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When I diverted my attention from the debate which was taking place at our table, I noticed a lone diner in the corner of the restaurant. The gentleman was eating a steak and enjoying a glass of red wine. He gave a distinct impression of a confident man, one who keeps himself and his surrounding under control. Makes sense, I thought. Otherwise he’d never be the most successful skier in the history of alpine skiing. To win 25 downhill races in the World Cup Championship, he needed to be daring, focused, egotistical and a bit crazy.

I got up and walked over to him. I spoke to him in German and invited him to join us for a drink at our table. I figured that such an important guest shouldn’t be left to himself in Kranjska Gora. Franz Klammer was visiting Kranjska Gora as a representative of Bad Kleinkircheim which, together with Tarvisio and Kranjska Gora, is a candidate for the organisation of the World Cup Championship in Alpine Skiing in 2017.

I introduced myself and when I told him that my colleague and winner of the Adelboden slalom in 2000, Matjaž Vrhovnik, is also at the table, he accepted my invitation. I must admit I was quite proud of myself as I waited on tenterhooks for the arrival of our intriguing Austrian guest.

After the mandatory greetings and introductions the atmosphere loosened up considerably and Klammer sat with us for a good hour and a half. It could have been even longer, but they were closing up the restaurant. Franz Klammer turned out to be a great person to talk to, both in German and in English, to which we switched so that the others could join the conversation.

He didn’t come across as self-centred for a minute, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say that a perfectly normal person was sitting amongst us – this was, however, the skier that dominated the slopes in the second half of the 70’s.

We mostly talked about skiing, and it was just a matter of time before we got to the winter Olympics in Vancouver. I remembered Kjetill A. Aamodt winning gold in super G in Turin with a performance that would normally come in 10th, at least that’s what the analysis showed. I wondered why those who ski incredibly well in races each week, can’t seem to put themselves together and do the same in the Olympics.

Franz Klammer heard me out and after a short pause replied that the role of a favourite in such an immense competition is a very ungrateful one, and that pressure is incredibly high. I replied that people like himself, or Michael Walchhofer or Didier Cuche as his modern equivalents, shouldn’t succumb to such nonsense. A skier that wins regularly in World Cup races has nothing left to prove to anyone. He thought again for a moment and said “If I hadn’t won gold in 1976 at Innsbruck, I’d still be a champion, but never a legend.” I remembered that race in a second; the day that every Austrian was sure Olympic gold was as good as theirs. Klammer made a series of mistakes on the upper half of the slope, but made up for everything in the middle and bottom, beat Bernhard Russi and won by 0,33 seconds.
A legend was born.

This is what athletes will be fighting for from the 13th of February. For themselves, for their country, for glory, for fans, for money. Two incredible weeks lie ahead, full of drama, surprises, sensations and tragedies – things only the Olympics can offer. Off to Vancouver!

I like to jump, I like to go high and I like to do mellow tricks. I guess I’ve chosen Gloryfy Bastards over the Polish Freeski Open because of that.

This weekend I was invited to hit a 10m high corner jump with a drop-in from a digger’s hand. 8 teams with 2 skiers will compete together for best style, best trick and highest air jump.

SNOWBOARD:
Wolle Beer
Steve Grumser
Corsin “Cuga” Simeon
Davide Beltracchi
Steve Kröll
Rudi Kröll
Manuel Bernert
Jocki Köffler
Reini Rieser
Friedl Kolar
Anthony Smits
Werni Stock
+ 4 more tbc

FREESKI:
Mike Waltl
Martin Misof
Mike Hauser
Kevin Sagmeister
Fabio Studer
Christoph Söllner
Luggi Brucic
Matthias Egger
Bine Zalohar
Dominik Hasibeder
+ 6 more tbc

I’ll be representing Slovenia and hope that Redbull will also give me wings to go high enough!

See us in the air!!!

The Lauberhorn cup has one of the richest histories when it comes to alpine skiing. The Bern Alps were where Alpine Skiing competitions were born. Wengen gained worldwide recognition by hosting the downhill race every year. A race where legends are born and the stories passed down from generation to generation.

The Lauberhorn slope is the longest in the World Cup Championship and Alpine Skiing lovers know all about its famous jumps and turns.

