Tuesday, February 16, 2010

New blog location

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

Friday, January 29, 2010

Kranjska Gora is great for Americans.


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.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Kitz is done, Schladming on the way!


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.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Kitzbuhel is Cool!




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

Monday, January 18, 2010

Olympic Selection is Near


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!

Friday, January 15, 2010

Bode wins the Kombi, Ligety 5th!


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!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

A Flachau Summary and a Look at Wengen



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.

Monday, January 11, 2010

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


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.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Greatest Show on Snow, the January Tour


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!

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

The Men in Zagreb, Live Commentary


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!

Saturday, January 2, 2010

The Ladies go south to Zagreb


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!