SCHOLARSHIP AVAILABLE-DEADLINE EXTENDED!

Every year, three companies band together to offer a scholarship to a deserving J3 (U16) athlete. Ski Racing Development, Shred Optics and World Cup Supply are offering a $1500 scholarship along with SRD, WCS and Shred gear to a J3 “fast skier.” This season they have extended their deadline to May 25, 2012.

Since 2009, they have awarded the scholarship three times, awarding the scholarship to: Stephanie Schott, Karina Schwartznau and Andrew Black. According to the information provided by the 3 companies, the scholarship is awarded to:

This scholarship will be awarded in Late May of 2012 and will recognize dedication, talent, integrity, and a passion for ski racing. We are also firm believers in the importance of academics and community involvement and the role that each plays along with ski racing in the development of individual character. 

I cannot state emphatically enough how appreciative I am to these 3 companies for this generous award. It shows how dedicated they are to our unique, difficult and expensive sport. I am proud to be partnered with such dedicated companies.

Follow either of the following links to apply:

http://junioralpinescholarship.com/General_Information.html

http://www.worldcupsupply.com/catalog/pc/viewContent.asp?idpage=53

The overall globe race went down to the wire, sort of. While it was great to see Feuz but up a fight, the race fizzled at the end and Hirscher won the big globe. When you look at the top 5 in the overall, you see a group of guys who were not scoring high in 4 disciplines, which is pretty unusual. At the very least, someone who can compete for the big points in at least 3 disciplines is the one on top. But Hirscher really only scored big in 2 disciplines and scored no combined points. And Feuz did the same, just in the two disciplines that Hirscher doesn’t ski. They both scored 30 points in the City Event so that didn’t make a difference. The questions for me for the overall for next year are: Will Aksel return to the top in GS and therefore be able to compete in the Overall? Will he be able to return to point scoring in Slalom? I doubt the slalom return, it takes too much training volume and rarely do veterans of 30 years old make slalom comebacks. Will Hirscher pursue more SG after the big score in Schladming? It would seem like he should as he can get some testing and training done on one trip to Chile and some work in October and November on the glaciers. And if he can make himself a manageable schedule, he could score enough SG points to really put a lock on the Overall for years to come. Is Ivica going to be ready to go? He is 33 years old and has a long injury history. Eventually, all of those surgeries take their toll. They take their toll in pain, but also in training volume. Ivica has always been a training volume monster. He is used to legendary amounts of volume and days on snow. There were summers when he would ski 30 straight days in Hintertux. But injuries cut into the ability to get that repetition. But at this point in his career, does he even need that kind of volume? Just because he has always done that, does it mean he needs to continue to do so? And what about the speed program? Again, can he get the volume he needs? And does his ski company have the speed program to support an all-out assault on the Overall? I think Ivica concentrates on slalom and tries to win that smaller globe. Will Miller return to form? Will he return at all? Will the 35m GS ski drive him away from GS and into the speed specialist world? Will Feuz clean up his tech skiing so he can compete in a world where Hirscher is scoring SG points?  To me, the dark horse for the Overall is Kjetil Jansrud. But he has to answer some questions too. Can he put his history of back pain behind him? Can he train slalom and GS enough this preparation period to be a player in GS and score enough slalom points to compete? I am sure that he has the talent. He just needs to be healthy enough to train all the disciplines and participate fully in the schedule. And as good as Ted is in GS, what has happened to the goal and plan to win the Overall? He is certainly a good enough skier to compete in 4 disciplines and combined. What is the missing ingredient? He was 15^th in slalom this year which is the best he has been since 2008. In 2006 he was 4^th, which was his breakthrough year in GS too. Anyway, Ted has never scored 1000 points in a season, and you can’t win the Overall without scoring 1000 points. So he needs to get his slalom up to his GS standards again as well as getting himself a few hundred speed points if he is going to compete for the big globe.

DOWNHILL

Who is the DH champ? Was it Klaus Kroell? Yes it was and it was by 7 points over Beat Feuz. Feuz made a great run at a number of titles but didn’t win any of them. He was 2^nd in Combined, 2^nd in DH, 3^rd in SG and 2^nd in the Overall. Kroell is a Downhiller. He is pure speed. He has done well at times in Super G but it seems only when the SG is close to a DH. Anyway, I am not taking anything away from him. When he needed wins to make the DH globe dream happen, he made it happen. Congratulations? And next season? With no Cuche to compete with, is it Kroell’s globe to lose in Downhill? I think that Feuz served notice that he can be in the hunt all season long. He only lost by 7 points! After Cuche, there was quite a drop-off in the standings. I know that if Miller is back in shape for the season, that he can compete for the DH globe. He can win on the tough hills and he can glide with the best. And he has more of the Head speed quiver at his disposal.  Who else can compete? Maybe Reichelt, or Guay, or Svindal? But what about a new guy like Feuz this year? Did anyone really give us a peek at what they might have in store for next season? Maybe a guy likes Ben Thomsen, or Puchner? One thing I do think about the Downhill discipline on the men’s side, we need a multi-athlete battle and someone with star-power to challenge every week. We need a 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th guy to step up into the fray.

SUPER G

It seems like a terrible thing to say, but I sort of felt like no one really stepped up and WON this title. Svindal pulled it together at Kvitfjell but was lucky there was a rescheduled SG there so he could take advantage of the home hill by finishing 2^ndand 5^th. He won only 1 SG race and that was in Lake Louise in November, so it sort of was forgotten. And he won the title by finishing out of the points in Schladming. It just kind of had that feel, like no one really won it. So looking ahead: Cuche is gone, will Miller return to form at 35 years of age? Will Hudec back-up his excellent SG season? Can Benni Raich make a transition to more speed in his program? His slalom is struggling, and at 34 years old, that is normal. But Benni is a talented enough skier and a hard worker. He can transform himself into a Super G skier if he so chooses.  But again, this discipline is wide open and waiting for Beat Feuz and Kjetil Jansrud to walk through the door to win the globe. Do I think Svindal can win it again? Of course, but I really want him to WIN it!

GS

The GS globe was a great 2 man battle. Hirscher and Ligety won 7 of the contested World Cup GS races. Ted scored more GS points than in any of his globe-winning seasons and finished 2^nd. This is a testament to Hirscher’s speed but also his consistency.  Hirscher was relentless all season long and in the end, Ted just couldn’t hang with him. The questions out there for me are more about equipment? It is obvious that Ted has already figured it out. It is also obvious that the new ski is faster. If you read what I wrote last fall, it is all coming true. And where there is room to set more open distances, it will get done and speeds will be higher. The 35m skis are faster. When I was with the USST and working with Dane Spencer to make some GS skis with Elan, we built some 192, 33m skis. Pretty close to what we are seeing now. And they were the fastest skis in his quiver and he had his best results of his life that season, including 7^th at the World Championships in Bormio. So what has FIS done? Made GS more dangerous and more of an unknown. What is the real motivation to mess with the radii of GS skis? To make GS revert to skiing in the 1980s? The problem is, everyone who is still performing at the top of the World Cup grew up with shape in their skis, and they are going to figure out how to ski as they always have on skis with less shape. All we are seeing so far are faster runs on the new skis (Ted’s 2^nd run at Schladming) and 2 ACL injuries ALREADY! Ok, enough of this, I will write a whole article on this soon. Maybe after 2 more guys blow their knees out?

