The World Cup According to Grande: What I Will Be Looking For In Soelden, Part 2

MEN

The same story lines are huge for the men in Soelden as they were for the women. Who looks good on their new equipment? Will Olympic success cause a let-down? Are the aging stars still going to be stars? Who are the up and coming athletes to watch and how ready are the skiers who are returning from injury?

EQUIPMENT

Again, the story line is Head. Mr. Eliasch collected a large number of high-end skiers to join his already powerful team. Joining Cuche, Bode and Schoenfelder are Ted Ligety, Kjetil Jansrud and Aksel Lund Svindal. I said the same thing about the girls, there are a lot of very strong guys on that list with big egos who demand service and the highest quality equipment. Werner Heel and Johan Grugger are also on the Head team but will have no impact in Soelden. Add all of the high-end women on Head and you have to wonder if the little factory can keep up with the demands and quality. I hear from the service guys that all the skis look very good. I do have to wonder about the guys like Ted and Jansrud who switched after their most successful seasons to an unknown for them and changing skis, boots and bindings. It leaves them with very little to compare. But as I said, the skis sound like they are very good. I also hear that Head was scrambling a little to get the boots to work for both Ted and Kjetil this summer. I am assuming the issues have been worked out but anyone who knows racing knows the ski boots are the key piece of equipment. As an athlete your tool for controlling the ski is the boot, it needs to work and needs to inspire confidence.

POST-OLYMPIC LET-DOWN

CARLO JANKA (SUI) – Last year’s gold medalist is known around the World Cup as an “ice man.” He skis the same no matter what. He has a super solid approach and never gets too high or too low. I doubt if he will have a problem bouncing back after the success of last season. I will not be surprised if he is on the podium this weekend.

KJETIL JANSRUD (NOR) – I have known him a long time. Since he was 18 or so and he was knocking around on the Europa Cup. I first saw him in December of 2002 at St. Vigilio in a Europa Cup GS. He started 104 and finished 45 or so. His buddy Svindal was 6th in that race and won the second run. Aksel went from there, directly to Val d’ Isere and the top 15 in the World Cup GS there and never looked back. Anyway, Jansrud was impressive that day and I knew he would make it someday. Injuries and a bad back conspired to make that ascent slower than he would have hoped but he finally arrived last year. A silver medal in Whistler and 7th in the World Cup GS standings made it his best season ever. So I question even more the move to Head. Was it for money? Is this a “cash-in, fade out” scenario waiting to happen? It always makes me nervous when an athlete skis on one brand their whole life and then switches after the best season of their lives. Ligety did it after Torino Gold and a World Cup GS win in Korea when he went to Rossignol and greener pastures. But with a quality boot and proven GS skis it was not a big risk although I have to wonder if he ever really adjusted his slalom approach to the Rossignol set-up. Regardless, Kjetil is too good for it to affect him negatively for long. I traded emails with him earlier in the summer and he was very excited about the Head GS ski.

AKSEL LUND SVINDAL (NOR) – No way it causes problems for him. Nor will the switch to Head. He is a professional in every sense of the word. He manages his life and career flawlessly season after season. He is one of my favorite people on the World Cup. He is always genuinely happy in victory while being gracious in both victory and defeat. He is a fabulous athlete and deserves all the success he earns. No let down here. He could have a slow start but he has success at Soelden (he won in 2007) and will contend for the Overall by the end of the year.

OLD, OR EXPERIENCED?

DIDIER CUCHE (SUI) – He keeps on keepin’ on. He was born in 1974 which makes him 36 years old. No matter what you do, the body eventually gives way. Whether it is pain or just loss of strength, power and agility, it eventually will happen. I keep asking when that is for Didier. It could be this season but maybe not. I am going to watch him closely at Soelden but I think age will become a factor later in the season, probably after Kitzbuhel.

BODE MILLER (USA) – Born in 1977 makes him 33 now. Not too old to perform, by any means. And the speed game is where he will excel. Bode’s body has taken a lot of hits over the years and he has had many surgeries, both minor and major.  When will it break down and when will his technical events suffer? Can he still ski slalom? He scored zero World Cup points in GS last year. He will start 31 or so in Soelden because he scored 601 WCSL points last season. I don’t know how he will react tactically to that kind of start position but his tactical stubbornness has been a weakness over the years. On the other hand, that is what experience is supposed to do, make you smarter and wiser, if you put it to use.  I have also heard nothing but excellent things about Bode being back within the team structure and about his GS skiing this summer. By all reports, he has been skiing excellent GS and is ready to go.

THE UP AND COMERS

There are a few guys out there to watch closely this weekend who are ready to make a charge toward the top 15 this season. They have GS World Cup points on their resume and have shown speed against the big dogs at times in other competitions. Watch for Janez Jazbec (SLO), Fritz Dopfer (GER), Bjoern Sieber and Christoph Noesig (AUT), Mathieu Faivre (FRA) and of course, Tommy Ford (USA). Along with Tommy, have an eye out for Warner Nickerson who is not a U.S. Ski Team member but scored two-six point results in New Zealand this season and has a great start number and also Will Gregorak from Vail who is an excellent skier with tremendous upside. He could be a real sleeper in Beaver Creek, once he gets this Soelden start under his belt.

RETURN TO RACING

This is my favorite category. Thomas Fanara and JB Grange (FRA) are both worth looking for in Soelden. They are excellent skiers who were injured for most of last year. JB is one of the best technical skiers in the world and had his first major setback last season when he had ACL reconstruction. Fanara has been hurt more times than I can possibly count due mostly to his go for broke style. He is fun to watch and crashes a lot, but he is very fast.

But my guys I want to watch on their return are Marcus Sandell and Kalle Palander of Finland. I heard from Marcus not long ago when they were training in Hintertux. He was very optimistic about his hip and happy with his rehab progress. He said he had cleaned up some technical problems from the past and is looking forward to Soelden.

But the biggest comeback is that of Palander. He is coming back from numerous surgeries on his shin after some stress fractures became bothersome a few seasons ago. There were rumors of infections and botched surgeries. I don’t know the details of it but I do know he has been out for a long time. But no one has been a better GS and slalom skier over the last 10 years than Kalle. He has a perfect touch on the snow and makes great athletic moves. He has discipline and speed. He is a smart tactician and has all the experience needed to excel again. The questions remain, after being out for so long, does he still know how to compete? Will he be able to find that toughness to get down the hill fast when it gets dark and bumpy on run number two on Sunday? Once he gets Soelden under his belt he gets to go home to Finland and race slalom under the lights during the day, and in front of the adoring home crowd. Keep an eye on Kalle, one of the best ski racers ever.

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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.

Click here for “The World Cup According to Grande” archive.