Ski Racing Roundup: Ertl gets in the ring, Austrians select starters, FIS redesigns website

Ski Racing Roundup: Ertl gets in the ring, Austrians select starters, FIS redesigns websiteThe women of the German alpine national team have been practicing boxing as a to prepare for the new season, which begins just over a week from now at Solden. Last year’s Solden winner Martina Ertl and her teammates have been spending some time in the Universum Gym in Hamburg, Germany, doing workout sessions with some of the world’s top boxers.

Ertl and her teammates trained at the gym with the rest of Germany’s World Cup team. They went through workouts with Ukrainean heavyweight standout Alexander Dimitrenko, as well as Hungarian boxing world champion, Zsolt Erdei, and master coaches Fritz Sdunek and Michael Timm.

Austrian team selects starting lineup for World Cup opener in Soelden

The Austrians have selected their starting lineups for the first alpine World Cup of the season, the giant slalom next weekend at Sölden. Most of the spots in Austria’s maxed-out quota went to pre-determined racers who qualified off of world rank and other factors. A time trial yesterday, Wednesday the 13th, determined the final starters. Based on that race simulation, the last two open spots in their women’s quota went to Marlies Schild and Michaela Kirchgasser. The last start bibs on the men’s side went to Michael Walchhofer, Stephan Goergl and Mario Matt.

‘Everywhere you looked there were top-30 racers just going for it’ says Trevor Wagner, the American women’s tech coach, who was overseeing the American team’s time trials. That was happening on the lane between the two Austrian squads while they were conducting their unforgiving final cuts. ‘I saw someone flying by on Fischers, so that must have been Matt. Everyone was cranking up the intensity. All that good skiing…it was better than watching any race.’

Austria’s women’s team for Soelden opener, October 23: Silvia Berger, Michaela Dorfmeister, Elisabeth Görgl, Renate Götschl, Niki Hosp, Michaela Kirchgasser, Alexandra Meissnitzer, Eveline Rohregger, Marlies Schild, Katrin Zettel

Austria’s men’s team for Soelden opener, October 24: Hermann Maier, Stephan Görgl, Christoph Gruber, Hans Knauss, Hermann Maier, Mario Matt, Benjamin Raich, Hannes Reiter, Andreas Schifferer, Rainer Schönfelder, Michael Walchhofer

New websites for a new season

The International Ski Federation (FIS) has re-designed its website, www.fisski.com , streamlining several features while giving the front page a fresher look. More changes are on the way. The site is always the best place to find schedules, results and rankings, from the World Cup all the way down to entry-level junior races. All the relevant rule books are posted there in PDF form, along with good historical information.

Don’t miss the re-launch of the website you’re reading now, which happens a week from today to coincide with the World Cup opener at Sölden. Along with a completely new look, the new skiracing.com will have much more to offer hardcore fans, such as ‘The Roundups’ a new department gathering news items on the domestic, nordic and international scenes.

Another new department, ‘The Insiders’ is where top athletes will voice their perspectives alongside those of the sport’s movers and shakers. Log on for the October 21st re-launch and be the first to read exclusive Ski Racing interviews with Gian Franco Kasper, the president of the FIS, and Rudi Huber, the race director for the Atomic factory. You’ll also find the first installments of two new athlete journals by Erik Schlopy and Stacey Cook.

The site will also include broader and more thorough indexes in its ‘Race Results’ section and a special ‘Travel’ created in partnership with Moguls, a provider of customized mountain vacations.

Sarah Will elected to Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame

Sarah Will, a racer on the U.S Disabled Ski team who dominated competition for 15 years, will be inducted into the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame later this month.

Will, 39, will be inducted October 23 at a ceremony in Denver’s Tabor Center, along with ski pioneers Nelson Carmichael and Stein Erickson; Tage Pedersen, a long-time trainer for the U.S. Ski Team; and John Stevens, the chief operating officer of Telluride.

Got an idea or a complaint about the Roundup? E-mail your comments to webeditor@insideinc.com

Previous Ski Racing Roundups:

INTERNATIONAL, September 15, 2004

DOMESTIC, September 28, 2004

NORDIC, September 29, 2004

INTERNATIONAL, September 30, 2004

DOMESTIC, October 5, 2004

NORDIC, October 6, 2004

INTERNATIONAL, October 7, 2004

DOMESTIC, October 12, 2004

NORDIC, October 13, 2004