Winter Olympics Thread...aka 2010-2011 FIS thread

[HowardRoark]

Nice.....

I'm buying a new pair of all mountain/powder boards this fall....what have you been skiing on Roark?

Most of my skiing mental energy has been to my sons the past few years. My seven year old is in the same club that produced Lindsey Vonn. The main guy there is an old Austrian that is legendary in ski racing circles worldwide. It’s pretty interesting.

He had his first ever “dry land” training this past week. He came back smiling and wanting more…..so that is a positive.

[HowardRoark]

I skied A-Basin this past Memorial Day......we'll see who opens first:

http://sports.espn.go.com/action/freeskiing/news/story?id=5627055&as

BTW Freak....I have a couple pairs of Atomics (getting old) Fat and GS. Years seem to go by before I switch out equipment; my boots are nearly 20 years old, but i don't know the difference. They do smell pretty bad during Spring skiing though.

As recently as 2002, I still had some Kastle SpeedMachines. No shape at all, about a half foot taller than me, but thy could fly.

[Scott Campbell]

I skied A-Basin this past Memorial Day......we'll see who opens first:

http://sports.espn.go.com/action/freeskiing/news/story?id=5627055&as

BTW Freak....I have a couple pairs of Atomics (getting old) Fat and GS. Years seem to go by before I switch out equipment; my boots are nearly 20 years old, but i don't know the difference. They do smell pretty bad during Spring skiing though.

As recently as 2002, I still had some Kastle SpeedMachines. No shape at all, about a half foot taller than me, but thy could fly.

I'd be really careful with ski old boots. When they go, they'll disintegrate. I've seen them practically blow up. Hopefully not at a bad time.

[HowardRoark]

I skied A-Basin this past Memorial Day......we'll see who opens first:

http://sports.espn.go.com/action/freeskiing/news/story?id=5627055&as

BTW Freak....I have a couple pairs of Atomics (getting old) Fat and GS. Years seem to go by before I switch out equipment; my boots are nearly 20 years old, but i don't know the difference. They do smell pretty bad during Spring skiing though.

As recently as 2002, I still had some Kastle SpeedMachines. No shape at all, about a half foot taller than me, but thy could fly.

I'd be really careful with ski old boots. When they go, they'll disintegrate. I've seen them practically blow up. Hopefully not at a bad time.

I remember sitting outside having lunch up in Alta a few years ago, and some guy told me that the orange resin in my boots was prone to making the boot shatter at the most inopportune times.

Maybe it’s time for a change.

They are some version of this:

[Freak Out]

I have some very old ski gear.....some Rossignol 223s and some Kastle 215s that I keep around just for the racing memories... I've been skiing some loaner Volkl GS boards I've been using but they blow for the deep stuff. I go through boots like nothing...

I'm going to demo some of these ASAP.

http://www.rossignol.com/US/US/ski-men-skis-freeski.html

Then I'll try the K2s.

[HowardRoark]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcHVxmorXRQ

[Freak Out]

Flurries today.

[HowardRoark]

Bode Miller wants to feed off Olympic success

By ANDREW DAMPF, AP Sports Writer 2 hours, 23 minutes ago

Fresh off a successful Olympics, Bode Miller is back for another World Cup season and unlike a year ago he has a full summer of training behind him.

He’s even lost some weight.

“Bode’s feeling healthy and he’s been training and conditioning much more than he did last year,” U.S. men’s head coach Sasha Rearick said last week after a 10-day training block almost exclusively with Miller on Swiss and Austrian glaciers. “He’s in pretty good shape.”

Last year, Miller took the entire summer off while he considered retirement, then rejoined the U.S. Ski Team after racing independently for two seasons. Peaking in midseason, he won gold, silver and bronze medals at the Vancouver Games in super-combi, super-G and downhill.

The 2010-11 season opens this weekend with men’s and women’s giant slaloms on the Rettenbach glacier in Soelden, Austria.

Miller won the overall World Cup in 2004-05 and 2007-08 but has won just one race on the circuit the past two seasons—a super-combi in Wengen, Switzerland, in January, that geared him up for his Olympic performance.

