Sandell, one of the best young GS skiers in the world, also will not start. Marcus suffered an awful crash in training and had a kidney removed. I heard from Marcus the other day and he is talking about racing in Alta Badia.
Felix Neureuther is not a GS star but he is a slalom star and a German star. FIS World Cup TV ratings run through Germany. And the Germans stream over the passes into Tirol to see this race. The absence of Felix on the start list could have an impact on attendance and will have an impact on TV ratings.
And Dani Albreacht, still recovering from his crash in Kitzbuhel last season. He will be back, but I hear he will try to start with slalom. Hopefully in Levi next month.

THE FAVORITES:

Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR): He will win. He has trained a lot of days this year. He has great history on this hill. He won here in 2007. He is very versatile and consistently fast. His coach is setting run 2. I am heavily in his camp for the win this weekend.

Didier Cuche (SUI): Totally impressed with his GS the last 3 years. He has made changes in his skiing and his approach to GS. He was 2nd last year.

Benni Raich (AUT): While Benni has been consistent at Soelden (5th, 4th, 4th, 4th). Never better than 4th, not worse than 5th when he finished cleanly. I think that's where he ends up again. I don't think Benni wants to risk on that hill and I think he struggles with certain sections of the hill. Specifically the top of the first pitch to the entry of the main pitch.

Max Blardone (ITA): 2nd place in 2004. Nothing since then. And I don't think he will do much this year at Soelden either.

THE DARK HORSES:

Kjietl Jansrud (NOR): Watch out for this guy. He is historically good on courses set by both course setters. He won the 2nd run in Soelden last year. Now in the top 15 so he has a good start number. He is a big, strong, fearless guy. He will put it on the line. His coach sets run 2 which also helps him.

Carlo Janka (SUI): A lot of GS success recently. He is a very strong, consistent and quiet skier. Historically good on steep hills. Fast on courses set by the 2 setters and was 2nd on the 2nd run here last season.

Philipp Shoerghofer (AUT): Had a great race in Soelden last year. He was one of the best Austrians in GS all season long. Very consistent. He has moved into the top 15 so he will have a decent start number. He could send a wake up call.

Romed Baumann (AUT): Great young skier. Very clean and consistent. Skis within himself. He has done well at Soelden before. As with Schoerghofer, he has moved into the top 15 so he will have a good number. The only down-side with him for this weekend is he seems to warm into the season some years. The Austrian staff are really talking him up recently.

Thomas Fanara (FRA): I love to watch this guy attack a GS hill. He is small and very aggressive. He is like Blardone without the notoriety. He has been injured a lot in his career and that is really what holds him back. But, with Chastan setting run 1, watch for Thomas to attack with confidence and make a big move. In fact, I think all the French guys will take a lot of confidence into run 1 with David doing the setting.

THE AMERICANS:

Ted Ligety: Ted is recovering from a knee injury suffered at the US Alpine Championships DH in Alyeska last season. He missed a large portion of the preparation period. He has skied less than many going into the early race. I think this will hurt him a little in Soelden but not too much. According to World Cup Tech coach, Pete Korfiatis, "Ted is good, he is skiing fast when he wants to." After spending 5 years with Ted, I would say that is an assessment that makes me smile. That usually means Ted is confident. Per Lundstam, of USSA Sport Science says, "Ted is about 2kg heavier than this time last year, but seems as explosive." These are all good things. Ted has good history on this hill. His first big breakthrough was here in 2005, coming from start number 64 to finish 8th. He won the first run here in 2007 and finished 2nd. He was 3rd here last year. He will be in the mix again. He IS the best technical skier on the World Cup in GS.

Tim Jitloff: 20th last year for his first WC points. Much better start position in the mid 20s. Men's Head Tech coach, Rudi Soulard says, "Jit, really good." Which seems short but Rudi keeps it simple, which I like. I see Jit getting the job done and scoring double digit points. Somewhere similar to last season's opener.

