The World Cup According to Grande: Jules does it again! Super-G for the men

Well, Lindsey couldn’t get it done today.  But Julia did, again. She has been pretty mediocre on the World Cup for about 3 years. This year included. But it is the big-time and she is getting it done. One coaching friend of mine said, “Maybe she just has no motivation for regular World Cup and World Champs.” Really? Is that it? Is it that simple? The answer is that Julia is simply so much more talented than 99% of the World Cuppers out there that she just turns the switch on at Olympic time and starts raking in the metal? I find it hard to believe. But likely what did happen is that her back problems have pushed her peak later in the winter. And she has been able to have a lot of time off in the summer. And that she probably, knowing her, does not put a lot of pressure on herself. Obviously, Lindsey does put a lot of pressure on herself. Look at the video from last night in the DH. Lindsey was VIBRATING in the start. She was ecstatic but definitely relieved in the finish. So much so that NBC did a piece this afternoon about how winning when you are supposed to win is the hardest thing. That we remember and revere the underdog but the underdog is a safe emotional bet. I have to tell you, I know Lins very well, and I was rooting for her to win yesterday. I was rooting for her yesterday, I rooted for her today and I will root for her again on Saturday.  I also was hoping for Jules to get it done and also for Stacey. I was proud of all of them and I think they all did about as well as they could in their circumstances. Stacey was bouncing back from a big crash, Julia had done nothing all season, and Lins was the odds-on favorite. And I agree with her comment now. Nothing else matters now. She has the big GOLD. The one she came to Vancouver for and the one she had always dreamt of. It is hers, forever.

So today’s race was interesting in that Maria Riesch skied a lot better in the DH portion than she did in the real DH, relative to the field. She skied an adequate run of slalom, but it got her the gold. And Julia delivered another silver medal in another event in which no one thought she could .  Julia deserved the medal again today. She skied an excellent DH run and had probably the best slalom run I have seen out of her in years. And Ms. Anja Paerson was extremely impressive in pulling herself off the mat after a huge crash yesterday. She was tremendously solid all day long and did well enough to grab the bronze.  Other than that, I thought the event was lackluster with very few contenders. I guess Zettel was fairly close but I never got that feeling that she would challenge from that far back after the DH. Julia created some drama in that no one thought she would hold off Paerson to guarantee her another medal. And the other drama was the fact that Maria went easily into the lead, putting pressure on Lins, and her shin.

But I sensed a low energy level in the Kombi today from everyone.  That is a scheduling issue after all the snow, rain and fog earlier in the week. I think it is very difficult to bounce back from a very tough DH race and then race the hill again the next day with slalom in the afternoon. Then the girls need to turn around on Saturday and go at the Super-G.  On top of that they were sitting around for a week waiting for something to happen. Taking training runs occasionally, inspecting, in some cases, crashing. It’s a tough program now with very few real rest days left. They will all be tired again on Saturday, guaranteed.

THE MEN RACE SUPER G!

Alright, a second men’s race, finally. The Super-G runs on the same track as the DH but from the Kombi start. It is very similar and will have a few more turns. One of the odd things about Super-G on a DH track is that very often the SG is stuck in the middle of the week between the last DH training run and the DH race. This is always a problem for the athletes as they become conditioned to following blind rolls a certain direction or carrying a specific amount of speed into the jumps. At speed it can become confusing as to where you are on the hill and what direction to go. We have a similar situation this week as Kombi training is still going on and Super-G is tomorrow.

So what can we expect tomorrow? Ted Ligety reported that they free-skied the Super-G hill today and it was “horrible.” It should be a very interesting and difficult race tomorrow. Start numbers are going to be very important, for sure. For the USA boys, Weibrecht starts 3, Ligety 8, Miller 11 and Marco 26. It is entirely possible that early will be the ticket for tomorrow with forecasted weather to be warm during the day. We could see some softening conditions later in the race.

The Canadians go with Manny O-P in 12th start position, Guay goes 20th, Robbie Dixon goes 27th and Jan Hudec 32nd. Manny has a Super-G win this season and I think that he is their best bet. Although, I am a big Robbie Dixon fan. He tends to inspect very well and executes well very often.

To me, Super-G is the purest form of ski racing. I like every discipline for its own strength, and I tend to forgive the weaknesses. It is my sport; I chose it a long time ago. But Super-G is very much itself. It is different than all the others. First of all, it is only 1 run. DH is only one race run but it has 3 training days prior to the race. So you get to practice on the same track. This makes it fun and adjustment heavy.  In Super-G you get to inspect and race once.  And you race at a very high speed. Terrain comes into play in a huge way. Turn shape, speed anticipation, air anticipation all play a role. And even more importantly, there needs to be a trusting relationship between the coaches and athletes so if something changes that causes a change in plan, it needs to be communicated clearly and accepted by the athlete. It is a tough discipline, no doubt.

As I go through the start list I have to wonder where to go with the discussion. The hole-shot belongs to Kjeitl Jansrud. He is one of the best skiers on tour and can get it done in Super G for sure. With the number one bib, I would not doubt a podium from him. Weibrecht at 3 is definitely a threat, but I think he would be a dark-horse for a bronze. Slovenia’s Ales Gorza has almost been a Super-G specialist of late. He also does well if there is something tricky in the course set that the others have not figured out. He can clearly take the conservative approach and ski it cleanly if necessary. He starts 6. Mario Scheiber in 10 will be tough to beat. He is a bowling ball on skis and can get it rolling. Miller and Manny run back to back in 11 and 12. Janka and Cuche at 15 and 16 are very solid and could wreak havoc. But with the info from Ted about the surface, I have to say that those numbers are too late. Aksel, Walchhofer and Defago all start after 19, and again I need to stick with the early numbers based on the info I have.

I am going to chicken out on a prediction but I think there is potential for a huge upset.

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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 exp
erience to clubs nationwide.

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