“Last year was definitely just the Olympics,” Rearick said. “This season he wants to be out there and competitive every day.”

He has just turned 33 and many would suggest that Miller concentrate solely on speed events—the downhill and super-G. That’s not a view Miller shares.

“He’s training all events and plans on racing slalom, GS, super-G and downhill,” Rearick said.

While Miller did skip the U.S. team’s second summer camp in New Zealand, he came into Europe early to make up for lost time. That’s given him an opportunity to work out plans for his personal motor home.

When Miller left the U.S. team several seasons ago the main reason was that the squad saw his motor home as a source of division. Now it’s come to the point that the team is going to help him with logistical arrangements at races.

“I fully support him doing that,” Rearick said. “A guy his age being on the road that long, having a consistent place to sleep and call home while you’re on the road I think is a good thing.”

Taking a cue from Miller, the team has a larger mobile kitchen to travel the circuit this season, and will also drive a rolling gym from one European race to another.

While Miller enters the season sharply focused, teammate Ted Ligety could face more challenges after a complete change of equipment, having joined Miller with Head skis and boots.

Ligety has a new ski man and will also have to get accustomed to a new tech coach, with Mike Day replacing Rudi Soulard.

“It’s a challenge but he’s up for it. He’s keeping things very positive,” Rearick said. “When you switch everything it takes a while to dial everything in.”

Still not a giant slalom specialist, surprise Olympic super-G bronze medalist Andrew Weibrecht won’t open his season until the circuit comes to North America with races in Lake Louise, Alberta, and Beaver Creek, Colo., in November and early December.

On the women’s side, Olympic downhill champion Lindsey Vonn wants to break her American single-season record of 11 World Cup wins set last year and take aim at the all-time record of 14 victories set by Swiss great Vreni Schneider in 1988-89.

That would also boost Vonn into the top five on the career win list, where she currently sits tied for sixth with Hanni Wenzel with 33 wins each.

“She’s definitely moving up that list, but something like that you can’t plan,” said new U.S. women’s head coach Alex Hoedlmoser. “You just go out and try to go race by race.”

Julia Mancuso, Vonn’s teammate and longtime rival, put two disappointing seasons behind her with two silvers in Vancouver. She also made an equipment change, keeping her Lange boots but switching from Rossignol to Voelkl skis.

Despite the change, Hoedlmoser believes Mancuso can be a threat for the overall title for the first time since 2007-08.

“Her condition is really solid, she’s been training a lot, and she’s happy,” said Hoedlmoser, an Austrian who has been on the U.S. team’s staff since 1998. “I really think that she can be strong in a lot of events again.”

Having already launched her own lingerie line, Mancuso recently posed nude in ESPN The Magazine’s Body Issue.

“I have always been an advocate to girls and women to have a positive body image,” Mancuso wrote in her online blog. “It’s your choice how much time you spend working out, and how motivated you want to be at getting the body you want. I have nothing to hide! and now the pictures to prove it.

“I won’t lie and say I didn’t blush when I picked up the copy and saw that my photo was a TWO PAGE SPREAD!!! WHAT!” Mancuso added. “It was quite a surprise, and it does feel like I suddenly got to the top of my run and found out I forgot my clothes.”

[Joemailman]

Is Bode thinking of another Olympics? He'd be 36. Any idea who is the oldest guy to medal in downhill events at the Olympics?

[HowardRoark]

Ski racing's "White Circus" kicks off in Soelden
Vonn 'not satisfied' with where she's at, Riesch looking to top her pal

By Brian Pinelli, Special to Universal Sports | Posted: Oct 22, 4:50p ET | Updated: Oct 22, 5:08p ET

Related to this article

It's time again to wax the skis, click into the bindings and fearlessly hurl down steep, icy and unforgiving pistes in a battle against inertia.

