Worlds: Bellevarde downhill set to challenge men

The downhill courses of the 2009 Alpine Ski World Championships in Val d’Isere, France are taking some heat. Both male and female athletes have expressed frustration with the challenging, technical courses. Friday’s downhill portion of the women’s super combined saw eight women DNF, including Sweden’s Anja Paerson, currently in third place in the World Cup downhill standings. 

The men will be the first to take on a true downhill Saturday morning on the “The Face de Bellevarde” course. Almost the entire 2988 meters course can be seen from the center of town, glistening under the lights well into the evening, before it barges into first-time racer’s dreams uninvited.

As it was for the 1992 Winter Olympics, the start gate will be set at 2800 meters on the “Mur de Bellevarde” where skiers get a view of the inviting finish area. Challengers then negotiate the passage in between the Olympic cable car and Funival top stations, followed by a steeply sloped incline and hairpin turn preceding the wide curve of the Bellevarde “Face”. Then it gets interesting as racers must slip through the famous “Passage de l’Ancolie,” a narrow gully between two rock faces.  If they are still on their feet by then, they take on the “Vasque Olympique” and the final compression before the finish line.

“It doesn’t compare to anything. It’s got characteristics that are very different than any other downhill,” said U.S. men’s head coach Sasha Rearick. “The course is extremely technical and, in it’s own sense, has tactical parts too.”

The slower course is not exactly the U.S. men’s cup of tea, according to Rearick. “Our guys, in particular, like the high speed, big jumps, that’s what’s fun to them, and this course doesn’t have that so it’s probably not as fun to them as Val Gardena or Kitzbuehel.“
 
While the fun factor may not be there, the technical course is giving the U.S. squad enough of a challenge to keep their attention. “With this course almost every turn has it’s own characteristic, and you have to approach each turn, tactically and technically, very well,” said Rearick. “It’s not an easy downhill because it’s got so many sections that are challenging.”

Experience and very strong technical skills will determine the winner according to Rearick. “You put those two types together and you’ve got the potential to do very well on this downhill,” he said.

Starting for Rearick’s squad will be Erik Fisher, Andrew Weibrecht and Marco Sullivan. Bode Miller will also be representing the U.S. 

Steven Nyman will not be starting tomorrow, he headed home for three weeks to tend to a sore knee that has been bothering him since a crash in Wengen.  

Check back Saturday for complete race coverage. Video coverage will follow on Universalsports.com at 6:50 PM, ET. 

The downhill courses of the 2009 Alpine Ski World Championships in Val d’Isere, France are taking some heat. Both male and female athletes have expressed frustration with the challenging, technical courses. Friday’s downhill portion of the women’s super combined saw eight women DNF, including Sweden’s Anja Paerson, currently in third place in the World Cup downhill standings. 

The men will be the first to take on a true downhill Saturday morning on the “The Face de Bellevarde” course. Almost the entire 2988 meters course can be seen from the center of town, glistening under the lights well into the evening, before it barges into first-time racer’s dreams uninvited.

As it was for the 1992 Winter Olympics, the start gate will be set at 2800 meters on the “Mur de Bellevarde” where skiers get a view of the inviting finish area. Challengers then negotiate the passage in between the Olympic cable car and Funival top stations, followed by a steeply sloped incline and hairpin turn preceding the wide curve of the Bellevarde “Face”. Then it gets interesting as racers must slip through the famous “Passage de l’Ancolie,” a narrow gully between two rock faces.  If they are still on their feet by then, they take on the “Vasque Olympique” and the final compression before the finish line.

“It doesn’t compare to anything. It’s got characteristics that are very different than any other downhill,” said U.S. men’s head coach Sasha Rearick. “The course is extremely technical and, in it’s own sense, has tactical parts too.”

The slower course is not exactly the U.S. men’s cup of tea, according to Rearick. “Our guys, in particular, like the high speed, big jumps, that’s what’s fun to them, and this course doesn’t have that so it’s probably not as fun to them as Val Gardena or Kitzbuehel.“
 
While the fun factor may not be there, the technical course is giving the U.S. squad enough of a challenge to keep their attention. “With this course almost every turn has it’s own characteristic, and you have to approach each turn, tactically and technically, very well,” said Rearick. “It’s not an easy downhill because it’s got so many sections that are challenging.”

Experience and very strong technical skills will determine the winner according to Rearick. “You put those two types together and you’ve got the potential to do very well on this downhill,” he said.

Starting for Rearick’s squad will be Erik Fisher, Andrew Weibrecht and Marco Sullivan. Bode Miller will also be representing the U.S. 

Steven Nyman will not be starting tomorrow, he headed home for three weeks to tend to a sore knee that has been bothering him since a crash in Wengen.  

Check back Saturday for complete race coverage. Video coverage will follow on Universalsports.com at 6:50 PM, ET. 

Course information from www.valdisere2009.org