START

The view from the starting point is, by far, the most beautiful of them all. Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau are three of the famous mountains that dominate the area. Skiers shouldn’t be distracted by their beauty; they are facing two and a half minutes of hell.

THE RUSSI JUMP

The upper part of the slope is not particularly difficult, so the Swiss commissioned Bernhard Russi, to build an artificial jump that could be broadcasted well and also analysed on TV. Armin Assinger was the first to fall on the jump; he was injured during the training session which took place on the slope.

HUNDSCHOPF

This is what separates the “boys” from the “men”. The passage is very narrow. On the right- hand side there’s a security net, on the left-hand side, just metres of rocks. The jump used to be much longer, but was shortened for security reasons.

THE MINSCH-KANTE

Is minor jump, which inclines to one side requiring the skier to make a turn to the right. In 1965, Jos Minsch didn’t manage to make this turn which resulted in injury. Back in the 60’s, there weren’t any security nets and Minsch fell all the way to the railway tracks; causing him to spend 9 weeks in hospital.

THE CANADIAN CORNER

A long right-hand turn following the Minsch-Kante. The skier has to balance himself on his left ski, whilst handling immense forces as he takes the turn. This part of the course is named after Canadian skiers, Dave Irwin and Ken Read who attacked this turn too aggressively and subsequently fell during the race in 1976.

THE BRÜGGLI “S” or THE KERNEN “S”

A very difficult passage in which to navigate and is usually frozen over at this part of the course.  The skier faces it with speeds of up to 100km/h. The passage is narrow and requires a combination of a right and left turn. The skiers must keep a speed of at least 80kmph when exiting it for a chance to win. It requires an excellent perception of space and quick reactions to pull this S-turn off. The skiers Brüggli and Kernen both had difficulty with it.

THE WATER STATION

The course passes under a funicular railway through a tunnel, but this part isn’t considered as difficult.

LAGENTREIEN

A less steep part of the slope, where the skier can take a breath and think about whether he did well in the Brüggli S or not. It’s essential that the skier has a good technique for sliding and that he turns correctly. It’s impossible to catch up in this section, but a lot of it can be lost.

HANEGGSCHUSS

A very steep part of the slope, with no turns, which results in the skiers reaching 150kmph, the extreme even by downhill standards. The slope is rarely smooth in this area, so it’s difficult to keep balance.

THE FINAL “S”

After two minutes and twenty seconds of skiing, every competitor is already exhausted, but they still have the final S to look forward to. It’s an extremely complicated turn, which is usually frozen. Skiers enter it at great speed and it takes the last of their strength to keep the skis steady and jump into the final arena. Last year the final “S” was widened and the jump shortened, because it was so dangerous. In 1991, Gernot Reinstadler flew into the net during training and died. It was the darkest day in the history of Lauberhorn, and the downhill wasn’t held that year.

The Dolomites are something special. The mountains are coloured orange-brown by the sun and the colour, combined with a thick layer of snow, sticks in one’s mind forever. The Dolomitis have a certain magic about them which lure visitors from all over the world year in year out. Even the best alpine skiers could not resist them. In the heart of Val Gardena there is the St. Christina mountain village where one of the world’s most classic runs of the Alpine Skiing World Cup ends.

The renowned Saslong has been hosting men’s skiing every season for the past 40 years.  When racers come from the North American tour to Europe and gather in Val Gardena, it becomes clear that the skiing season has come to life. All those who are at least tiny fans of this beautiful sports discipline, realise that this is followed by classics, such as Bormio, Wengen and Kitzbühel – the races that make history in competitive skiing. Legends are born here and careers end here as well.

Skiing in Val Gardena is no exception to the rule, although it has no reputation of being too hard. But who is not acquainted with the »camel humps« and the renowned Ciaslat section. Even the most experienced skiers swallow heavily before facing the »camel humps«. It is a true test of courage and was passed with excellence for the first time by the  legendary Uli Spiess. He trained for this on a smaller ski jumping hill. Well, in all the years there has been only one record jump by Michael Walchhofer, who at a certain point jumped as far as 82 m.

This weekend has not shown us such lengths as the most important part of the competition is the safety of its competitors. Still, everyone is cracking their heads to retain the attractiveness of the competition. It’s a fact that no-one would be watching skiing on the motorway. Some believe that the competition could be rescued by different suits, others are leaning towards the decrease of speed.

