Phil Mahre discusses current events in alpine ski racing

Phil Mahre discusses current events in alpine ski racingPhil Mahre won 27 World Cup alpine races, as well as the overall World Cup title in 1981, 1982 and 1983. Known for his passion for skiing, his outspokenness and his allegiance to the ski company K2, Mahre now lives in his native Washington. He frequently travels the country for speaking engagements, and occasionally offers support at U.S. Ski Team training camps (particularly for the younger athletes). With all of the recent ‘first-time-since-Phil-Mahre’ buzz circulating in American ski racing circles, Ski Racing‘s Nathaniel Vinton called Mahre earlier this month to find out what he thought of current developments.

SKI RACING: What do you think of the alpine season so far?
PHIL MAHRE: Bode always starts hot, but I think it’ll come down to basically the same thing as other years: Who can close the deal at the end of the year. I’m more excited about the rest of the team, where there are a couple more guys qualifying for second runs.

SR: What kind of a year do you think Erik Schlopy will have?
PM: He’s coming back from an injury. Your consistency kind of goes out the window when that’s the case. I think his season will be next year or the next. But then a lot of coming back from an injury is a mental deal, and he’s done all that before, with his knees and back injuries. He knows what it takes to get it back. It’s tough, especially when you’re getting older, because it doesn’t just come back right away.

SR: Do you think Bode can win the overall?
PM: I personally think Bode should have won two World Cup titles already. The last two seasons have come down to the stretch and he hasn’t performed to the best of his ability. Bode controls his own destiny. He has the potential to win seven or eight of these things.

SR: One of the U.S. Ski Team’s bright young stars is Jeffrey Harrison, who won the giant slalom at World Junior Championships last year in Slovenia. He also grew up racing at White Pass Ski Area, where you and your brother Steve were from. Do you know him?
PM: He’s a very athletic kid, and he loves the sport: That makes a big difference. I remember him from when he was eight or so, and he was always a gifted, competitive kid. I saw him at the Northwest Cup Finals a few years ago, and there was a freeride competition on the hill the same day as the race. He entered both on the same day, and missed the first run of GS. They inserted him near dead last, and he still got third or fourth in the race. I think it’s good for your racing to do that kind of thing. I always did helicopters and flips.

SR: Compare the present World Cup to what you raced 20 years ago.
PM: There are too many races now. If you have 10 of every event, that’s 40 races. When they brought in super G, they took it out of the GS calendar. So instead of ten GS races, they had seven. They brought super G in for the sake of downhill, but super G is its own animal now…They start so darn early now. It used to be early December that it started. They’ve made the season so long it’s ridiculous. It’s hard to be competitive for six months. I don’t know why they start in October. So I think the calendar could be condensed some. It’s not a cakewalk.