So who is in the mix next season? Again, Hirscher and Ted. Jansrud if he can stay healthy enough to train all summer. I think Fritz Dopfer is ready to make a run at it. He came up through Europa Cup with Hirscher and I think he likely sees himself as able to compete with Hirscher. He has a good set-up and he is a very solid and consistent skier. Pinturault? Maybe, but he is not consistent enough for me. I thought Schoerghofer would make a move last year but he sort of disappointed.  Can Janka make a comeback? Looking at the standings from this season, I think we will see another battle between Ted and Marcel.

SLALOM

I saved the best for last because honestly, that was the best finish to a globe race I have ever seen. The circumstances that had to happen to have Andre Myhrer win the globe was so unlikely that I barely even mentioned it going into the finals. What a great season for Andre. It really could not have happened to a nicer guy on the World Cup. I have so much respect and admiration for him as a skier and I hope he can back it up.  And the fact that it happened at Schladming for him is amazing as Schladming is really where Andre made his big breakthrough. Next year? Kostelic, Hirscher and DeVille can all compete. Kostelic is getting older and will need to get healthy to get his normal volume.  Is there someone who can make a run at the slalom globe who was not really in the mix this season? I have to look at Dopfer again. He is solid, consistent and fast. Watch out for him if he can put together a good preparation period. As far as our slalom program is concerned? I don’t know. There is a shake-up in the staff and we will see what that does. But Ted’s slalom seems to be coming around again, finally. Nolan is as good a slalom specialist as we have had in recent memory but needs to be 100% healthy and we need to get him up into the seed for him to have a chance to make a run at the top.

Look for more coming up!

FIS RULE CHANGES

GS SKI INJURIES

US SKI TEAM STAFF SHAKE UP

ATHLETE EQUIPMENT CHANGES AND WHAT THAT MIGHT MEAN

AMERICAN CHANCES-A LOOK DEEPER IN THE ROSTER

Before I begin, I need to apologize for being away so long. But with a job that demands attention all the time and attention to detail on a moment by moment basis, it became difficult to find time to write. And honestly, it became difficult to find motivation as well. To add to the difficulty, our Head Age Class Coach Alice Black, and her husband Ben (USST World Cup Coach), gave birth to their first child. Lara Black arrived early in the morning on March 15^th which, if you think about it, really took Alice off the hill from about mid-February on. Obviously, that put more on me. I do also have to mention at this point that Dane Spencer and his wife, Jasmine, had their first child. She is also a girl and her name is Robyn. Dane was a World Cup veteran GS skier during my years with the team and is now a coach in the program. We at AVSC also suffered the loss of our Head J5 Coach, Willie Volckhausen to a knee injury. So I really needed to get out on the snow more as well as at some races.

So with my apology complete, let’s jump into some review.

THE WOMEN:

DOWNHILL: It is quite obvious to even the most casual observer that Lindsey is the best downhiller. There is no replacement for her size, strength, ability, consistency and versatility. Who can get it done on so many different types of hills over the course of an entire season like she can? The answer is nobody and there will be nobody on the horizon. We can try to reach and pick some out and I will shoot holes in every theory. When you start putting careers side by side and measuring greatness, it is not even close. In my last entry, I made some mention to the Lindsey/ Maria rivalry. It is not even close. It’s like saying Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have a rivalry. Anyway, it isn’t close. Go on www.fis-ski.com and look up their bios, it is not even close.

So what else to do? Do we root for Lizzy Goergl to compete? She’s had her chance and can only do so occasionally? Maria? I addressed that.  What about Lara Gut? The wunderkind who lit the world up in 2009? In my mind, she has not come back from the injury and she is looking more like a skiing version of Anna Kournikova than anything else right now. She is overexposed and undertrained, getting by on looks and a flash in the pan career. I think we look at our whole team behind Lins. Obviously Juila can get it done. Stacey has had her best year ever by far. Alice can do the job. Laurenne has heart, for sure. Chelsea and Leanne get after it and you have Julia Ford, Kiley Staples, Brooke Wales and more coming up through the ranks. But there is one more girl out there to keep your eye on. And her name is Tina Weirather. She is a Liechtensteiner and she is a great skier. She has the genes (dad is Harti and mom is Hanni Wenzel). But she gives away a lot of size. Lindsey is a big girl and it helps her when she makes mistakes. Tina does not have gravity on her side when competing against girls the size of Lindsey and Maria. But she is a great skier. Look for big stuff from her next year.

SUPER G: This is kind of the same answer. I know there is more competition for Lindsey because there are more variables. But the truth is that Lindsey is very experienced but also VERY YOUNG. Lindsey is only 27 (turns 28 in October) but has been on the World Cup for over a decade.  In the rare circumstance where an athlete can combine youth and experience, you tend to have an extended peak. LeBron James comes to mind when you put those two things together. I think you have to again look to Tina Weirather as the one who will put the most pressure on Lindsey for next year. I also think Julia can get there but I am concerned about Julia’s equipment choice. I know, it looks like on the surface that Head is dominant. But they have a bunch of World Cup athletes on different equipment. So Julia going into that program does not consolidate the program; it further disjoints it. Julia cannot help Lindsey with development and Lins cannot help Jules. They are friends now, they say and that might be true, but it will not help them develop product. They are too far apart on what their needs are. Anyway, back to skiing. Anna Fenninger can compete but she has shown ZERO consistency at a high level. She is a great skier and should be able to compete every day, but she rarely does. She is only competitive it seems, when the hill sets up for her and she feels 100%. I root for her, I really like her skiing, but she simply does not bring it every race. Maze is aging, Riesch showed no competitiveness this season, Fabi Suter is up and down like a Yo-Yo. But if I had to pick one or two not on your radar to make a move next season, I would look to Viki Rebensburg and Leann Smith. But only if Viki stays on Nordica. If they can’t afford to keep her, I would count her out in Super G.

