The weekend in review.

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!