The World Cup According to Grande: Bormio and Lienz; Christmas time in Europe
We have had great training here at Mission Ridge for the last 2 weeks. Nice, hard, man-made snow on great hills with fantastic cooperation from the ski area. Our kids are prepared to race as they head off to Nor-Ams, Divisional races, West Region FIS races, etc. But it was getting painfully obvious that we needed it to snow soon. On top of that we have been jamming doing double sessions so I had not had a chance to watch the great racing that went on this week in Europe. I finally got that chance today with a day off AND it started dumping. We are expecting up to 2 feet up at The Ridge and I just got my Voelkl Mantras ready to go.
Regardless, the World Cup is going about its business and it was an interesting Christmas week. I was nice to see Bormio and Lienz with snow on the peaks and even in the finish area in Bormio. There is a lot on which to comment and I am sure I will not get to all of it. The speed guys are on a break until Wengen and the men and women’s tech groups are getting ready for Zagreb. The Women’s speed specialists are all finishing up a holiday break and heading back across the pond to get going again in Haus, Austria.
Bormio is nasty. There is no other way to put it. It does not have that visual intimidation that Kitzbuehel gives you when you stand in the start, or at the finish. And it does not have the reverence of either The Hahnenkamm or The Lauberhorn. But what downhill really does? The January giants dominate the race schedule and the mind of every World Cup downhiller, and slalom skier. They are the trophies that everyone wants to hold. But Bormio is also very special. It is one of the most interesting places to visit on the tour. A Roman outpost 2000 or so years ago, it was famous for its baths which still operate today, at the base of the Passo Stelvio. It is a cool place, no doubt. Anyway, it hammers you from top to bottom for 2 solid minutes, or you can take that attitude to hammer the hill. That is what Andrej Jerman did. We call him “Jerry,” and he took it to the Pista Stelvio and to the rest of the field.
Mario Scheiber was close but there was not much to compare it to around him. But if you watch the replay on Universal or if you already saw it, you saw Jerry absolutely attack with confidence and then saw everyone else try to “feel” their way down and look totally different, He tucked where others did not or could not, he kept a higher line in all the critical sections to allow him to tuck where others could not. Frankly, it was one of the better DH runs I have seen in a long time. Maybe since Rahlves’ win in Wengen a few years ago. It was a great run on a great hill.
On the flip side you saw people pay for poor planning or poor execution. Manny O-P and Erik Guay in the same spot. You saw Sulli making errors in many places. He just needs to ski better. He is skiing better than ever in training and needs to execute on race day the way he knows how. Steven needs to bring some discipline into his skiing.
All of that aside, if you want to know what Bormio is like, or how difficult it actually is, watch Ambrosi Hoffmann. He is a Swiss guy, and a professional downhiller. As consistent as it gets and has been forever. He was a World Junior winner back in the day. And he was dominated by this hill. Once it goes bad here, it goes bad for most of the run. There is no place to get the line back, it just keeps coming at you.
In the end, Bormio was a fantastic race and Jerman won and deserved it all. It is also a great training race for the upcoming races. The two-minutes and thirty on the track at Wengen and the hair-raising run at Kitzbuehel. The next month has the best 2 downhill races on the tour and the greatest tradition of them all. It will also tell who makes our Olympic Team in both DH and SG. Right now, DH is led by Miller, then Sullivan and then Weibrecht, Nyman, Fisher and Macartney are battling. In Super-G you have Ligety, Miller and then it will be a battle. Wengen will favor Sulli to make his presence felt, Nyman should be able to do well there. Mac needs to overcome his demons there and his recent back problems in Bormio. Fish, Nyman and Weibrecht all had their struggles in Wengen last season. In Kitzbuehel, the ball is decidedly in Fisher’s court. He is coming off a huge performance there last season and can definitely do it again. He is a big, strong, fearless guy with excellent gliding skills. It will be fun to watch the USA boys jockey for those 4 Olympic slots.
THE GIRLS
The GS in Lienz was ok but not really that fun to watch. I thought the sets were disjointed and unimaginative. Maybe lacking a feel for the hill? It meanders but never seems to have enough speed. I don’t know, I have watched this race on TV a number of times now and it just seems like a weird, a rhythmical GS.
On the other hand, we saw a lot of action from the girls during the race. Some points I would like to make:
Denise Karbon is not recovered from her meniscus surgery. She usually charges on the hill, putting all of herself into it. She was on her heels the whole way. That is a confidence thing and coming off recent surgery, who can blame her? And Tessa Worley, my pick for a win, looked like she could not grip on the ice there on her right footed turns. Starting with the delay at the 10th turn, she struggled on all the right footers. Maybe she hit a rock? Maybe her service guy failed? Maybe she is not good on right footers and Lienz is heavy to the right foot? I don’t know but she could not buy a turn on run 1 going right to left. Julia hooked her arm and had no answer for that. I know it is bad fortune, but a racer needs to have that in her background. To have dealt with it before and gotten it done.