GIANT SLALOM: A perfect segue from the Super G in Viki Rebensburg. While GS was the closest globe race this year, Viki really was the best GS skier. I know she was lucky that she got to race twice in Ofterschwang at the end of the season, but the globe is primarily a measurement of speed and consistency over the course of the season. People who fall in love with a skier based on a single performance are in love with risk and speed. And all of that being good, if you cannot sustain that over the course of a season or even over a career, you cannot claim greatness, let alone a season title. So when you watch people ski, don’t fall for flash, look at skills. What do they do that allows the speed to happen every turn, and every run, and every week, etc? Viki has superior transition and initiation skills, therefore bringing more speed into the fall-line of every turn. If you are faster on every turn, you are faster in every race. Anyway, I love Tess Worley, Fede Brignone, Tina, Julia, etc. But they do not show the consistency in transition and clean initiation that Viki brings. Tessa continuously loses snow contact in transition which is ok on the stepper hills. And with her small stature it kills her on flatter hills. If you put some fresh snow or slushy snow on the hill and it kills her. Fede takes far too much risk with her line which puts her in a negative hip position a lot. But she does make good transitions and is clean at initiation a lot. Tina Maze and Lindsey are the two that I feel can compete with Viki. And the reason is that Tina is a super-solid veteran GS skier with great skills. But her downfall is always that she is inconsistent in the preparation period, according to my Slovenian friends and opens many seasons with poor results. Lindsey, we know, is a tireless worker and will do what she needs to do. Her understanding of GS has obviously stepped up in the past year and she has improved her skiing, turn shape and line approach in the last year or so. Again, she ahs size which allows her to erase mistakes and compete on flatter hills. I think Viki is still the one to beat. Again, all bets are off on Viki if she ditches Nordica.

SLALOM: Ha Ha Ha. Marlies Schild is the best slalom skier in the world. Prove me wrong. Tina Maze? Nope. Zuzulova, nope. Zettel, no way. Any of the French girls, nope. Canadians? Maybe, but they have no margin for error. Erin and Mitch are small girls, Marlies is not. If the Levi project happens again, those little girls will start their year behind Maria Riesch, Schild, Vonn and a few other giants.  I would guess that the next best slalom skier, in my mind, is Michaela Kirchgasser. Sorry, but that is likely the truth. Hopefully she will grab this opportunity and make it happen. She was an anointed kid as she came up. The next great Austrian female skier was what was expected. Then the reality of World Cup skiing struck. The grind, the volume, the travel, the injuries, it all takes its toll. But she is near the top; let’s see if she can take the next step.

And what of the Americans? Lindsey is still our best bet in slalom. I know that everyone out there is all into Mikaela Shiffrin and so am I. She is a wonderful skier. But let’s look at the USA program. Who is around her? Resi has probably ended her career with yet another knee surgery. I feel bad for her and I will miss her. Sarah retired, Julia has all but given up on slalom (not that I blame her). Then what? Who else is there? And I am not talking about pace or competition at training. You can get that by pairing up with other teams and by having lower ranked girls give some impetus from behind. But what about the social side? Camaraderie, friendship, teamwork and commiseration all play a role; especially when you are all over the world to race and train. And when most of your season takes place in Europe and the central European girls can drive home on a Sunday night and spend a night with their boyfriends, or husbands or families. And can eat a home cooked meal, made by Mom. And then if you are all alone, in a hotel, with a coach and a service man? There will be no teammates there with whom to hang out because the whole team is made of 4 discipline or speed skiers, it is a tough life. So what to do? I think the USST would be smart, at least for the preparation period, to create a slalom group for Mikaela. Even if they are not World Cup ready. Make a slalom group with Maisie Ide, Lila Lapanja, Foreste Peterson (who I hear is going to Denver U) and Paula Moltzan. Why not? Right now, you have a leader in slalom who is basically a peer of these girls and they are all within reach. We have Roland Pfiefer coaching Mikaela with no team. It’s a thought.

More to come soon:

MEN’S YEAR IN REVIEW/AND A LOOK FORWARD

EQUIPMENT SIGNINGS

INJURIES ON NEW 35M SKIS

MUCH, MUCH MORE!

The whole women’s World Cup RUSHED back to Austria after a night-slalom in Are to begin DH training in Schladming. So, the all got there, there equipment got there, the training run was canceled and it looks like tomorrow is in danger as well. This was almost always an issue when I was with the World Cup team. At least half the group had to hustle very hard to get to Finals and begin DH training. It just seems like the FIS never learns in the scheduling game. Why is one day such a big deal? If they gave the girls one more day to get there then they would be starting tomorrow with more rest and a better chance to run the training runs. But beyond that, this is a constant fight between the teams that are actually on the snow and the administrators within the NGBs and the FIS. We always struggled with all the travel times and gaps in the schedule. I can go through the schedule and complain about 2 or 3 very bad travel situations every season. And in the meantime, FIS is trying to regulate equipment in order to reduce injury. Why not have a have a few more days to travel in certain situations and maybe even a week-long break in the middle of the season to reduce injury? I will not go into this right now and maybe it is a topic for a dedicated article on scheduling? But really, there has to be an answer to this.

ARE

So, what did we see in Are? We saw a very strong performance from LV and the rest of the American girls in the GS.  Jules and Resi were very good and Resi had her 4^th top 15 GS result of her career. Congrats!

Rebensburg finished 3^rd and all that means is that LV is still mathematically involved in the outcome of the GS globe race. Viki needs to finish outside the top 15 and LV needs to win. Now, we have seen this scenario play out before where the leader lost the focus once his competitor took the lead. Let’s say Viki is ahead of Lins on the first run and then Lins throws-down a winning run and convincingly goes into the race lead. Viki will feel that pressure. Part of the scenario has then taken place and all she has to do is fall down and LV wins the globe. So does she play it safe? Is she that fast that she can go 75% and still score a top 15 at Finals? The truth is she probably can. But I saw it happen in Bormio in the men’s SG Final when Cuche lost his title to Reichelt by applying too much brake and having Albrecht sweep into the top 15 and knock him out. Anyway, it has happened and it could again. And what if Viki crashes on the first run? Then Lindsey knows where she stands and HAS to win to get the globe. It is kind of fun to think about this stuff as unlikely as it is to happen.

We saw the re-emergence of Fede Brignone. We saw Lisa Magdalena Agerer(ITA). She lists as being from Nauders, which is in Tirol, AUT but tucked in the corner of Austria, Italy and Switzerland.  She has been winning Europa Cup GS races at an incredible clip. She announced her presence in a big way and snuck into the Finals in GS so we will get to see her again this week.

Disappointments? It is hard to be so disappointed at this time of the year but I was pretty surprised that Jessica Lindell-Vikarby did not charge into the top 5. I expected it because the Swedes normally enjoy the home snow. Look at what the slalom girls did!

