WCF - ARE, SE 3/14 - 3/18 - Women

[Dwight]

The Alpine finals are coming up shortly as they have confirmed a positive snow control for the event.

https://www.eurosport.com/alpine-skiing/are/2017-2018/calendar-result.shtml
http://www.fis-ski.com/alpine-skiing/events-and-places/calendar/

So how many points can be won/made to move up in the top spots?

Overall

1 Mikaela Shiffrin
United States 1 573
2 Wendy Holdener
Switzerland 970
3 Viktoria Rebensburg
Germany 847
4 Ragnhild Mowinckel
Norway 815


Giant Slalom
1 Viktoria Rebensburg
Germany 582
2 Tessa Worley
France 490
3 Mikaela Shiffrin
United States 481
4 Ragnhild Mowinckel
Norway 371

Slalom
1 Mikaela Shiffrin
United States 780
2 Petra Vlhová
Slovakia 605
3 Frida Hansdotter
Sweden 561
4 Wendy Holdener
Switzerland 545


Downhill

1 Sofia Goggia
Italy 429
2 Lindsey Vonn
United States 406
3 Tina Weirather
Liechtenstein 358
4 Cornelia Hütter
Austria 272

Super G

1 Tina Weirather
Liechtenstein 421
2 Lara Gut
Switzerland 375
3 Anna Veith
Austria 307
4 Michelle Gisin
Switzerland 263

Alpine Combined
1 Wendy Holdener
Switzerland 150
2 Michelle Gisin
Switzerland 109
3 Federica Brignone
Italy 100
4 Marta Bassino
Italy 88

 

[Muleski]

Well, like the men, a lot is already done.

MS has already locked up the overall and nearly the SL. After today, MS can't win the GS. 101 points out. WC win is 100 points. Unless Rebensberg has a disaster that is hers. Worley has not been skiing well and VR Has a big cushion.

SG? That's a nice margin to Wierather. She's been very consistent. Gut needs a huge day and TW a disaster for that to change. Everybody but Gut is out, already.

DH? Will be interesting and fun to watch. I'd say a two horse race. Goggia and Vonn. Goggia has a 23 point lead.

Top five points are 100, 80, 60, 50, 45. So if LV beats her, it depends on where they both finish. If LV can win the race, Goggia must finish second to win the globe. If somebody else wins, then it changes. Vonn needs to put 24 points on her. Wierather is not yet eliminated, but it's a tall order being 71 points back.

Combined is done. Not raced at WCF. Like the men, I think it's odd to have a globe with just two events. Still, a nice piece of hardware!!!

 

[Rudi Riet]

Also worth noting (as I did on the MS thread) that World Cup points at finals are only awarded to the top 15. So it's 100, 80, 60, 50, etc., until you get to 16 points for 15th place - and then nothing.

 

[Muleski]

So with today's win, MS has clinched the SL globe as well, once again. It was pretty much done, but now it's really done Congrats to her. Pretty amazing, considering that she's still 22 for a few more days.

Guess the intrigue will be in the DH, barring any disasters in the GS and SG, which I hope we don't see.

Rooting for LV!

 

[checkracer]

If Lindsey still aims at 86 or even 87 wins she should be racing all DHs and most SGs. With 2 now and maybe 15 races next season there are not so many occasions and Goggia won´t let her win just because LV is a legend and chasing the "record".
Rooting as well.

 

[Muleski]

If Lindsey still aims at 86 or even 87 wins she should be racing all DHs and most SGs. With 2 now and maybe 15 races next season there are not so many occasions and Goggia won´t let her win just because LV is a legend and chasing the "record".
Rooting as well.

Pretty sure that is ALL she has her sights on, and that she will are every possible speed race. she'll are both this coming week. I've heard people close to her say that she's going to work her butt off their summer and that she is laser focused on getting this done, and done next season. That's it. It's a tall order. she has to win about every third start for the season.

Now, I also have heard {and I think posted} that a few "in the game" have said that Goggia is still improving, getting more fit, stronger, and most importantly wiser. The word I heard was that she would be "very good" this coming season, and "Really good" the following year. Like on the verge of dominating DH as LV has, and if she skis a bit smarter and refines her SG, the same there. Once she is convinced that going full gas, and skiing the bad girl line is not always the best, she could/should rake in a lot of wins.

I'm hoping that she keeps learning, and just skis wildly enough to have a few "train wrecks" that turn into LV wins this coming season!

