THE MOUNTAINS WIN AGAIN
Sunday, January 22, 2012 at 03:53PM 
KITZ WAS A MESS, BUT STILL THE SAME. GOOD RACING AND A LOT OF CRASHES
The Ganslern is always a challenge. As I said yesterday, the hill is just nasty. The terrain comes at you from start to finish and turn to turn. If you set rhythm, it does not matter; no turn will feel the same. And this is why I have always said what I have said about course setting on the World Cup; it is not about the course setter. The World Cup is “The Show.” It is a live and TV sports entertainment show. It is there for ski fans to see their heroes up close at the race or on TV. So, as a World Cup course setter you have some obligations: Make the boys look good and feel good, so they can feel confident and go for it. You need to realize this is on world-wide television and we need to produce good ratings and more interest. You need to use the terrain in a way that makes it fun to ski and noticeable on TV. You need to take into account what the snow conditions are and set so the ruts and grooves are longer and smoother. And you need to let the hill itself shine. The last thing announcers should be talking about is the course setter unless it is once or twice saying how great or fun it looks. The hills are tough enough to separate the boys; you don’t need to add novelty tricks to call attention to yourself.
Ok, rant over. The race was an interesting one and DeVille was a master on the second run in some harsh conditions to not only hold-off Matt and Kostelic, but he put time on them. It was a lot of fun to watch and the second run was much more exciting to watch. But in classic World Cup racing style, DeVille threw down coming from the 4th to last spot to put down a huge lead. And put all the pressure on both Matt and Kostelic to push the limit of speed and athletic ability. But the truth is, neither Matt nor Kostelic has the spontaneity in their skiing that DeVille has. And when they were challenged, they could not put it together in that kind of terrain and course condition. Congratulations Christian! You deserve it after so many years, for you first win to be in Kitzbuehel.
IMPRESSIONS
Colby Granstrom, first World Cup points and moved into the top 60 on the WCSL to create another World Cup start position for the USA! It would be nice to back that up in Schladming and get deep enough into the 60 to keep that spot for next year. And Nolan was solid as usual in Kitzbuehel. If he can stay healthy, he will be a force on the slalom tour the rest of the season and in the future. And Jimmy Cochran, one of my former athletes, got himself a few points and little momentum?
I was also impressed with Byggi and Myhrer but even more with Fritz Dopfer. He skied clean and early and with great shape. He is building consistent finishes and creating confidence. He obviously has enough speed to get in the top 10 regularly and if he can keep doing that and not get greedy, he will work his way up in the WCSL until he has the chance to go for the win.
Wolfi Hoerl (AUT), who trained with us in Hinterreit outside of Saalfelden back in the day when he was not on the Austrian Team. He always seems to pull something out once or twice a year and he had himself a day in Kitz.
Steve Missillier (FRA), who just went for it and almost got himself on the steps from the 19 start position.
DISAPPOINTMENTS
Really, I don’t think there are any. The hill is so tough and the conditions were awful. Mother Nature won again, as she usually does.
If any, I would think that Hirscher was a disappointment. That straddle on the second run was unacceptable. By rule, he should have pulled out. It is possible that his run was so frantic that he did not notice but he will get a fine for sure, 999 CHF to the FIS, please. On the other hand, it was one of the most exciting runs of slalom in recent memory.
So, Kitzbuehel shuts down for another year. And another year goes by without an Austrian Kitzbuehel slalom champion. That is the 7th consecutive season without an Austrian winner.
On to Schladming! The USA boys are probably upstairs in the Tetterhof watching the Pats play their playoff game and getting ready to enjoy a day off tomorrow, or at least a late morning. Enjoy, and get after it on the Planai on Tuesday night!
Reader Comments (4)
Greg,
Nice items as ever!
I would be curious about your thoughts on the issue of straddling. There is the "controversy" about Hirscher in Zagreb and Adelboden, but also Neureuther in Zagreb (on the first gate?!); last year I think there was one race where Grange was DSQed and said he did not notice, but also another race where Myhrer stopped because he thought he straddled but then it wasn't clear whether he did. I am not interested in the controversy, but rather about what this tells us about technique and racing.