In the slalom, we saw Schild fail again to win that record breaking slalom race. I would not expect her to miss in Schaldming. She is from Dienten which is not far away and she will have a ton of fan support. In addition, that is a tough, grinding slalom hill and she is the best technician. Zuzu had a great day and Mitch Gagnon made it to the podium! The second in a row for Canada! The Swedes were 4-6-9-11-12 which was pretty impressive. And they sat in 1-2-3-4 for quite a while during the second run.  Shiffy led the Americans in 9^th and Resi was 22^nd. She was 11^th on the second run but dug herself too much of a hole on run 1.

Disappointments?  Very tentatively, I would say Lindsey in slalom. Only because I am a fan and I want her to pass the 1970 and 2000 point marks this season. And now with the DH in jeopardy at Schladming, I wish (and I am sure she wishes) she would have scored even a few points in the slalom in Are. And she was in good position to pull down 32-50 points or so. She can certainly still surpass those milestones. Sarka Zahrobska has dropped all the way to 25^th in the standings and almost slipped out of the Finals. And Sandrine Aubert slipped all the way to 33^rd this year in the standings and to 31 on the WCSL. And if she does not have the back-up results, watch out for her to lose her start position and really have to fight her way back to the top. Look back to that switch to Atomic and going private at the same time as a major issue in her career. There is nothing wrong with Atomic product at all, that is not the issue alone. But she did it as she was going to a private team. So her testing program was isolated to her only. Again, that is a topic for a whole article itself. Look for her to try to sign with a new company. But she has lost her leverage so who knows what will happen.

THE KING OF KRANJSKA

I told you so. Ted is the King of Kranjska. He is almost unbeatable there since his GS came up to the World Cup level, especially in March. The margin of 1.61 was impressive but you get 100 points for a win whether you won by .01 or 1.61. And that leaves him in a 92 point spread behind Hirscher. Do the math on that situation. Ted needs to win and Hirscher needs to get shut-out of the top 15 for him to overtake Hirscher for the GS globe. That is a long-shot, for sure. But Ted will be loose and Hirscher could be tight. Looking at the way the GS hill sets-up there, I think it is a strong opportunity for Ted. Especially on soft, rained on and potentially freeze and thaw or salted snow. The only real negative for Ted is that there is a long fall-away left to right corner entering the slalom start and he does struggle, relative to the rest of his game, on those types of hard, fall-away corners that are deep into the course. He grew up on a right to left hill in Park City and so are Kranjska, Yong Pyong, Are, Garmisch, Bormio and Alta Badia.  We will see.

In slalom, Andre Myhrer got the win and Hirscher disappeared. Marcel could have put himself within a near reach for the slalom title as Ivica struggled due to injury. He could have locked up the GS title and he could have put himself in the overall lead as well. He did none of those things and put all of those globes in jeopardy. Yes, sure he has the GS globe wrapped up if he performs at all. But what happens if Feuz puts pressure on him by knocking down some excellent DH and SG results? That could cause him to take undue risk in the GS too. It will be very interesting to watch. I am rooting for Feuz to have some great races in the speed events to see what can happen. Hirscher is feeling the pressure, as he is now planning on racing the Super-G in Schladming. And with Forest Carey (USA) setting the course, anything can happen. It is likely that Forest will set something with some tactical decision making as a premium rather than a technical, speed control type set. That does not help Hirscher get into the top 15.

CONGRATULATIONS! To Will Brandenburg for getting it done! And to the USA boys for 4 guys scoring points.  Congrats to all the podium guys. An interesting thing, as Markus Larsson made it into the top 5, there was a 12 year spread in birth years within the top 5. The last spot for the Finals was a tie between Manfred Moelgg and Axel Baeck. Both of whom were expected to do better this year but that is the way it goes.

DISAPPOINTMENTS?  Hirscher and Kostelic for sure.  It was also a disappointment to see Jitloff fade out of the top 25 by not executing in the last run. He was well within the top 25 and had a great start number on the second run. This is a mental game for him and he needs to mature and grow and figure this out, or the ski team will figure it out for him.

The Super G in Kvitfjell finally came to an end with Jansrud on the top step. The guy worked so hard this week to be on the right line and ski well. He was in the hunt every day. And when it comes down to it, this is what ski racing at the World Cup level is all about. The talent is deep so all you can do is put down your best runs and hope the hundredths fall on your side. For Jansrud, that finally happened today. His buddy and mentor Aksel Lund Svindal was second and Feuz was third. It was a win-win-win if you think about it. Jansrud finally got his win, at home. Svindal created a little cushion for the SG globe race with just one race left. And probably will bring some confidence with that podium into Schladming. And Feuz extended his overall lead. Feuz delivered in Norway and now the pressure shifts to Hirscher. And it really does switch to him. He has 4 tech races before the end of the season. But DNF rates are much higher in Slalom than in any other sport, and Hirscher is a streaky skier. And he has been on a great streak of late, when will that end?  But even beyond that, he will need to score two 3rds or better to take the lead. If he accomplishes that in Kranjska, which is not a gimme, then he will relinquish the lead again during the speed events in Schladming, putting the pressure back on him to deliver in the last 2 races of the year in front of the home crowd. This should be a lot of fun! Finals qualifying in SG is over and Andrew Weibrecht snuck in at 23^rd place.

The slalom in Ofterschwang was awesome! I cannot express the happiness it brought me when I woke this morning to see Erin Mielzynski on the top step and Resi right next to her. I knew that Maze had the lead and Shiffy was sitting in 3^rd after the first run. As I went back to sleep after the first run, I was wondering if Maze would put some pressure on Lindsey since she skied out. Then Maze returned the favor and then the unlikely duo out-skied Schild to the top of the podium. I don’t know Erin personally but I have seen her ski at many races over the last few years and she certainly has the talent. That is an incredible result. The first Canadian woman to win a World Cup tech event in 41 years! Betsy Clifford won in 1971 in Schruns, Austria. She also won earlier that season in Val d’Isere.

Today’s race was interesting. The wet and salted snow always is an issue. Salt usually “takes” in layers and it often gets skied off after a few racers. Then, if the side-slipping is regular and efficient, the ruts smooth out a bit. Then the ladies have a chance to perform as long as they use the top of the groove. It was pretty clear watching the race that those who were able to shape the turn and use the shape of the groove were able to move up and contend.

The thing I really liked about Resi is that her skiing has changed. Her hands are high and wide which helps with balance and engages the core. She has a follow-through wrist flick and/or pole plant to her blocking move and all of that has allowed her to shape the turn. It is good to see her ski well, not just fast. Balance and consistency at speed is what wins races. I would look for more from her at Are.