Agree, despite what is evidently a real friendship, and a lot of respect, I can't see Goggia giving her a mm of a break! Should be fun to watch. Could be a fun year for W's DH. Will Stuhec be healed and ready to go. I suspect that Gut will be back in the game.

But five wins to tie and six to set a new "record" is a lot. If she was one his week, and has her typical showing at Lake Louise, maybe I'll rethink that. And if she gets out in those five starts......same!

 

[checkracer]

When LV won the 3 races before Olympics I thought she´d done everything perfectly with a view of OWG so that she really could win both events there and DH at the WCF.

Yes, I remember we both posted praise how good Goggia will be. As it seems, lots of people involved think so (my source was Tomas Bank).
Is this her last "wild" season? She should be worried about her GS (was 3rd last year, is 22nd now) and her SG is crazy, like DNF - 2nd - DNF - 1st - DNF. Sofia´s 24 SGs = 10 DNFs.

Actually, chasing Stenmark wins doesn´t make much sense to me. Comparing men and women, different eras, different events? Almost apples and pears. Sure, impressive as self-promotion and marketing and good for skiing and its popularity. At the same time I fully respect this desire of hers and I´m glad she´ll be still around.

 

[Muleski]

So,

Here's the USA line up:
SL: Just Mikaela. Resi would have qualified but is out with her knee
GS: Mikeala
SG: LV
DH: LV, Breezy J, Alice McKennis, MS has also qualified. Jackie Wiles did, and is out for the season. Stacey Cook is really banged up..probably will not be skiing but did qualify.

Different year. Hope all goes well.

 

[Swede]

http://www.fjällen.nu/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/åre1.jpg

 

[checkracer]

Today´s shortened (1499/456 m instead of 2236/664 m) traning has Ester 2nd and your Alice 1st. Bibs 22 and 23 – the track faster for higher bibs? They were both skiing their maximums, as it seems (cf their Ints), the only one really standing up in the final section apperes to have been Lindsey (21st time there).

It was just traning but it still fascinates me. The last time Ester was on skis was the Olympic SG, since then she has only been on SB till Sunday 11. Not much time to switch from SB to skis, esp. with no training on Monday due to new snow.

When you´re healthy and on fire you´re flying. She is, that is.

 

[checkracer]

Almost winnnig the DH globe with a poor season start Lindsey had...
No tough competition, no consistent "real" DHers.
It´s a pity the finals with the fight for the globe had the DH shorter than a SG and maybe good for U14 or so... The more so there´s good TV coverage here in Europe now on workdays.

If this was an example of a future 2-run DH I´m not excited. The most boring "DH" I remember.

More later, now the guys starting.

 

[Eleeski]

Spoiler: is this right?

Did Lindsey win? Alice third? Three American women in the top ten? Pretty good for the USA.

Eric

 

[Dwight]

Spoiler: Yes It is

http://www.fis-ski.com/alpine-skiing/events-and-places/event=40914/race=91050/

 

[Eleeski]

Very cool! looking forward to some insider insight on how it unfolded.
@Swede @checkracer @Muleski @Bode_Miller

Eric

 

[Muleski]

Spoiler: And the DH is a wrap......

So, LV did what she set out to do in this race, and won. #82, one closer to the Stenmark record that she is laser focused on.
Goggia did what she had to. If she finished third instead of second, LV would have the globe instead of Goggia. Great day and year for Sofia.
And very great to see Alice, the Alligator, back on a WC podium.
Fun day for the USA. Nice result by Breezy J. And good for Stacy to race....in pain.


Now....here's the question for you fans. Was that REALLY a WC DH? We talk about how easy Lake Louise is compared to the classics. Or how easy the Olympic run was compared to even LL. This was a joke compared to anything.

Yep, it's March, and everybody is tired. Maybe it's not that big a deal. I like real DH.

LV is the best, and I'm glad that she was able to win. On a demanding, longer, tougher hill, there is a lot more to deal with. Goggia goes hammer down and I suspect that her style and nerves might have resulted in a classic Goggia screw up. She pretty much wins or explodes! No exploding on this one. And McKennis is a great person who has worked like a dog through injuries. Despite the OWG result, and today, she simply is not a top DHer.

It's the hill. Too short, too easy. Not enough to punish poor skiing, or "average." Not enough to reward the best. Not advantage to either big experience or risk taking. I found it really disappointing on that regard.

Still I personally loved the podium. Very happy for all three ladies.