Speed is very important at Saslong as it’s a »skating« track.  It’s the best track for those skiers who are capable of leading the skis on their sliding surface. Ciaslat also demands a lot of technical knowledge. That’s why I thought it could have been won by Michael Walchhofer for the 3rd time in a row.

Saslong was conquered by almost all the best skiers in the world: Franz Klammer, Bernhard Russi, Peter Müller, Stephan Eberharter and Pirmin Zurbriggen. Kristian Ghedina was the most successful of them all; he even encountered a deer at the finishing area which became his trademark afterwards. The only one who never managed to win the classic run of Val Gardena was Hermann Maier.

This weekend has raised pulses of South Tyrol again. Alpine skiing is a major part of the area’s history and is a source of income even nowadays. Tourism in the Dolomites is the main income which would have never been so well developed if it hadn’t been for the promotion.  Saslong plays the main role in it.

If there is such thing as love at first sight, then this goes for Hermann Maier and Beaver Creek. When Vail was proposed to hold the World Championship in 1999, the Americans presented an ambitious project: to build a ski slope bearing the name «Birds of Prey». It was planned to be one of the most difficult slopes in the world alongside Kitzbühel. The International Ski Federation approved the project and the Americans began building, but no-one expected that this slope would change the life of a builder from Flachau, Austria.

When the slope was first tested out in 1997, Hermann Maier was just building his reputation among the Austrian national team. He came to the fashionable resort of Vail with two wins already in the bag, despite the stiff competition. The new slope appeared to be tailored to his physical abilities. He came in second in downhill, won the Super G, and his incredible success story began.

Herman Maier was at the peak of his performance just before the World Cup in 1999, Beaver Creek was the stage where he would win the title of World Champion. The Americans saw Maier as the new Arnold Schwarzenegger, and thought of his possible future on the Hollywood screens, but all he cared about were medals.

Lovers of alpine skiing will always remember the downhill race in Beaver Creek that year. Maier went for a gate, which was positioned on a difficult lateral passage, at a speed of 100kmph and showed the world an amount of determination never before seen in alpine skiing. Even if the gold medal in downhill escaped him, he still won the world championship with a substantial lead compared to the legendary Norwegians Kjus and Aamodt and, on top of that, he was the World Champion in Super G as well.

Next season, the ski caravan stopped amidst the Birds of Prey yet again. The Herminator’s statistics were: three races, three wins. During his career, he won at Beaver Creek 8 times, and came in second another four times. If we can call Wimbledon Roger Federer’s living room, then Beaver Creek was surely home to Hermann Maier.

The legendary Austrian won’t scare the birds of prey any more, since he has retired this year and ended his incredibly successful career. Beaver Creek will never be the same without him.

Five hundred kilometers from Vancouver, where the 2010 Winter Olympics will take place, the best alpine skiers participate in competitions in “speed” disciplines. Lake Louise, which lies in the heart of the Canadian Rocky Mountains in Alberta, is where the competitions in downhill and super G are traditionally organized. Canadians will not let anything to chance this year because they know that it’s their last opportunity to promote Canadian skiing to an international public and attract as many people as possible in Whistler during the Olympics in February, for the alpine skiing races. That’s why the Lake Louise races have no admission fee for spectators, there will be free hot chocolate for everyone and a multitude of additional activities to spice up the waiting time in between the races. Currently, an elaborate media campaign is taking place in North America, intended to increase the interest of the public in winter sports. As it was expected, Canadians are dedicating their full attention to Vancouver 2010 and are trying to market their project best they can.

The skiers themselves pay little attention to this, as they are all focused solely on the final part of their training. The Swiss and the Slovenes, for example, are in Nakiska. This resort’s name was resounding in the media these last few days – and not just because Didier Cuche, Didier Defago and Andrej Jerman were training there, but because Daniel Albrecht skied his first downhill after his horrible accident in Kitzbühl. It’s difficult to forget the excellent Swiss’ fall in the bottom half of the Streif slope. He was in a coma for a long time, but started rehabilitation shortly after coming back to his senses. He took things step by step, literally, as he first needed to learn to walk, before he took to skis again. Soon enough, he tried it and before long, he took up giant slalom and, finally, downhill. This is a discipline in which the skier reaches up to 130kmph, and that allows no room for mistakes. Sources state that Albrecht did a wonderful job, reportedly he was only 6 tenths of a second slower than Cuche and Janko in average. Some believe that he might compete in Beaver Creek next weekend, however this seems unlikely, though he might give it a try in the grand slalom, a discipline he is more prepared for.

