European Report: British skier Chimene Alcott making waves back home

European Report: British skier Chimene Alcott making waves back home{mosimage}If ski racing is a relatively small sport in the United States, it hardly even registers in the land of cricket and rugby.

But the rising success of Chimene Alcott seems to be sparking interest in England, where the only legitimate racing star has been Alain Baxter.

At 21, Alcott has already carved her name in English skiing history by finishing 25th and becoming the first British woman to qualify for the second leg of a World Cup giant slalom in the October opener in Sölden. Alcott topped that with a career-best 11th in the super G in Lake Louise — the best-ever finish in a World Cup super G by a British skier.

“It’s really exciting. It’s a good indication of what’s to come,” Alcott told Eurosport. “I don’t think I’m skiing particularly different than I was last season. But I’ve changed on to Fischer skis and they really suit me. The team is really backing me (and) I’ve got a serviceman this year.”

Now into her second full season on the pro circuit, Alcott admits it’s been harder than she expected to find her place among ski racing’s elite. She shined as a junior and competed in all five events during the Salt Lake Games, finishing 14th in the combined.

“I had a tough season last year and to get through that and come out stronger this year is really good for me. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season,” she said. “When I was younger I expected a lot. I was good as a junior and I kind of expected that to come as a senior. But my first year on the senior tour really took me by surprise and I realized that I had to work a lot harder.”

A solid all-rounder who grew up skiing with three brothers, Alcott says she’s already topped her goals for the 2003-04 season.

“I don’t really like to set goals,” she said. “But before the season I set a goal to have three top 30 finishes in the World Cup, but that’s kind of difficult now because I already got them.”

>> Kitzbuehel mayor not worried about UN report

The UN’s gloom and doom report last month about global warming doesn’t seem to be putting the chill on politicians in Kitzbuehel, home of ski racing’s Hahnenkamm downhill. The low-altitude Austrian resort was cited in the United Nations report released in Milan during a climate conference on the looming impacts of unchecked global: “The world-famous skiing region Kitzbuehel is facing the out.”

Horst Wendling, Kitzbuehel’s mayor, told the Austrian newspaper Die Presse he’s not losing sleep over the report. “When we set up the Hahnenkamm run, a certain Sir Henry Lunn said a winter tourism resort at 780 meters altitude had little chance of survival,” Wendling said. “But we have become one of the world’s leading tourism regions.”

The UN report made headlines worldwide contending increased emissions into the earth’s atmosphere will accelerate global warming and leave many winter sports resorts without its main commodity, namely snow and cold weather.

Kitzbuehel’s mayor said the report hasn’t passed unnoticed. The tourism department is already working on plans to promote alpine regions as year-round holiday destinations. “It’s true that there have been climate changes, but the scientists aren’t able to offer any solutions,” Wendling said.

>> Jumper says he was on starvation diet

Controversy is broiling in Germany just days before the season’s marquee events at the Four Hills Tourney after a ski jumper claims he was forced to starve himself to maintain a competitive weight.

Frank Loeffler, 23, told German weekly Der Spiegel that he was urged to lose weight and contended ski jumpers lived under “permanent terror” to maintain their flighty weight.

“I could take only 1,200 calories per day,” Loeffler said, according to Monday’s Bild newspaper. “That is what a man needs if he does no exercise at all. But I had to train. The ski jumpers are not smiling any more because they always have to worry about what they eat. We look like ghosts.”

Ski jumpers have long been lean, often with athletes approaching six feet and barely tipping the scales at 120 pounds. The reports are making headlines in Germany just days before the “Super Bowl” of ski jumping kicks off the Four Hills Tourney in Oberstdorf, Germany, on Dec. 29.

The German Ski Federation (DSV) was quick to shoot down the charges, claiming that former jumper Loeffler was dropped from the team because performances were not up to snuff.

DSV team doctor Ernst Jakob said ski jumpers are strictly controlled to avoid eating disorders. “The fact that the athletes are relatively tall and weigh relatively little does not mean there is a health danger in terms of eating disorder,” he told Eurosport. “The sport’s doctors are very careful to minimize the risks for athletes through regular medical checks.”

>> RACING TODAY: Women’s alpine slalom at Madonna di Campiglio, replaces event at Vratna. … Cross-country men’s and women’s 1.5km sprint qualifiers and finals at Val di Fiemme, replaces event at Asiago. … Men’s and women’s freestyle ski cross events at Alpe d’Huez cancelled due to a lack of snow.