World Cup Opener Oct. 27th & 28th 2018. Let's get this party started!

[4ster]

I posted my Worley comment, your not supposed to use the word cute about an athlete but after watching the video she is INCREDIBLY CUTE and very likable,not knowing she had one won and thought maybe someone would think it was a spoiler, her skis looked great I think but not sure , they were,,,,,,,Rossignol.

Yes, Rossignol.
Tessa Worley is a GS specialist (although she has competed in all disciplines) who had her first win on the World Cup tour in 2008. She has 13 World Cup wins & 2 World Championships all in GS. After suffering a knee injury in 2013 she struggled to return to top form but has been skiing great for the past few seasons & won the GS title in 2017. I believe one of her parents is Australian which is why she speaks English so well.

Here are her runs from yesterday. BTW she had the fastest 2nd run which is incredible considering the course conditions by the time she ran it.

She has always been cute .

 

[Primoz]

Were there any ski issues? Earlier talk speculated on the glacier ice damaging skis. Was there enough snowfall to fix that?

Race track was good. Snow was good, no issues with stones or anything. That what I posted about stones earlier was meant about trainings people had on glaciers around Europe, not about Soelden race track. Already Icebox in Soelden was pretty bad, but race course was good, no stones, just icy... which was obviously way to much for girls. So as far as I'm concerned, they should start thinking about changing program, getting men race on Saturday, then sending pisten bullies up on course and have women race on Sunday, as watching women going down that course yesterday was pretty painful for me, at least second run, that I saw on big screen in finish. I know I probably shouldn't say that, as being politically correct is standard nowadays, but what the hell... when most of them complain they don't have hard iconic races on women tour, like Kitzbuehel for example, they get one sort of hard race, and it looks like there would be bunch of amateurs sliding down. Yeah it was quite icy, but it wasn't >THAT< icy. I also admit I was sort of surprised how icy it is, as with those 10cm fresh snow during night from Friday to Saturday, I was actually expecting soft conditions, as most of time fresh snow laying on top of ice during night makes it soft, but for skiing, it was anything but really bad.

 

[Pete in Idaho]

Tough conditions for the lst race of the season. Worley looked great and MS came in 3rd. Good start considering first race, tough to terrible conditions and course snow/ice. Looked like they were racing on a boat ramp with serrated concrete er/ice.

 

[Blue Streak]

I agree it was probably the right move. She looked nervous in the start area so she may be still dealing with that. I’m sure that third place got rid of some of the cobwebs and hopefully gave her some confidence for the future. At almost 1 second behind and from comparing past performances, I would say she was skiing at less than 90%. I think Worley was loose and relaxed and was able to ski to her full potential.
I think we will see a stronger performance from Shiffrin at the upcoming slalom in Levi, Finland & then full effort at Killington.

She’ll add to her herd.

 

[4ster]

She’ll add to her herd.

 

[K2 Rat]

Race track was good. Snow was good, no issues with stones or anything. That what I posted about stones earlier was meant about trainings people had on glaciers around Europe, not about Soelden race track. Already Icebox in Soelden was pretty bad, but race course was good, no stones, just icy... which was obviously way to much for girls. So as far as I'm concerned, they should start thinking about changing program, getting men race on Saturday, then sending pisten bullies up on course and have women race on Sunday, as watching women going down that course yesterday was pretty painful for me, at least second run, that I saw on big screen in finish. I know I probably shouldn't say that, as being politically correct is standard nowadays, but what the hell... when most of them complain they don't have hard iconic races on women tour, like Kitzbuehel for example, they get one sort of hard race, and it looks like there would be bunch of amateurs sliding down. Yeah it was quite icy, but it wasn't >THAT< icy. I also admit I was sort of surprised how icy it is, as with those 10cm fresh snow during night from Friday to Saturday, I was actually expecting soft conditions, as most of time fresh snow laying on top of ice during night makes it soft, but for skiing, it was anything but really bad.

I agree with you. I said to some friends that this was not a great way to showcase the best women in the World. Outside of a few, it looked like a junior race at times. Granted, the track was brutal -- icy, bumpy and tough visibility. But it is tough to watch the other 3 Americans come down 6-7 secs out in the first run. You hope to use this race to see where you are in your training vs everyone else. But for a lot, all it showed was this track was too tough for them and did not show what kind of from they are in for the typical course they will be seeing for the rest of the season.

 

[Blue Streak]

Birds of Prey is a month away

 

[Cheizz]

The cancelled men's GS from last Sunday in Sölden has been rescheduled. The men will race an extra GS in Saalbach (Austria) on December 20th, 2018.

http://www.fis-ski.com/alpine-skiin...aut-rescheduled-saalbach-hinterglemm-aut.html

 

[hbear]

Tessa is great, and just laid down on the 2nd run. She is a GS specialist and certainly skis her best when she's relaxed but attacking....does a great job at recovering and fighting back for position when she gets bumped/tossed around. My daughter's favorite skier in respect to tat ability/trait..
Comparing her 2nd run against the rest is was CLEAR she was going to put some serious time difference between her and her competitors....didn't even need to splits to know she was skiing so much better.

Great to see her have a solid start to the year, love watching her race and she is fantastic with the kids/fans! Super nice women.

 

[skix]

I really enjoyed the Soelden race and have a different reaction to others who thought it shouldn't have been run. What I saw was woman after woman step up and fight that track in flat light which most assuredly made it tough to see the ruts. Only a few went down. The rest showed incredible recovery skills time after time. At the end of the day who ended up on the podium? Three tough, strong women who I'm glad were allowed to run the race they'd trained for and traveled to reach.

Conditions were tough but not impossible. Bad light, precipitation, rutted track. Check out these stills of Kristine Gjelsten Haugen of Norway going through the worst rutted turn. Left ski gets noodled and then her right but she recovered to finish tenth.

 

[Blue Streak]

Who said it shouldn’t have been run?
Probably the same people who think that football should be played indoors.

 

[4ster]

I am in the camp that is glad that they raced. I thought it was a great show and worth watching every run.
I also agree with @Primoz that perhaps it would have been better to run the men first and then see if they could create conditions a bit more in line with what the ladies are accustomed to racing. One of Shiffrins first comments upon arriving home was “I was feeling as if I was just hit by a truck”. We don’t want to loose the top seed before the season has really begun on what is likely the toughest GS they will face all season.

 

[4ster]

Finally got around to watching this Compilation video from last weekend. Some good footage that shows how really rough it was for many of the racers & how the top few, especially Worley & Shiffrin were able to smooth it out...
Sorta

 

[dbostedo]

The slow motion of the skis flapping and getting jostled is crazy.

 

[4ster]

& here is a side by side of Worley & Shiffrin

 

[dbostedo]

^^^
Cool! Wish it was actually side-by-side.... the angle made it kind of harder to watch and compare.

 

[4ster]

^^^
Cool! Wish it was actually side-by-side.... the angle made it kind of harder to watch and compare.

I would almost rather see one of these 2 next to one of the slower racers. It would make for a much more dramatic contrast.

 

[Viking9]

I HATE HATE the side by side thing, way too much to watch, now after the race I LOVE LOVE the side by side thing.

 

[K2 Rat]

 

[hbear]

I always appreciate Reilly’s analysis. While he comes more from demo team vs. race, I find he does have some good insight and thought behind his viewpoints.