Daniel Albrecht is training for the return to the slopes in the same place where Primin Zurbriggen won the Olympic gold in 1988. This can only be a good sign for the young Swiss skier.

The topic of my posts usually revolves around alpine skiing but today, I can’t help but mention football as well. You see, there is a country in the heart of Europe, on the sunny side of the Alps, that defies all expectations when it comes to sports. As part of Yugoslavia, Slovenia was considered as being successful mostly in winter sports, and Slovenes were seed as avid ski lovers. Yugoslavia itself was very successful in various fields, winning medals at major events regularly in basketball, handball, football and other prominent sports. Slovenia mostly added to the achievements in individual sports. Miro Cerar was very successful in gymnastics, the Petrič brothers in swimming, and then there are winter sports, which can mostly be regarded as being individual. Ski jumps and alpine skiing are two branches of sport which were considered as exclusively Slovene in the ex-Yugoslavia. Primož Ulaga, Bojan Križaj, Jure Franko and the list could go on and on… In alpine skiing alone, Slovenia played a prominent role on the international scene with Mateja Svet, Bojan Križaj, Rok Petrovič and other excellent skiers.

After gaining independence, Slovenia’s sports orientation was not completely clear. Football, which is widely considered to be the most popular sport in the world, was labelled as the «sport for the Southerners», meaning those from other republics of ex-Yugoslavia or their descendants living in Slovenia. But it took less than ten years for people’s attitude towards football to change. The credit goes to the Slovenian national team when it was lead by the selector Srečko Katanec. Slovenia qualified for two important competitions at the time: the European championship in 2000 and the World Cup in 2002. Realists were of the opinion that it’s impossible to repeat such an amazing feat, because a country with just two million inhabitants can’t possibly compete with those who invest huge amounts of money in football. One of these countries is Russia, which recently lost in the World cup qualifications to Slovenia. Russia’s participation was in everyone’s best interest, and above all, the FIFA’s, because this organisation runs on money, like all others. Despite all odds, Slovenia eliminated Russia. It would be pointless to enumerate differences between the countries but in sport, David sometimes ends up beating Goliath. There are prerequisites for this but most often, the key to victory is hidden in the drive and courage of the players.

In less then twenty years of independence, Slovenia managed to get through qualifications for a major competition for the third time, played in the semi-finals of the European championship in basketball and won gold in the European Handball Championship. And let’s not forget the Olympic gold medals in rowing, rifle shooting and hammer throw!

I would like to conclude this post with a reminder: Slovenia’s achievements in sports are in complete defiance with logics or rules that define success in sports. There are enough Slovenes to perhaps fill up a suburb of Munich, and they achieve things that people don’t even dare dream of. Added to the fact that working and training conditions are, compared to other countries, very difficult, you’ll understand the full extent of Slovenia’s miraculous success. If you ever visit this beautiful country on the sunny side of the Alps, you’ll find a proud nation of sports enthusiasts that supports its athletes to the fullest and don’t pick favourites. And if you don’t know this by now: There is a God and he’s cheering for Slovenia!

Nearly three weeks have gone by since this season’s first giant slalom races in Sölden, Austria. The athletes will gather again this weekend, this time far up north in Levi, Finland for a new World Cup challenge. First, the ladies will compete on Saturday and next day, the men. The infamous Bode Miller will unexpectedly be joining the caravan in Levi. Apparently, he wants to prove himself so badly that he couldn’t bare not to join two weeks ahead of plan.

This week’s post is primarily meant to inform you about the upcoming races and where the world’s best skiers will be. After Levi, the skiers will enjoy a free weekend, or rather, they will try to fit in the most training they can, because in late November, the season starts for real. From 28 November to 14 March they will ski non-stop, from races in North America to the peak of the season in February during the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, to the World Cup final in Garmisch-Partenkirschen, Germany.

