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.