Jake Zamansky: The Z-Man! He finally broke through last season and had a very impressive race in Sestriere last season. Jake will need to make a move out of the
40s to move in and get a 2nd run. Soelden has not been kind to Jake over the years. He will need to outperform his history in Soelden and shake the ghosts of past failures on this hill.

Tommy Ford: TFord is entered in his first big race. All the USST coaches are talking him up. He has been fast in training against Ted. He was also fast against the Italian heavy hitters last week in Saas-Fee. Being fast against Ted in training is not always a good measure. Remember what Korfiatis said in the comment above. TFord is a great young skier, awesome competitor and a great kid. I am sure he will do his absolute best. The numbers are against him starting that late in the race (60s?). Soelden rarely allows a qualifer from that far back. The hill tends to break down by that time on Sunday. If anyone can get it done, TFord can! Ted did it in '05.

Warner Nickerson: Warner won the spot in a time trial shootout with Dane Spencer. Warner will also need to battle out of a high 50s start position to get a 2nd run. I don't think Warner has much of a shot on this hill. Maybe somewhere like Beaver Creek, he could. I have had to endure watching a lot of late starters over the years in Soelden and it is rarely pretty. I remember one year watching 5 consecutive skiers crash in the same spot and see them piled up like cord-wood next to the fence. It can be brutal!

THE CANADIANS:

Roy, Bourque, Dixon, Kucera

JP Roy always seems to get something done here. He will start in the mid 20s and have a shot to move up. Frank Bourque is coming back from injury so I have a hard time seeing the comeback starting here. Robbie Dixon did a fantastic job on the World Cup last year and is a tough kid. He could hang in there to get it done. And in Kucera they have a real World Cup GS skier who needs to re-establish himself in the top 30 and then the top 15. Johnny is the reigning DH World Champion and that confidence will help him. I think he is the one guy who makes a big move out of the later starters.

Good luck to everyone! It will be fun!

Soelden: Women's Preview

2009-10-21T09:20:00.000-07:00

Look on the calendar and it is 3 days away. What is going on in Soelden? What are the teams doing? How are they acting? What is happening with hill prep? And who are the girls to watch?
Soelden: The weather is iffy and all the coaches and athletes know it. The FIS is acutely aware of their situation. The forecast is for a cool night tonight and very cold tomorrow night. That is the good news. The bad news is that there is a slight warming trend into the weekend. With barely freezing temperatures at night and warm and sunny during the day. Will the hill break down? Probably. But FIS will try to get a preemptive strike against mother nature by trying to freeze the piste as hard as they can!
FIS will inject the hill, possibly twice to take advantage of the cold night on Thursday. They have already done it once and will likely do it again so there is water in the hill and near the surface on Thursday. If is gets warm on Friday, they will cancel the free ski on the race hill to try to preserve the surface. If this weather forecast holds true, the hill will break down in the afternoon of the women's race and likely re-freeze for Sunday. Leaving a very bumpy, icy surface in the morning on Sunday and a broken down, rutted, bumpy and dark 2nd run for the boys.
The athletes are tapering their training down, making some last minute ski selections if necessary, going to press conferences. Some are trying on new uniforms. The coaches are scrambling around getting boots and skis measured, suits plombed and figuring out how to get the athletes to the bib draw on time through the crazy traffic in Soelden. 20,000 fans on a glacier with only 1 way in and out? Tough traffic.
MY 7 FAVORITES:
Katrin Zettel(AUT): I think she is the favorite. She has great start position and a good draw will nail it down. She has steadily improved since October 2005. She was 5th that year, 3rd in 2007 and won last year. Same course setters as last year, which will help her cause.
Tanja Poutiainen (FIN): Very solid skier with good history on the hill and with the course setters. Top 5 in 4 of the last 5 races in Soelden. The down-side? If she wins the first run, she will not win the race. Not a great leader going into run 2. I also think she misses her former coach, Michael Bont.
Andrea Fischbacher (AUT): 3rd last year. 5th in 2005. She is not that consistent but when she is confident she can let it rip.
Tina Maze (SLO): 2 wins on this hill. Very up and down from year to year. From all reports out of Slovenia, she is on her game so look for a big show from her. A lot of time on snow this summer but only in Europe on glaciers? Good for Soelden, maybe not so good later in the year?
Niki Hosp (AUT): Part of the famous 3-way tie in October, 2002 with Maze and Flemmen. It was her rookie year on the World Cup and I think she can regain that form. A lot of Men's team coaches were switched to the Women's side in Austria this year and I think it has helped her skiing. From all reports she is healthy again. Start number will hurt.
Denise Karbon (ITA): My favorite female GS skier with Lara Gut out of the field. I think that when Denise is on, she will win. She can get on a roll and keep it going like no other. She is traditionally strong on men's hills, as Soelden is. And if they get the surface very hard, it is even more in her favor. My pick to win.
Viktoria Rebensburg (GER): Young up and comer and I think a dark horse to win this race. I think she has a real chance of making a big splash this season in GS.

