Robbins Nest: FIS needs North American kick-start

So, is it too provincial to starting asking — or re-asking — the question: Why not start the alpine World Cup in North America, and run it here into mid-December? You know those races will be held. As Casey Stengel used to mutter, “Yer can look it up.” USSA’s Bill Marolt has made the pitch for years: too many races, too early a start — start in the USA in December. When the tour heads back to Europe next week, he will have more glaring evidence to support his cause.
SO, IS IT TOO PROVINCIAL So, is it too provincial to starting asking — or re-asking — the question: Why not start the alpine World Cup in North America, and run it here into mid-December? You know those races will be held. As Casey Stengel used to mutter, “Yer can look it up.” USSA’s Bill Marolt has made the pitch for years: too many races, too early a start — start in the USA in December. When the tour heads back to Europe next week, he will have more glaring evidence to support his cause.
    Ted Ligety wasn’t the first and the Olympic gold medalist won’t be the last, but it was encouraging to hear him (re-)float the proposal this week in a teleconference with national media: December for North America, January to March for the rest of the world. Now, reality amends that to read “December in North America with time for two stops in Europe before Christmas to goose holiday equipment sales.” No way that would float without some time in Europe.
    But a cornerstone question: Does it serve the best interests of the sport to schedule races and then start scrubbing ’em? The fragile nature of ski racing is made even more fragile as early winter snowfall seems more myth than reality in recent years. And without digging, memory says organizers may have had to cancel or relocate 35 percent or more of December races in Europe. (No research, just a gut feeling there because Val d’Isere is such a question mark every year and losing one weekend is a two- or three-race hit).

Has anyone been keeping track of Andy Newell’s continued emergence as a World Cup sprinter? As the tour took a break coming into December, Newell was eighth. The first seven guys in the sprint standings after two races: Eldar, Tor Arne, Jens Arne, Oystein, Odd-Bjoern, Trond and Johan … and then Newell in eighth. Oops, should we make that Andy-Bjorn? Newell came into the season opener along the Rhine in Düsseldorf, battling the flu bug that gripped the team; breakfast didn’t taste any better the second time when he barfed in-between finals heats, yet the strong-minded Vermonter still found the will to power his way to eighth overall. In Kuusamo, Finland, he was leading in the semifinal until running pout of gad meters from the finish line.

Speaking of langlauf, it’s saddening to hear of reigning 15 km world champion Pietro Piller Cottrer, the engine who fueled Italy’s gold-medal relay run in Pragelato in February, returning home from Scandinavia to deal with an arthritic condition. He doesn’t know how long he’ll be sidelined — let’s hope it’s very brief because he’s one of the sport’s warriors and best ambassadors (you’re damn right he’s favorite) — while the doctors run tests and try to sort out the condition.

Coincidentally, Jim Walton, who was director of NBC’s Olympic XC coverage, has the same problem and has been taking a drug for two years. At press time, he was trying to reach Piller Cottrer to tell him of his encouraging results from the medication.

FIS has ruled slalom skiers must wear helmets this season. Olympic champ Julia Mancuso, arguably best-known — until that golden night in Sestriere last February when she won the Olympic giant slalom — for skiing in a tiara (and her tongue in the side of her cheek), says that’s not really a problem. “I grew up skiing slalom without a helmet [at Squaw Valley] but I’ll wear the helmet.” And, she quickly noted during the Sirius Satellite races in Aspen, she’ll just have the tiara painted on her helmet over the Rip It logo. “And I’ll have rhinestones attached for slalom but,” she added with a smirk, “I won’t do that for downhill or super G because of the friction and drag” as she zips down the speed runs.

Freestylers are getting amped about the (re-)start of their season with aerials Dec. 9-10 in Jilin Beida Lake, China, and moguls Dec. 14 in Tignes, where it’ll have to be up on the Grand Mott glacier above the French resort area. No snow torpedoed the original start. The aerials season opener at Mount Buller, Australia, was scrapped Sept. 2-3 due to lack of snow.

At press time, U.S. alpine chief Jesse Hunt and his wife, Anne Kari, a Norwegian native who raced cross-country for the University of Utah, were mulling the name of their third peewee. Baby Three, born hours before the super combined began at Beaver Creek, joins Espen and Mia … while women’s head coach Patrick Riml and wife Jodi await the birth of their first baby in January … and freestyle program manager Emily Fisher and hubby Corby Fisher await their first next spring.

Food for thought: the crispy bacon at the St. Regis Resort in Aspen is its own reward.