Is it unusual to have that many potential straddles that don't get noticed? Is it realistic that a racer does not feel when they straddle? For this to happen three times in near succession (if that was the case for Hirscher; not to mention the first run at Kitz)? Is there something about technique (body stance?), equipment, or race conditions that causes this? And, from the standpoints of the course setter and referee, what does this mean?
Looking forward to your insights.
I think Hirscher has a problem. It looks to me like he has eliminated the fear of straddling by simply assuming that any event of the straddling sort might be no more than a half-straddle. So he's not going to worry about, let alone develop a fine sense of what happens when his skis contact a pole. This gives him an advantage. All he has to do is charge and let the "impartial" jury figure it out. In Kitzbühel, the jury was Gunter Hujara. (Now, I don't have anything against Hujara, he probably earns his money, but it seems typical of the FIS that there's not really any halfway impartial, multinational and transparent committee to make decisions like that.)
Most of the other skiers seem to have fully internalized the fear of straddling (maybe also out of a commitment to fairness). It changes the degree to which they can ski with abandon, and gives them, compared to Hirscher, a disadvantage.
I also find it remarkable that the Austrain press has cast Hirscher as a victim and that the ÖSV is interested only in finding out who the mole is.
I think Hirscher has a problem. It looks to me like he has eliminated the fear of straddling by simply assuming that any event of the straddling sort might be no more than a half-straddle. So he's not going to worry about, let alone develop a fine sense of what happens when his skis contact a pole. This gives him an advantage. All he has to do is charge and let the "impartial" jury figure it out. In Kitzbühel, the jury was Gunter Hujara. (Now, I don't have anything against Hujara, he probably earns his money, but it seems typical of the FIS that there's not really any halfway impartial, multinational and transparent committee to make decisions like that.)
Most of the other skiers seem to have fully internalized the fear of straddling (maybe also out of a commitment to fairness). It changes the degree to which they can ski with abandon, and gives them, compared to Hirscher, a disadvantage.
I also find it remarkable that the Austrain press has cast Hirscher as a victim and that the ÖSV is interested only in finding out who the mole is.
But isn't that always the approach of the OESV in all controversy involving their athletes? Like with Hansi Knauss. Oh, he was framed or it was in his vitamins or whatever? But then he just retires and goes into broadcasting. I like Hans, he is a great guy and was a great skier. But the OESV always said it was not his fault. Like they are entitled to do whatever they like? And it is up to you (the rest of the world) to catch them doing it? I am not saying Hirscher straddles and doesn't care. But when he is going so hard like he does, maybe he can't notice or does not have time to consider it because there is so much going on?
Anyway, I am sure I am not answering anything. But I know first hand there is a video monitor on the hill that Hujara looks at. I went through it in Schladming when Ted won the first run of slalom there by .97 and was DQd. I went and watched with him and it was clear he straddled. But in that case, Ted straddled so cleanly that the pole never hit the ski, only his shin. Albeit on the wrong side. But when it is clean and not a "hook" it can be hard to feel. But it is clear that continuing after a straddle has been put on the athlete as cheating, hence the fine. So it has always been a sportsmanship thing. The athlete is supposed to pull out when he straddles and otherwise it is a video review by Hujara. So, going back to Zagreb and Adelboden, if he did straddle, then the owness is on FIS to make the call. THAT BEING SAID, I know that when I was working with the SL/GS guys, we watched everyone closely and made sure we made a point to call Guenther to review anything we thought was close. No matter what. So some of it is also on all the other national team coaches who were standing there watching at those races. The goal of FIS is to DQ guys as the race is happening rather than after so the TV audience knows what is going on. AS well, Swiss, German and Italian TV often play a role in that because they are watching on the monitors and are on site and have experts in the booth. If he straddled in those races, it got by a lot of people.