Men:

Women:

In Soelden I had the chance to witness a debate between experts on two different theoretical coaching approaches. The topic of the debate in question was alpine skiing and the problem of wasted talent. Everyone involved in the debate agreed that one particular skier had not succeeded in developing his talents to the fullest. There were several reasons, one of them certainly being his way of life which, with little training and a lot of partying, wasn’t entirely dedicated to success.

The first coach’s theory was that everything is lost if the athlete in question doesn’t have the necessary discipline: “No matter how talented he is, if he isn’t prepared to apply himself, every effort is in vain.”. I admit that I agreed with him, but then another opinion got my attention: “If the athlete doesn’t know how to fulfill his potential, he needs guidance.” Of course, everyone agreed that the athlete has great potential and is capable of achieving top results in at least two alpine disciplines. “If we consider that everyone benefits from the athlete’s success, sufficient support should be provided. An individual approach, tailored to the athlete’s needs, is necessary. If he needs supervision, then supervision should be provided. If he needs a psychologist, he should talk to one. One should talk to the athlete and truly get to know him, only then can he reach his goals.”

This made me think – in the past, I had a habit of doing things at the last minute. Preparation for college exams and tests in high school…I always knew the exact date of the exam, but I never started to study earlier than two days in advance. Sure, this approach brought OK grades, but certainly not excellent ones. How much better could I have been, had someone motivated me and studied with me?

Talent is not always enough to reach top levels in alpine skiing. Companies that sponsor athletes are undergoing financial troubles, so skiers now have to rely on themselves more. The coach might suggest a workout regime by e-mail and leave everything else to the athlete. No one could say if he’ll be in good enough shape for winter training on the slopes.

If every skier had the iron discipline of Hermann Maier, the competition would be a lot stiffer. Would Tina Maze have won the silver medal if she didn’t train and live the way she does? I dare say she wouldn’t have. It would be much more likely that she would stagnate in the team and perhaps even end her career. It is clear that her way of working makes her happy and she is looking forward to new challenges. And all that, just because she has a team around her that she can totally trust and that revolves around her 24/7.

When I started following the alpine world cup as a reporter ten years ago, it was at the peak of its power. Fantastic, supernatural, arrogant, unapproachable…those were just some of the words I used at the time to explain why I admired Herman Maier. His skiing was simply a step above anyone else’s, which he knew very well and he behaved accordingly. He was in perfect shape for the 2001/2002 Winter Olympics and was ahead of his competition during trainings. He was so good he was convinced that there were no boundaries that could restrain him. He confessed that in his autobiography “The Race of my Life”.
On the road at Radstadt, destiny showed him just how wrong he was. He was so strong that when the car crashed, he held on to the seat so hard with his legs that he tore it away and the force of the crash threw him out of the car with it.
In January 2003, I stayed at the same hotel in Wengen as the Austrian team. Maier had returned to the slopes just a week before in Adelboden and it was a mere coincidence that we sat fading each other at the breakfast table. I was used to his behavior so I politely greeted him and then turned my attention elsewhere.
I was surprised when he asked me what brought me to this alpine village in the middle of the Bern Alps. “I’m commenting your race for TV Slovenia”, I replied almost timidly. We exchanged a few more words on his initiative. On the way to my booth I realized, that the rumors are true: the Herminator has changed. The Robot has become more human.
During the other half of his amazing career his opinions often influenced the public. He helped the efforts to improve the safety of the skiers, he found time to take part in fundraisers, he showed a decent sense of humor and above all, Herman Maier showed some warmth.
Isn’t it funny how something bad has to happen for us to change the way we think and to look at life from a different perspective. To stop and try to find something good in the people around us and to come to terms with our own mortality. Since the crash Herman Maier is thankful for every day. Skiing was his dreams and that’s why saying goodbye was so hard for him. He left behind what’s dearest to him and even though, he won everything that could be won, he was swept over by emotions this Tuesday at Vienna. When he composed himself, he explained the reasons for his retirement and added that his friend Steffi isn’t pregnant and neither is he.
If anyone should ask why he was so successful, he will probably find the reasons in talent, hard work, iron will and the circumstances in which he worked. What I’d add to the list is his way of thinking: he once said “I came in second. I lost the race.” That is the mind of a true champion. The Herminator was never satisfied with anything but gold, but Hermann Maier during the second part of his career didn’t have anything to prove to himself or to anyone else.