THE AMERICANS:
Lindsey Vonn: Great all around skier. Very professional. Hard working. I cannot say enough positive about Lindsey's approach to the sport and to her professional life. Her GS has improved a great deal in the last year and a half but I think the podium is asking a lot of her in GS. 7th-10th place is my guess, and I think she should be happy with that with the late ski company switch. Remember what comes with that. Every time she looked down, put her skis on, picked up her skis, walked into the ski room for HER ENTIRE LIFE, the skis said Rossignol. Now they say Head. New service man. Should it matter? No. But sometimes it does. It will be interesting to watch.

Julia Mancuso: She definitely lost her way after the magical 2006 season.
She was 2nd in the Soelden GS in 2007. The word on the street is that she is "rededicated." We'll see, but I wouldn't bet on her. Not this early in the season with only one top 5 on this hill in her career. Start number will not help.
Sarah Schleper: I hope Sarah can find her old form. She was out for a while and has now had a year to get back into the fold and get moving up the WCSL. She is 44 on the WCSL and 41 on the FIS list. Tough move from there to the top 30 if the course starts to break up.
Resi Steigler: Resi stands in 37th on the FIS list. It means she only needs to move up 7 spots to get a 2nd run. She has been out of World Cup GS for a long time and Soelden is a potentially rude welcome back. I think this is a race for Resi to get her feel back and be used to starting World Cup GS again. She can do it, but it is a stretch.
Megan McJames: Megan is an excellent young skier. Tons of talent and a technically solid skier. She really has great potential in GS. The main obstacle in Soelden is her start number. While she holds 36 on the WCSL, this is a double bummer. First of all, skiers outside the 30 are seeded by FIS points. Her FIS rank is 63. To add a little insult to that, 31-35 ranked on the WCSL are protected to starting right after 45 if ranked worse than 45 on the FIS list. This is a problem in that she did not score enough WC points to get into the 30 AND did not get good FIS point scores at Europa Cup and NorAm Cup to start earlier on the FIS list. Or, she did not get the opportunity to do so? Regardless, Megan has a tall order to get into the 30. Hopefully she finishes 29 or 30, gets a clean 2nd run and can reproduce her 14th place from last year. She is certainly a good enough skier to do it.
Jess Kelley: Healthy? Starting 55 or so? Tall order for Jess. She will need to toughen up and get it done. Simple as that.

THE CANADIANS:
Sorry, not this week. Not starting any girls in the top 30 is bad news in Soelden. Christina Lustenberger at 32 is the best number. But Marie-Michelle Gagnon at 38 is their best shot at scoring points. She is their best skier and only 20 years old.

Other skiers to look for: Kathrin Hoelzl (GER), Michaela Kirchgasser (AUT) and Tessa Worley (FRA). All 3 of these girls are very strong competitors and have the mental toughness to compete on a tough hill like Soelden.