That result also mixed up the standings for slalom and will put a different group in the running for the Finals than we had a few days ago. Right now, with one slalom race left going into Finals; Resi moved up to 20^th, 17 points ahead of Nicole Hosp in 25^th. Nicole just moved up to that position with a good finish today. Maybe she is finally coming out of her funk? Don’t forget, she was once the best in the business. And while Resi still sits very close to the bubble, she has always skied well in Are. I have been there with her and the snow is to her liking and the slalom hill should be too. She always shows a lot of speed there, she just needs to use her brain a bit on some of the terrain. Erin moved all the way up to 13^th in the standings and 14^th on the WCSL which will start getting her better numbers. She could get on a roll. And moving the other way is Sarka Zahrobska. She has been moving backwards for 2 years but this year is really bad. She has dropped to 26^th and is only 2 points out of 25^th. She could edge back into the Finals with a decent result in Are but she is trending the other way.  Anna Goodman has also snuck up to within 16 points of getting to the Finals. I think she will need a top ten at least to move that far up. But it does look like she will move into the top 30 for Are, which really helps her start number by 10, at least.

Schild gently shut the door on the slalom globe, for the 4^th time in her career.

MEN

Going into tomorrow, Feuz has the overall lead by 55 points over Hirscher. Kostelic sits in 3^rd but he’s done, for all intents and purposes. Svindal is a long way back in 4^th and really has not set the world on fire in any discipline this season. Obviously, to score more than 900 points, he has been very good. But look up his history; he really has never gotten it together in 1 discipline, at the level he expects from himself. The boys have 3 speed discipline races left, and 4 tech races. For argument sake, let’s say Feuz wins and has a 155 point lead going into Kranjska. More or less, as he could score in GS, he is maxed at 1490 points. Hirscher’s max would then be 1535. Now, I think Ted wins the Kranjska GS and I think that Hirscher is due for a DNF in one of the last 4 tech races. His track record is that he is streaky. And streak hitters don’t like long lay-offs. They have been off since the race in Bansko and Kranjska is not until the 10^th. Bansko ended on the 19^th of February. So there you have it, based on the one thing I just mentioned, I now predict that Beat Feuz will win the Overall globe. The DH globe will go down to the wire too. And with no one having been on the Planai track for DH of late, I am going with Kroell to win the globe. The SG globe will likely be decided in Schladming as well, but if Feuz can put down a win tomorrow in Kvitfjell, it will put him in a serious position to take that globe along with his overall.

With all of this being said, I find it entirely engrossing and entertaining that the two main players in the overall globe race will not really race against each other the rest of the season. Yes, Feuz could enter the GS races in Kranjska and in Schladming and could score a few points. But as I have told many people many times when they ask me if I raced against Tiger Shaw or Doug Lewis when I was a junior. I say, “I was in a lot of the same races, but I wouldn’t say I raced against them.”

I also wanted to welcome back Robbie Dixon, who made his way back to the World Cup after being benched for a while with a concussion. He was 19^th.

WOMEN

Lindsey is the queen of our universe. There is little or no doubt about that. Right now, she has 1708 points and is 80 points short of her personal best, 1788 in 2009. Janica Kostelic has the women’s record for points with 1970 in 2006. Both of those bests are in trouble. Lins is clearly going to score more than 1800 points and I think the Hermann Maier record of 2000 points in 2000 is in jeopardy too. Starting with tomorrow, with 7 races left, she just needs to average 42 points per race to sneak past the 2000 point plateau. But to me, it seems like these are the kinds of things that motivate her. She is trying to make her mark forever. I think she wants the most wins ever, the most points ever, the best season ever. And I think she is about to realize that last one. The best season ever.

KVITFJELL

As I sit here and watch the DH race in Norway, it occurs to me that I have not really said much this season about Ben Thomsen. The young Canadian burst on the scene last year getting plucked out of the Lake Louise Nor Am put on the big tour. He responded with excellent results and scoring points almost immediately. Then this year, with expectations rising, he was struggling. He struggled with ski selection and just with his overall skiing. But then something happened, and he started knocking down awesome results, including a 2^nd place in Sochi. It started in Chamonix with an 11^th and a 5^th. So what happened? Did he suddenly figure it out? Did he find a pair of skis? I would say yes to finding a pair of skis. But what really happened is that he got picked up by Head’s Chris Krause. He is a long-time service man with background at GMVS and the supply side of the equipment world as well. But really, his claim to fame is that he has worked for Head for a while now and has been tuning for Cuche for years. Now, with Cuche moving on in his life, he needed a new guy, and it seems Benny Thomsen is that guy. Those types of partnerships have been of legend on the World Cup since its inception and those special relationships don’t come around very often. Work ethic, meticulous attention to detail, knowledge of everything from grinds to construction to wax, a good enough understanding of technique and tactics as they discuss everything in the ski room, and of course, trust. It is why I always get nervous when someone successful switches ski companies, because there is no guarantee they will find another service guy they can trust.  I simply cannot go into it in enough depth to describe the relationship between a service-man and an athlete that will do it justice. Just suffice it to say that it is the most important relationship in world class skiing.

OFTERSCHWANG

The GS races ended yesterday with a rare double-win by VIki Rebensburg. That was a great performance. I was also tremendously impressed with Lindsey’s podium finish. I also wanted to give a quick congrats to Resi Stiegler for getting a second run in GS! The Jackson Hole girl finished 22^nd, her first time in the second run of a World Cup GS since Panorama in November, 2007!

Tomorrow you have the slalom race on some pretty questionable snow. Maybe it will freeze a little but they are likely going to be on treated snow again.

Either way, Schild will win. There is little or no doubt in my mind. She owns slalom and drew number 3 for tomorrow. But Kirchgasser drew the number 1 bib and I think she ends up in second. You can count on the three top German girls to be in the hunt too. The crowds have been very pro-Rebensburg in GS and I think you will see them support Riesch, Geiger and the Duerrs. Fanny Chmelar is also a fan favorite in Germany but she has been slumping pretty badly this season. Maze drew 6 and that has not been good so far but she has proven to be the second best slalom skier over and over this season.

AMERCIANS

Lindsey goes 13 and has a realistic chance at the podium. She seems to have found her tech skiing of late and she is very strong in the late season with her conditioning level. She manages herself very well through the season and she is very diligent with her recovery work. I think she finishes in the middle of the top ten, which will do fine in her quest to crack 2000 points.  Shiffy goes 18 after a disappointing World Junior showing. For some reason, our federation puts a lot of stock in the outcome of the Marc Hodler Trophy which is awarded to the top team at World Juniors. And honestly, it’s a bunch of crap. Great results there are great and I always support trying to win. But many of our greatest skiers were not great juniors. Ted did not win at World Juniors, especially not in GS. Adam Cole was the World Junior DH Champion and where is he now? It is one week toward the end of another long season, things might work in your favor or they might not. It is one race series, not the end of the world. Anyway, Mikaela will settle down and get herself another top 10, I am sure of it. Resi starts 35 and I think that she will bring a lot of confidence coming off her finest GS finish in 5 years. Points will happen for her too. Julia starts 31 which is nice but I am not holding my breath on her slalom these days.

