Weissworst
After our journey and follies in France we headed back to Innsbruck for a couple of days of rest and recovery. Bode got food poisoning from some old Sushi and we were not able to train until Wednesday in Hinterreit. We had a good day on bullet proof snow training both SL and GS. Bode tested a new GS construction which he feels is still not as fast as his “Drakes” but I think could still be competetive and perhaps more forgiving.
Onward to the land of Weissworsts in Garmisch for a slalom. There was free skiing on the hill on Friday morning and the hill was very hard and well prepared. This was a nice treat after all the recent sl’s we have had with mediocre preparation. SL free skiing is an interesting event to watch as you see all the different approaches. Some guys ski controlled, others start making sl turns and end up making SG turns by the bottom and some of the best ski the hill with rhythm changes, combinations and delays all without even a gate on the hill. Bode tested two different plate mount set-ups and stuck with what worked best in France.
Race day and the hill is even a bit slicker. The course is tight and stacked with 66 turns and 11 combinations. The course holds up well through the early runners and there is only one major rhythm change going on to the last flat. Bode runs 18th. He begins a bit ragged and makes a couple of recoveries on the top pitch. Through the middle he finds his groove a bit and hustles well. Towards the bottom, he starts to rip and heads into the rhythm change with a lot of freight. Unfortunately, it did not pan out and he hooked the last gate out of the combo. Short day for Team America. Bode later told us he felt as though he needed to take the risk on the bottom even though he was aware of the rhythm change because he felt so slow and grindy on the top of the course. The truth is everyone was grinding a bit and it was not a feel good course. Bode is skiing well enough to be top 10 on any given day but he has to believe. He was pissed and I know he will be pushing hard in Zagreb. One day of SG training in Saalbach after the race then a few days of training in Austria and he will be ready. Bode finished the day off with a heavy eccentric lift and then a treatment by our friend Dr. Obwaller who has been extremely beneficial with Body and nerve work. I am heading home so I leave the reins in the capable hands of FO. I will meet them all in Whistler on the 19th. Think fast, JOhno
February 18th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
LOL re: the comments about free skiing on SL skis. I’m glad even top skiers have trouble keeping it under control on modern SL skis, especially on the steep. About 3 arcs and I’m going Mach 10 and wishing I was on GS’s. Will work on it though, wish I could watch the good ones do it.
February 19th, 2008 at 9:43 am
Bode must be very frustrated about last two races, he got caught up on the last difficult gate in both runs. Luckily Raich is unusually generous this year and he is really making it a lot easier to breathe!
With 3DH, 3SG, 3GS and only 2SL left, Bode is still on pole position. I just hope you are now going to concentrate more in speed disciplines,because in 2 SL he can take max 100, but in DH and SG he can take 600.
Its also good to hear you are on the way to find more forgiving GS skies, we all know what his potential is in this discipline. He has won 10 GS already and had he had right equipment he would have won two more this season.
February 19th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Mr. Raich may have lost his SL bread ‘n butter with racers like Matt, Grange, Lizerous, Herbst, …leaving him behind. He may have to reinvent himself in another discipline next season. He has shown he has the speed potential.