Alpine Race Consulting will be presenting at Mt. Hood Community College and Seattle Pacific University this weekend at the PSIA-NW Fall Seminars. Men's preview tomorrow!

Course Setters for Soelden, what does it mean for the race?

2009-10-19T10:49:00.000-07:00

Every day there seems to be something new to blog about the upcoming FIS World Cup season opener in Soelden, Austria.
As I wrote about on Friday, the hill at Soelden is a unique hill. It is in the middle of a large glacier. It has a very flat start and a very flat finish with an extremely steep pitch in the middle. The course setters for the race have some hard work to do to control speed and get a large percentage of the athletes to the finish. The good part about setting in Soelden is that you rarely have to set anything tricky or difficult to separate the competitors. The hill is difficult enough to take care of that itself. It is a great opportunity to set at the World Cup and allow the hill and the athletes to shine.
The course crew is mixing wet man-made snow into the natural snow that has fallen on the hill and will try to inject the hill later in the week. Probably Wednesday to allow time for the snow to set-up and get consistent.
The course setters for World Cup races are listed at the beginning of the season so everyone knows who is setting for the entire season. World Cup coaches know the tendencies of all the course setters and try to prepare their teams accordingly. The men's first run will be set by David Chastan of France and run 2 will be set by Franz Gamper of Norway. Women's setters are Anders Paerson of Sweden and Trevor Wagner of the USA.
What does it mean to the race? The course setters will have an impact on the outcome of the race in both results and finish rate.
CHASTAN (FRA): Given the opportunity, Chastan will set open and fast. Soelden does provide for this as getting minimum gate count is not difficult. This is generally bad news for Ted Ligety. But luckily it is only run 1 and you have that second chance. Look for Svindal, Jansrud, Janka and Fanara as good skiers of Chastan courses.
GAMPER (NOR:) Franz Gamper has not set a lot on the World Cup. Athletes who skied fast when he set in Alta Badia 2nd run last year were Marcus Sandell, Thomas Fanara, Kjietl Jansrud and Marcel Hirscher. Sandell will not race as he is recovering from injury. There were a lot of DNFs last year when he set.
PAERSON (SWE): Anders Paerson has one thing in mind, setting to his daughter's strengths. I think Anja's better years are behind her so having Dad set will not help much. Anders set the second run last year and Zettel, Chemmy Alcott and Megan McJames were fast. Good news for Megan so she can have confidence and get deep into the top 30 after run 1 from her mid 30s start position.
WAGNER (USA): Trevor Wagner is an experienced course setter and likely will do an excellent job helping his girls move up. He set the first run last year and Lindsey was 10th, which at the time was an excellent result for her in GS. Julia was 18th and Megan was 29th, qualifying for her first time at Soelden. Look for strong opening runs from Tanja Poutiainen, Katrin Zettel and Denise Karbon. They have all skied well on Wagner GS courses in the past. They were 1-2-3 last year after run 1 last year which was set by Trevor.
I will be blogging at least 2 more times this week at least. Preview of the field on Wednesday and the USA starters on Friday! Get ready it's coming! Alpine Race Consulting will be speaking at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon this Saturday and at Seattle Pacific University on Sunday.

Soelden Confirmed, Here's an early preview!

2009-10-16T09:40:00.001-07:00

The opening GS races at Soelden, Austria were confirmed today after the final snow inspection by the FIS. Not much of a surprise considering the normal mid-October snow storm hit Soelden as it has every year in the last 8 except for October, 2006. Couple that with top to bottom snow making on the race hill with cold temperatures and you can count on the race happening. You can also count on the race preparation crew there to start the injection process. The snow should be very hard and fair.