CANADIANS

Gagnon starts 12^th and Mitch has been pretty good lately, coming off an 8^th in Soldeu and some good Europa Cup finishes as well. And with another good GS in her pocket from yesterday, I think she will knock down another top 10. Erin Mielzynski starts 24 and has a couple of top 20s in the last 2 slaloms. I am sure she will hang in the top 30 and probably get herself another top 20. Anna Goodman starts 40^th. She started the season with a great result in Aspen and after Courchevel I thought she was going to charge into the top 30. But it has not transpired and I hope she snaps out of it tomorrow. Good luck to Anna, she needs a big finish here and in Are to get into the Finals. The Canadians also start Madison Irwin and Brittany Phelan in the 40s. This is Phelan’s first World Cup start since March last year in Spindleruv Mlyn, CZE. She has never scored in a World Cup and the conditions will work against her tomorrow.

DARK HORSES

I always like Barthet in softer snow. She just seems to be more comfortable than a lot of girls when the going gets tough. I don’t have the data to back that up, it just seems that way to me. Also, watch for Carmen Thalmann to make another excellent run at the top 10. She has some great results this year and she also has been skiing well at the Europa Cup. I expect that brings some confidence. With an Italian course setter, I am going to watch Irene Curtoni to continue her excellent weekend.

PODIUM: SCHILD, KIRCHGASSER, MAZE

This is not some fluke-win. I have watched Ryan come up through the junior ranks and show what he’s got at every stop along the way. The truth is he is a great skier who has a superb understanding of the sport. He is likely the best Super G skier at World Juniors as well. His inspection skills are fantastic, his ability to anticipate what will happen and what he CAN do it realistic. He is great on terrain, large and small. The only problem is that this might go to his head? Not likely. He is Vermont, humble in glory and strong in adverse times.

I had the pleasure of watching Ryan compete at the Nor Am Speed Events on Aspen Mountain last month. It is a big hill with a lot of terrain. The Super G on this hill asks the skier to make a strategy for both speed and survival. And as I have always said, Super G requires a special inspection talent. The skier needs to be realistic in evaluating their own abilities and execute a race run with no training run with which to experiment and adjust. It is inspect and race. No second run to make amends. Anyway, watching RCS go through his process that week was revealing. He knows what he is doing. The only thing that stands in his way is race-day execution. I would be very surprised if he did not pull down a second medal in SG. CONGRATULATIONS!

Also, I would like to offer a nice pat on the back for Bryce Bennett as well. He was 10^th and there is nothing wrong with that!

OFTERSCHWANG

Well, Viki made me look good with the win and I would not be surprised if she duplicates that. Irene Curtoni, Nadia Fanchini and Marion Bertrand were big surprises, but other than that, it was a pretty predictable race. I thought both Lindsey and Julia were fine and I imagine that they will figure out the hill a little more. I look forward to them doing a bit better. Viki took the lead by a healthy margin in the GS race and it looks like it has basically turned into a two person race. There are still 3 GS races left and tomorrow will go a long way toward deciding the globe. The conditions did play a role and after a long, hot day today it will be even tougher tomorrow with similar temperatures.

The start number draw was just posted and Fenninger got the hole-shot. Then come Goergl, Worley, Brignone and Rebensburg. Lindsey is 6 and Maze 7. Today, the top 3 starters had the best 3 times on the first run and had a pretty good lead. And I do think that could happen again tomorrow except Fenninger looked out of sorts a bit. Another thing that happens in those warmer conditions is that the course often goes through a transition period in the shape and smoothness of the rut. The girls who get that early pick really try to risk and put trenches in the snow. And usually the groove they set is late. Then the next group, in this case 4-9 or so, has to deal with that track. Then, once the rut cleans up a little with some side-slipping and skiing, it becomes less sharp and more conducive to skiing fast. Look for that to happen again tomorrow.

Looking at the numbers, Brignone is in an interesting spot. The times dropped off at 4 today. But she has her coach setting on run 1. Then Viki goes, with the home crowd and is fundamentally solid. I don’t see that big a drop-off with her, especially looking at her second run today with a lead and going number 30. Moving on, you see Jessica Lindell-Vikarby drawing the best possible for her. And given her progression in GS this season, I would really consider her for a podium tomorrow.

Some other notes: First, Viki was very impressed with the home crowd and how much support she had. I think that could buoy her again and I think she ends up with a double-win at home. Also watch to see if Resi can get herself a second run. She was a few tenths off making it but it might give her a little more motivation.

Podium: I am going to stick with Viki for another win, then Brignone and Worley.  And if you want to take a bit of a risk on a podium put Lindell-Vikarby in there. I think our two GS girls will end up in similar positions, late in the top 10.

KVIFJELL

Feuz and Kroell tied for the win today in very close racing. Jansrud, Cuche and Svindal were very close behind. It has made for a very tight SG globe race down the stretch with one more SG in Norway on Sunday and one at Finals. Svindal still leads in a very close race with Cuche and Feuz. Even Kroell and Hudec are not totally out of it. I was more than a little unhappy with Reichelt’s performance in 16^th and more than a second out.  But look for him to bounce back on Sunday. The SG globe race will go right down to the wire, and as a fan of the sport, I cannot ask for anything more.

The other thing I think this does is boost confidence at home for Jansrud and Svindal. Jansrud was dominant in training but that puts pressure on the training leader too. I think he will still perform with this boost in SG but I think he will falter in the DH. I will stick with my thoughts from yesterday on the DH.

Kvitfjell once again proved that it is a hill where specific guys out-perform their profiles. Puchner again did very well and Mathias Mayer did much better than his history on tour.

The Kvitfjell schedule is now SG/DH/SG. Tomorrow is the SG replacement for Garmisch. The history on this hill is pretty checkered just like the downhill. You tend to get some pretty interesting results every year. Last year was the Feuz breakthrough in downhill that has carried over to this season. Cuche has won downhill and SG. Manny Osborne has won, as has Klaus Kroell.

But let’s focus on SG for tomorrow. Cuche won last season with Kroell and Puchner rounding out the podium. Reichelt was 4^th. In the previous 2 seasons, Erik Guay won in 2010 and Janka the year before. Reichelt was 2^nd and Svindal 3^rd. We also saw Walter Girardi finish 2^nd here in 2009.