So......we'll need a miracle in the SG to change up those standings. Tina has been very consistent and fast. Gut...fast and inconsistent.

Season kind of crawling to an end, IMO.

 

[checkracer]

I´m sorry for Lindsey even if she herself is to blame for not winning the DH globe. Dominating the 4th to 8th races isn´t enough if she blew the first three including LL. Only 26 points were a serious loss and Goggia, though far from being consistent, was too good not to use the situation.

Only 3 DHs (2 finished) were enough for Brignone to finish within 30 both WC and WCSL. The same for the poor Elena Fanchini with only 2 appearances at LL. No depth.

Petra Vlhova skiing her 4th DH ever and first on WC, almost won 16 points. Wendy Holdener did (18) in her 4th WC DH, but the first after 6 years! Not to forget Mikaela at LL...

Our Ester made a series of mistakes from her traditionally lousy start to the last section but still finished 11th.

The young Odermatt looked better than all girls.

If Lins wins the SG tomorrow I´ll start believing she could manage the 3-4 wins next season.

For me, the race was, apart from the Sofia vs. Lins duell, the season´s anticlimate with only 1500/456 m/22 gates and 55 seconds on a fairly easy slope with uncomplicated set. Still better than no race whatsoever.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Rudi Riet]

Yeah, the course was too short, but the only training run the women had was on the shortened course, so they used what they had. Looks like the ROC had planned to squeeze in a training run of the full-length course before the race, but the snow and low, hanging clouds in the morning scuttled that option.

Nice race. Skiing was what it was: weary athletes at the end of a long season.

 

[newfydog]

That course was so easy that the best training turned out to be a trip to the red carpet at the Oscars.

 

[checkracer]

@ Muleski

I read your comments on the easy hill after I posted my #16. Agree fully. Not worth a WC race let alone the Finals. God bless Lake Louise, I thought, really.

Well, there´s no one to blame that more than 700/200 m/13 gates were left out. The weather, the missing training, the rules.

The problem I see is the impact of our overprotective society. I´m not bloodthirsty, I experienced two deaths in races I was part of and once flew out between the trees (tore out the Simplex toe) so that I know that safety is important. Question is whether today´s runs are not safe at the cost of selectivity. Poison´s death, I´m afraid, made things even „worse“. I read that even the „simple“ LL track was made even easier. (Not only there. Even Hahnenkamm had been, years ago, made less selective – Mousefalle, Zielsprung...)

The state of things has no good solution. FIS has been fighting the DH speeds since the early 70s. When Russi was appointed „DH architect“ 30 years ago the task was to build slower and technically more difficult runs. The result were turnier and turnier DHs with more and more gates/turns. DH started as „discesa libera“, „straight race“ from start to finish. Sailer 1956 had 15 gates on 3461 m, Klammer 1976 raced through 26/3020 m. Sarajevo 1984 had already 34/3066 m. Olympics 1988 had 40 gates for the 1st time/3147 m, WCs 2009 already 48/only 2988, Sochi 46 gates. Etc.

It worked somehow with the 1980 and early 1990´s DH skis. As soon as more shape/less radius appeared (remember the R 40 limit for DH skis?) with plates and more standheight, the offsets produced immense forces/moments in turns. The racers were as fast as before but skiing became much more strenuous.

When Trinkl replaced the old Schmalzl setting WC downhills, he promised to make DHs a bit less turny and more fluent. An example I noticed: at Beaver Creek Schmalzl was setting 42 gates/757 m, Trinkl 38 with some more speed.

Today´s speeds on today´s hills with often poor visibility mean you can´t do what Russi originally wanted: more uneven surface, more jumps and air time. Remember Svindal, Reichelt and ... injured at Hahnenkamm 3? years ago?

As I see it, the result are „highways“ as safe as possible. While guys still can master some spectacular difficulties you can´t expect girls to ski in a manlike way.

Any solution?

 

[checkracer]

"Season crawling to and end, weary athletes..."

While a lot of sports and games proceed to the final climax with the best performing – the same principle used in any action movie, working so well at Superbowl, Stanley Cup and lots of others – skiing is a sport that often presents the final showdown more as post-Olympic/Championships appendix with weary actors. Obstinately staged in weeks when interest in winter sports and skiing has waned.

Sure, there´s no reasonable way to exclude premature decisions if someone is dominating (Killy, Stenmark, Annemarie could win the Globe as early as in January) but I don´t see any FIS efforts to make the season more dramatic.