Alta Badia GS, My Favorite!

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.

Levi Slalom: Men's Preview

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!

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

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.