Anyway, looking at the way things have gone, it makes you wonder who will be the big surprise this year. The Norway race causes problems in all sorts of ways. The travel situation up to Oslo and beyond is logistically tough. The boys and most staff fly from central Europe to Oslo and then usually catch chartered bus for the long drive up to Kvitfjell. In the meantime, many teams have some staff drive cargo vans up through Germany, across the ferry and then continue their massive drive up to Kvitfjell, usually working over those staff members for the rest of the year. Because then they have to turn around and drive back to Austria for the Finals. The Norway boys are in their own beds a little and on the home snow. To me, it gives Svindal and Jansrud an excellent advantage. Especially given the way Jansrud has skied so far in DH training. With the first SG, I would be very inclined to pick Svindal for the win, but with the way Reichelt has been skiing GS and his excellent history on this hill of late, I think I have to go that way.

In general, the Canadians have done well in Norway and the American boys have struggled. You also have Andy Evers (AUT) setting the make-up race which will definitely favor the Austrian boys. That leads me to Reichelt for the win tomorrow.  Cuche is looking to end his career on a high note and has proven himself on this hill with his win last year.

My podium: Reichelt, Svindal and Cuche

The second SG has Patrice Morisod setting. Patrice is a long time SG coach on tour and is working for France after a long time with the Swiss. I think that will shift some momentum toward both the Swiss and French for SG 2.

2^nd podium: Cuche, Guay, Reichelt with Hudec close behind.

DOWNHILL

The DH training has been interesting so far, with Jansrud dominating the two runs. I normally do not put a lot of stock in training run results but when you put together the home hill and snow and the way his splits have lined up this week, you have to believe that Jansrud is in the hunt for a DH win. I also have to believe in Svindal for the same reasons. Cuche has been very good this week and again, his splits are impressive as he seems to be shutting it down at the bottom. Erik Guay was second last year and seems confident from what he has posted lately about training. Some dark horses to look for are definitely Andrej Sporn, Romed Baumann and Hans Olsson. Olsson has been 4^th twice in the last 3 years. Feuz seems to be off his game so far this week but he is improving and he was on the podium twice last year including his breakthrough win. If you put too much stock in the training runs this week, I think you would be making a mistake when it comes to Feuz. He is a competitor and being in the hunt for a globe always helps find some motivation and strength as the season creeps toward its close.

My podium: Cuche, Jansrud, Feuz

OFTERSCHWANG

Aside from a brief steep pitch near the bottom, the trail is very moderate most of the way. It has some nice bends in the trail as it winds itself down through the woods. But overall, it is not difficult. The girls just need to be able to know the terrain and the set.  

To Tina Maze’s advantage, her coach is setting the first run and Austria sets the second. I still think that Rebensburg has to be the favorite, racing in the home country. And I am sure Christian Schwaiger, the German coach, has had them on the hill as much as possible through the season to be ready for this one. The second SG will give the course setting advantage to the Italians on the first run. Roland Pfeifer, the American Head Tech Coach, sets the second run. And while you would think that would give the USA a good advantage, our best GS skiers are Lindsey and Julia and I am not sure how many sets they have seen by Roland this year as they are 4 discipline skiers. I will never count out Tessa Worley in any GS but I have this feeling that this is not going to be her hill this week.

Back to the first GS. Maze has the course set advantage and the first start position. She could get away a bit and she is good on these types of hills. Rebensburg drew number 2 and she is at home and she is the fastest GS skier in the world. Add to it that it seems to be a world-wide consensus that the Nordica GS set up has been working extremely well all season long, and she will be tough to beat. Goergl is 3^rd and has an Austrian set on the second run; Lindsey goes 4, which is a great number for her. Then Brignone, Worley and Fenninger; if the snow is not good (sunny and above freezing through the weekend) then these numbers will not help. They are looking at possibly +9C temperatures tomorrow. With all of this in mind, and stubbornly sticking with Rebensburg, I think you will see Maze in the hunt with Goergl in the mix as well. And like I said, I never count Worley out.

AMERICANS

Lindsey has a great number and she has the size to make it happen with the conditions and hill. Julia drew 10 for tomorrow with is great for the second draw. And she is very good in adverse snow conditions. The warm, wet conditions should remind her of spring in Squaw. Resi and Kiley start in the 40s and I think the conditions will be too much to expect a second run out of them unless there is a good amount of attrition.

CANADIANS

Gagnon and Prefontaine have a struggle from the 20s tomorrow. But I would not be surprised to see a start number/finish order type of first run, which would put them both in the afternoon festivities. Madison Irwin starts in the 50s and I have the same opinion of her chances as I do for the two American girls who start late.

My podium:

GS1: Rebensburg, Maze, Goergl. Look for Lindsey to compete for a podium as well as Worley and Brignone.

GS 2: I think, depending on start number, you might see something out of Brignone and also Karbon and Moelgg. I really need to see start numbers for the second race with the forecast as it is.

SLALOM

The weather looks to cool a little for Sunday but it still looks like the temperatures should be above freezing during the day. Maybe they will get lucky and get some freeze and thaw. I am going to have to wait on any kind of pre-race thoughts on the slalom. It is still pretty far-off and I can’t even begin to think about what might happen. Just be sure that Schild will win.

If you want full top-ten predictions, check out www.fantasyskiracer.com

I honestly wish it was better racing this weekend. But you have to take a reality check this time of year and look at the conditions and take a step back. The snow in Bansko was hard, but it had that funky wind-blown, punchy, inconsistent look to it. The snow in Crans Montana was wet and spring-like. Corn outside the track and maybe treated inside the track. But either way it was rough.

I already went over the girls SG in Bansko, and since that was the only thing that happened, I think that’s enough. I do want to reiterate how tough Lindsey was over the weekend. It is obvious that she wants all the crystal she can get her hands on and she willed herself to that win on Sunday. Tina Weirather deserved to win on most days, but Lins would not be denied. She gave it away many times during the run and still would not be beaten.

On the guys’ side, I have to say I was pretty disappointed after the Saturday SG. That race was pretty solid and good skiing took the day. The second day was clearly a race of strategy, tactics, experience and being ok where those decisions took the day. Congratulations to Benni Raich for his first-ever World Cup SG win! And he earned it through decision making and experience. Look at the podium, Theaux is the youngest at 27 years old and a lot of World Cup experience. And as I watched people just make bad decisions on bad snow in a questionable course-set, I wonder why the plan was not adjusted for a higher and cleaner line, letting the chips fall where they may. Because it was clear that any impatience with line and timing was devastating. The turn-shape in the middle flat was brutal and way too round and in very unforgiving spots with regard to the terrain. It was one of those course sets where you just felt like you were watching a painful product with no flow and no rhythm. Maybe watching live it was better? But it was an awful TV product.