The Hill: The race hill in Soelden is unique on the World Cup in many ways. It is on a glacier, in the middle of the glacier so the crazed Austrian fans can watch anywhere on the hill, on their skis with lift access. It is a wide-open snow field with a lot of access. The race opens atop a very large start ramp and opens with about 8 very flat tuck-turns. Then breaks over into a short pitch and bends to the right a little. The pitch is 2-3 turns long, flattens again for 3 turns before breaking over again into a very long, very steep pitch. Depending on the course sets, this pitch could be 11-15 turns long. By far the longest major pitch on the tour. Then it gradually runs-out on a very long flat to the finish.

Courses: There is no problem getting to minimum turns on this hill so look for wide open GS racing with quite a lot of swing. I would think that you would see 26m-28m on the pitch to 32m on the flat approaching the finish.

Tactics: A good, strong start with excellent quality tuck turns to the first pitch for all. Look carefully at when the athletes are breaking their tucks and how much they are setting up the first pitch. Believe it or not, there is a lot of variation in approaches here. Next, look for when they set up the main pitch and how they get direction in their skis to get the appropriate elevation for the main pitch. Good quality turns for 10 turns or so on the pitch gets the job done and then look for when the skiers start to take chances coming into the bottom flat. How straight are they willing to go and how high on the pitch are they when they decide to do it? Then watch for delays on the flat and see who does it right. Also keep in mind that it is the first race and there are a lot of athletes that are not quite ready to go. Look for big mistakes and lots of crashes!

Other issues at Soelden: The women and men both race on the same hill on back to back days. This can beat up the hill pretty badly by the time the men race run 2. Morning runs are characterized by bright sunshine on nice days and the afternoon can be very dark. Very flat light with bumpy conditions makes for exciting racing.

Enjoy the race and the anticipation! This is my favorite time of the year. The work is almost done, the athletes are going to race. Time to find out if you did a good job. And with a month before the next GS, there is time to make changes. Will the season end with a scene like the one in the photo above? I hope so.

More to come on the athletes to watch next week! I am at Gonzaga tomorrow delivering the keynote speech at the PSIA-NW Fall Seminar. 10:45 AM.

Alpine Race Consulting in Spokane, Wa. 10/17/09

2009-10-12T09:40:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone-

Fall and winter are in the air depending where you are. Loveland opened in Colorado on the 7th, Red Lodge, Mt. got 3 feet of snow. It's cold in the Pacific NW. And it sounds like the high sierra is going to get pounded with high elevation snow and a lot of it this week! Boreal is open outside of Truckee, Ca. too! Everywhere you look, winter is on the way. So don't forget to buy your passes at your local ski area and get some new skis and boots! Get ready to go!

I am very happy to announce that I will be the keynote speaker at the PSIA-NW Fall Seminar in Spokane, Wa. this weekend. It will be held at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wa. on October 17, 2009. You can get more information at www.psia-nw.org. The subject matter will be presentation of foundations and fundamentals of skiing that cross from alpine racing to recreational skiing and learning. What to teach and how to teach it. It will be a lot of fun for me to speak to a new group with a different application of many of the same concepts. I will also be speaking at 2 other PSIA-NW Fall Seminar locations over the weekend of the 24th and 25th in Gresham, Or. and Seattle, Wa. respectively. There will be more information in next week's blog.

I will be writing at least once a week all winter long. Next week will include information on the PSIA Seminar as well as the beginning of previews for the FIS World Cup opener in Soelden, Austria! Get ready, it's almost here!

Thanks to Boyne

2009-10-04T18:10:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone-
I want to thank everyone at Boyne Mountain Resort for their hospitality and friendliness during my visit and presentations this past weekend. It was a fantastic experience for me and thoroughly enjoyed presenting, Skitoberfest and the social atmosphere. Congratulations to everyone for a successful first Skitoberfest and I am sure there will be more to come.
Both presentations went extremely well and I think the message was well received. We had a great time at the beer tasting afterwards as well as a great dinner. I am very excited to get back there some time soon for some more clinics! Maybe something on snow