To more positive things. Kati Hoelzl, who I totally disrespected by not mentioning her this week took it to the hill and field. I have to say that I did not say anything about her because I was sick of being disappointed. I think she is a great GS skier and she nailed it this week. Her switches were stronger and her initiations cleaner than all the other girls in the race except maybe Zettel and Moelgg. But she was far more consistent than Zettel and consistent enough to be better than Manu. I also need to give Megan a big hooray for her 20th place as well as her big cheer for Sarah when she crossed the line on run 2. Megan was in the leader box for a number of girls and when Schlep took the lead away from her, and she spontaneously and genuinely whooped it up for Schlep. And that is what it is all about. Do your best, beat all the people you can, but when you get beat be bigger than the situation and be the one. Knowing you did your best and someone else did better is good. Just work harder and come back next time and be the one on top.
More props to Anemone Marmotton(FRA) coming from 55 to 21 and then using it as a spring board for the slalom. Also to Taina Barioz (FRA) for her podium. Watch those French girls in the tech events as we move forward. They have great chemistry within their team and they all ski well.
In the slalom, I thought again that the hill was a little unnatural but also that it was very physically demanding. I think fitness played huge role in the outcome. Making slalom turns for a minute on ice is a tough gig. And Marlies Schild crushed everyone. She looked better, skied better and seemed unfazed by the length of the course. Seth McCadam of the USA set run 1 and it looked to run well. I liked the double hair-pin on the first major corner in the hill. It’s a “tough spot to get around,” he had told me and hoped that wasn’t going to be “too weird,” as he mocked my previous blog.
Marlies Schild: Is she Benni’s girlfriend or what? Do you have to sign them together to sponsorships? She is even starting to ski like him in Slalom. She crushed everyone and showed her potential dominance in slalom if she stays healthy. We’ll see in Zagr
eb next week but I think she sent a message this week.
Sandrine Aubert: The Deux Alpes girl was very good but not near in Schild’s world. It shows where everyone else was to end up behind her.
Katrin Zettel: In a mistake filled weekend, she proved that is she is more consistent, she can compete for a win in every slalom and GS for the rest of the year.
Lindsey Vonn: Exhausted. We can blame it on the hand injury but really, this is not about her crash in the GS. It is about Schild, and maybe Schleper.
Sarah Schleper: A great weekend for Sarah after a great weekend in Are. We can only hope for more. As long as she can stay focused on the solid switch and her initiation being clean, she will continue this show. When she can be more consistent she will fight for wins again. Look how close she was to the podium this weekend with a lot of mistakes!
Anemone Marmotton: What can you say? A follow up to the surprise GS finish. I saw her first hand in Loveland at NorAms last month. She is a solid skier. I think she will bust into the 30 in slalom this year and stay there for a while.
Nastasia Noens(FRA): Another French girl kicking ass in slalom and moving up in huge chunks. She started 42 and ended up in the teens…I saw her ski in Loveland as well and thought she would be heard from soon.
Tessa Worley: Ok, French girl after French girl. I do not know what to say except that Tessa is a fantastic GS skier who seems to be making her move in slalom too. If their rankings come into order by Whistler, watch out for more than one medal out of these girls. I am very interested to watch this as I think their chemistry within their team is strong.
Brigitte Acton (CAN): I know she was not happy with her second run, one look at her expression in the finish will tell you that, but when you get some points when maybe you did not ski so well….well you just take them and move on.
Congratulations to all the winners, podiums and big movers. Have a great New Year’s and we’ll catch up in Zagreb!
Click here to go to Alpine Race Consulting
Greg “Grande” Needell grew up ski racing at Stratton Mountain, Vermont. After graduating from SMS he skied for NCAA Division 1 St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY where he was co-captain in 1986. Greg returned to SMS to coach there for five years serving as the Head Women’s Coach as well as the Head J2 Men’s Coach. He then moved to Mission Ridge in Wenatchee, Washington in 1992 to become the Program Director and Head Coach of the Mission Ridge Ski Club. In 1997, Greg became the Head Coach at Mammoth Mountain, California.
In 2002 Needell was asked to join the U.S. Ski Team staff as a World Cup SL and GS coach. From 2002 to 2008 Needell helped lead the U.S. Ski Team Men to 43 wins, 105 podiums and 264 top ten finishes. Now at the helm of Alpine Race Consulting, Needell offers his knowledge and experience to clubs nationwide.
About the Author: Eric Williams