Before some specific blog readers go nuts on me about Benni, I am not disrespecting him. He deserved the win. He recognized the issues and minimized the risk. He made it look easy, which is the way to go about a set like that in snow that will not support the turn-shape. Congrats Benni!

The GS was also a tough event. The snow was very difficult and I really thought, and continue to think, that Ted is best in that kind of snow. So I wonder if he has his set-up ready for it? Was it ready on this day? Is he having other problems with health, maybe? There are a lot of issues and I wonder, out loud, why he was not on the ball in conditions he usually dominates.  While I say that, flat hills with soft snow have not always been great for him. Whistler was not great for him. Bormio was for him one day a few years back when he won his first GS globe.

I have to say, Blardone was a surprise in that snow and on a flat hill. He showed a new, more patient and more mature Max Blardone. He always could bring the heat and that was always his strength and weakness rolled into one. It is entirely possible he has found the touch he needs in a wider variety of conditions and slopes. I always point back to his inconsistency at Bormio in particular. Which every time we have been there for GS has been warm, with soft, wet snow. He seems to have overcome some of that inconsistency.

Anyway, I just thought it was interesting enough to write something after watching the GS in Crans Montana.  More thoughts later this week!  Will get a blog out and some predictions on www.fantasyskiracer.com for Ofterschwang and Kvitfjell.

Bansko and Crans Montana Recap

The Bansko DH was ruined by wind and it looks like it will not be rescheduled. Which really is a shame from many angles. Even though the globe is wrapped up and already belongs to Lindsey, there could have been a lot of movement that would have an impact on start number selection at Finals and next season. Stacey Cook was doing well in training and could have made a move toward the podium and continued her surge into the top ten and an improved number selection. And it surely had an impact on the Finals qualification for the rest of our USA DH ladies with everyone on the bubble got a free pass.

The women got a SG race to happen in Bansko with yet another win for Lindsey Vonn. She wants her SG globe. After watching the race, it seemed like Lins just willed herself to the win. She skied very well in sections but a mistake in the middle put her behind. But then she started straightening out the line and tucking more than everyone. To me, it was a battle of wills, and her will won. Tina Weirather continued her breakout season with yet another podium and Daniela Merighetti put herself on the podium in SG for the first time in her long World Cup career. Maze was just off the steps and Riesch was down the list in sixth. So, my little wish, with Mancuso winning and Fenninger second with Vonn in third did not happen. I really was just hoping that would happen so we could have a fun shootout for the globe in Schladming. Now we have only the Finals SG left, with Lindsey in the lead by 94 points over Anna Fenninger, it really is a done deal. Fenninger needs Lins to get shut out and Anna will need to win. It could happen, but I doubt that it will. Congratulations to Lindsey, who is obviously the best and likely the best all-around female ski racer in history. She has a way to go to take the lead in wins for a career, but I would not put that past her either. And we are in an era of much greater depth of talent than when those records were set.

For the SG finals, only Leanne Smith will join Lindsey and Jules for the USA. And while that is a little disappointing, the huge DH team headed that way more than makes up for it.

CRANS MONTANA

The men’s Super G races were more than interesting with Cuche winning and putting up another podium in the 2 days, closing the SG globe race down to 7 points. But the men have 2 more Super G races in Kvitfjell before the finals but anything can happen. And truly more startling has been the late-season surge by Jan Hudec. I am happy for him and he has always been a competitor. But his career has been marred by injury and going into this season he was really an afterthought. Now he is a household name, in ski racing households, anyway. He is coming on strong and sits in 3rd in the SG standings just 78 points behind with 3 more races for the globe. I would not count him out of the race yet. Svindal is not on top of his game as he managed only two 9th place finishes this week. On the other side of that coin, Svindal heads home to Norway and the Scandinavians are always strong on the home snow.

The GS race took on an interesting feel. I really thought Ted would win that one. While he was in a decent place position after run 1, he was really fighting for a podium and not a win. He was well over a second behind Hirscher and Blardone and a comeback from that point just does not happen these days without a ton of help from the leaders. Anyway, 3rd place would have helped Ted a lot in the chase for another GS globe but instead he found himself in ninth after a struggling 2nd run. 

The globe race has shifted decidedly in Hirscher’s favor in GS. He has a huge 132 point lead and Ted’s back is against the wall. Ted is the King of Kranjska but now he needs a win and Hirscher needs to drop to 3rd in that one just for Ted to have a mathematical chance going into Schladming. The only other thing besides Kranjska that Ted has going for him is that Hirscher’s head will be filled will all sorts of other thoughts. Like winning the overall and the slalom titles as well. Hirscher does have a history of DNFs in tough situations from time to time and to let the mental game get the best of him.  A win from Ted and a DNF from Marcel will put us in a 32 point differential and a shootout for the win in Schladming. It could be fun down the stretch, depending on what happens in Kranjska. The tech boys also have a long break before the Kranjska race and just about anything can happen. There will be some training and some ski testing, no doubt. Maybe even a few days off? 

IMPRESSIONS

First, Blardone has reinstated himself as a force in GS this year. Just when many of us thought he would begin his fade into retirement. Maybe it was the equipment change, and maybe he put in more work? But he is back and while he will not win the GS globe this year, he is in the hunt and has a positive history at Kranjska Gora. 

JB Grange reemerged with a top 5 finish from the 30th start position. He has been struggling with his GS all year but has put himself pretty solidly into the top 25 to put himself in good position to make Finals.

A welcome back to Didier Defago as well. He seems to finally have come back from his surgery and knocked down a top 5. Again, he solidified his place in the list of guys who will race GS in Schladming.

Marcel Mathis, the young Austrian, has emerged as a threat in GS and after winning some Europa Cup GS as well, I have to think he is a force to be watched in the future. He also is solidly in for the Finals.

It was also nice to see Marc Berthod knock down a competitive run with a fast second in Crans Montana. He has struggled over the past few years with some back problems and possibly with some confidence issues. But a strong run like he had in the afternoon at Crans Montana could bolster some hope in Kranjska and while he is very far from qualifying for the Finals, he has pulled off miracles like this before. He will be an interesting watch in Kranjska.

Our USA boys are in a bit of a situation in Kranjska. Tommy Ford had himself a good finish in 19th place and is getting close to qualifying for Finals while Tim Jitloff moved back a little in the standings to 24th after a 22nd place finish. Ford sits in 28th in the standings with one race to go. He is 10 points out of qualifying and can definitely get it done, but he will probably need to score pretty deep in the points to pass the few ahead of him. Jitloff sits in 24th in the standings and is just 3 points ahead of Truls Ove Karlsen and 6 ahead of Myhrer. The biggest thing for Jit is to go race and not get caught up in qualifying. He can throw down a top 10 and that would put it all to rest. A trip to the Finals would be good for him and his career.