We're in the charming town of Soelden - tucked away in the Otztal Valley about 50 miles west of Innsbruck and playing host to this weekend's FIS World Cup Alpine season opener. Journeying to this picturesque village in the Austrian Tyrol has become a rite of passage for the ski racing world and the Rettenbach Glacier, perched high above Soelden, has been the arena for the races 12 times since 1993.

It's Good to be the Queen

Having recently celebrated her 26th birthday, Lindsey Vonn has already accomplished just about everything there is to possibly accomplish on the mountain, changing perception and awareness of the traditionally European sport in the U.S.

Her 33-career World Cup wins is tied for sixth all-time and another overall World Cup title would move her alone into second place. The Vail, Colorado resident is currently tied with Croatia's Janica Kostelic, Switzerland's Vreni Schneider and Austria's Petra Kronberger, each boasting three (Austria's Anne-Marie Proell has six).

"I'm really proud of everything I've done in my career, but I want to continue to ski fast and defend all of my titles," said Vonn during an interview at Soelden's Giggi Tenne après-ski bar. "I'm not satisfied with where I'm at. I want to try to improve every season and that's what gets me out of bed in the morning."

And if that isn't enough to terrify her opponents, Lindsey revealed some other significant information that will surely brighten her game this season.

"I got Lasik eye surgery in the offseason and I think that will really help," she said. "It was a little bit blurry last year so I'm excited to see better."

Now that's both humorous and intimidating at the same time.

Time for Change?
In the tight-knit ski racing community Lindsey and Germany's Maria Riesch are like "Frick and Frack", often hanging out together both on-and-off the mountain and even sharing a holiday on the beaches of Mexico.

Although Riesch captured double gold to Vonn's one at the Canada Olympics, the German has finished second over the past two years - and third the year previous - to her American friend in the overall standings.

Could this finally be the season that Maria gets the job done?

"It's hard to plan. You can't say what the key for success in the overall is," said Riesch. "I tried to train all disciplines in the offseason, because my GS [last season] was missing and I lost lots of points and I tried to better prepare in the speed disciplines also."

"I hate talking about the overall [title] in October because it's so far away."

Interestingly, Vonn seemed more than happy to discuss the overall title. Draw your own conclusion.

[HowardRoark]

http://www.fisalpine.com/leader-board.html?discipline=ALL&count=30

[HowardRoark]

Men's GS canceled, next stop Levi on November 12th-14th.

http://www.skisport.fi/worldcuplevi/en/

[HowardRoark]

Nice article

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/sports/skiing/07skier.html?_r=1

[Joemailman]

I'm sometimes suspicious of the motives of people who wrap themselves in the flag, but when Lindsey Vonn does it, I'm pretty much okay with it.

[HowardRoark]

Santa Claus may still be hibernating during the World Cup races in Levi, Finland, this weekend, but some of his reindeer will be close by.

Sitting 130 km north of the Arctic Circle, Levi became a stop on the World Cup for the first time in 2004 and has been a regular early season venue for men and women since 2006.

Last year’s men’s race saw a big win for Austrian Reinfried Herbst with Croatia’s Ivica Kostelic and France’s Jean-Baptiste Grange (who won at Levi in 2008) following closely in second and third while reigning world slalom champion Maria Riesch won the 2009 women’s race at Levi (becoming the venue's only two-time winner) with best friend Lindsey Vonn on her heels and Finland’s star (and 2008 Levi champ) Tanja Poutiainen rounding out the podium.

According to Hans Pieren, FIS Race Director for the men's technical events, the conditions at Levi are excellent.

"It has been very cold at Levi with temperatures below -15C in the last several days and the course is in great shape," he said. "The forecast for the weekend calls for a bit warmer weather relatively speaking, above -10C, and possibly even some snowfall."

The women kick off the weekend’s races with the first run at 11 a.m. local time on Saturday, as the men are scheduled for first run at 11 a.m. on Sunday.

After the Levi weekend, both the ladies' and men's tours will head to North America. The ladies will first head to Aspen (USA) for a technical weekend while the men will launch the speed season as is traditional in Lake Louise (CAN) with a downhill and a super-G.