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.

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.

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

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!

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!

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.

Beaver Creek Review or Carlo Janka is really good.

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


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

Beaver Creek GS Preview

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

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

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

Men in Levi, What was that?

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

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

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

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

MEN'S BIB DRAW

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

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!

Levi: The Course Setters

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

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

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

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

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

THE FAVORITES:

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

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

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

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

THE DARK HORSES:

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

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

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

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

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

THE AMERICANS:

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

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

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

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

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

THE CANADIANS:

Roy, Bourque, Dixon, Kucera

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

Good luck to everyone! It will be fun!