Didier Defago and Silvan Zurbriggen returned to Kitzbuehel for an off-season look at the fabled race course. Defago won both the Wengen and Kitzuehel downhills last season. Zurbriggen won the Hahnenkamm trophy as the combined winner.

While the duo enjoyed a “cozy walk” down the Streif (other than hopping over the electric fence containing grazing cows), an exclusive Blick article quotes Defago saying the view from the starthouse, looks “More spectacular without the snow. … The Mausefalle reminded me of a deep, black hole.”Didier Defago and Silvan Zurbriggen returned to Kitzbuehel for an off-season look at the fabled race course. Defago won both the Wengen and Kitzuehel downhills last season. Zurbriggen won the Hahnenkamm trophy as the combined winner.

While the duo enjoyed a “cozy walk” down the Streif (other than hopping over the electric fence containing grazing cows), an exclusive Blick article quotes Defago saying the view from the starthouse, looks “More spectacular without the snow. … The Mausefalle reminded me of a deep, black hole.”

Defago also pointed out a simple wooden chair, saying he broke from regular routine and sat on the chair in the starthouse for 30 minutes before his start.

Another story linked to Kitzbuehel was the return to snow for Daniel Albrecht who crashed on the course last season and was comatose for three weeks. He has come a long way and Blick quotes coach Jorg Roten saying, “On the way back to the world leaders (lies) still very much work,” and agrees the progress is well ahead of schedule. Still, when welcomed back by Rainer Schoenfelder, Albrecht needed to be reminded who Schoenfelder was.

Since we got the theme going, Andreas Buder is “metal free” and looking for a return to form after having six screws and a plate removed from his right knee… injured at Kitzbuehel in a 2008 training crash, according to Der Standard.

Also in the Standard, Silva Berger, a member of the Austrian World Cup team for 11 seasons, announced her retirement saying she had not accomplished her sporting goals, but “was allowed to spend many beautiful hours,” with the team and the ski racing community.

Britain’s Finlay Mickel, who holds his country’s record for best result in a men’s World Championship downhill (11th at Bormio in 2005) has retired. “It is a happy and sad day for me,” Eurosport quotes him. “I can look back on a very illustrious career and put myself in a very small group of British skiers who have made it into the top 10 in World Cup competitions, joining legends such as Konrad Bartleski and the Bell brothers.”

Swedish racer Johan Brolenius has called it quits (on his June 7 birthday) saying 108 World Cup races was enough. “The motivation is missing for me to fight for medals and do a good job,” he is quoted saying by Skionline.ch.

Also on the Swiss site is an interesting observation by coach and author Michael Bont. “There is never an athlete who remains over years (among) the absolute world leaders. But for the athletes who fall into a hole it is important that can catch themselves and call up their potential. … The athletes must dare something and go possibly new, unusual ways.”

 The official Swiss Ski site (swiss-ski.ch) announced with no small amount of excitement that Lenzerheide may host the World Cup finals in 2013 as well as the previously set 2011 finals. The organizing committee chairman is Silvano Beltrametti, a racer paralyzed in a December 2001 crash at Val d’Isere. Committee spokesman Hansruedi Laich said that execution by the committee in the past resulted, “in much praise with sportsmen, partners, public and media (being) harvested.”

Vermont’s annual skier visit report was encouraging according to the Vermont Ski Areas Association as reported in the Rutland Herald and Times Argus. The state’s ski areas attracted over four million skier visits, down slightly from last season’s 4.3million and above the 2006-07 mark of 3.8 million. VSAA president Parker Riehle said during the annual meeting that considering the economy the popularity of skiing was “a real testament to the resiliency of the sport here in Vermont and across the country that the industry did fare so well compared to other economic indicators.”

According to the Denver Business Journal Colorado ski areas were down 5.5percent and recorded 11.85 million skier visits.Ski Country president and CEO Melanie Mills told the Journal, “The travel industry as a whole was put to the test this past year, but visitation numbers show not only the enduring value of a Colorado ski vacation, but the strong commitment our resident skiing and riding community has. … “

Finally – just in case you were wondering as we were how Ted Ligety is doing after that late season MCL injury – thanks to the Salt Lake Tribune he can tell you himself in this Youtube clip.