Walking through the lodge at the start of a World Cup Alpine Ski Race gives a glimpse into the future of consumer products, today. What you ride tomorrow, is hanging out in these rooms today. As the skiers wait for the start of their race, they sit and chill, chatting with one another or focus off in a corner by their lonesome, all the while you see gear that blows your mind.

• The newest boots that look just like the old ones, but use a new stiffer plastic;
• Speed suits with cutting edge fabrics that look more like lizzard skin than something humans wear;
• Arm guards and helmets that are constantly developed to be lighter and safer than the previous year's;
• and on and on...

I've never been in the waiting room at tennis matches or Formula 1 races, but I imagine it being quite similar: the newest of the new, the techiest of the tech. The Rafael Nadal racket I got at Tennis Warehouse is probably not the same racket Rafa actually uses (damn it!). The new tires on that Brawn-Mercedes are most certainly not the same rubber I got on my 1995 2 door Nissan pickup truck (see picture).

While I might be able to get the actual Rafa racket 2 years from now and I can get the newest Slytech's next season, the F1 tires might not be worth it.

the green dream

Formula 1

Slytech Arm Guards and Helmet

Rafa with is Custom Gear

 

 

You've probably read a lot about the tragic death of Natasha Richardson lately. She fell during ski lessons in Quebec, Canada and suffered from an epidural haematoma.

It's a freakish occurrence that reminds us that the alpine sports we love so much carry with them an element of danger. It's this danger that perhaps brings many of us back to the mountain again and again. For some it's purely the adrenaline rush they crave so much and yet for others the draw is a deep emotional and spiritual connection with the activity (and of course, it's also both of those things together). For the latter, the act of skillfully flirting with danger and then making it through gives immense satisfaction and a connection to life that's unparalleled.

It's that paradoxical feeling of excitement and peace all at the same time, when you stand before a steep, scary section and that calm voice of confidence says: "you've prepared for this moment and believe that you've minimized the probability of peril through a lifetime of preparation and laser focus in this moment. Now go charge this thing."

It's you who understands that all of life carries with it certain risks and that there is nothing worse than living in a cocoon, safe from all harm. You'd rather push the envelope, learn, grow, and live fully with zest and stoke than hesitate and bail.

There's no question that we live our lives with higher than average danger, but if we use our intuition and knowledge, take sensible precautions like wearing beacons, helmets, and backprotectors, well then our chances of dying are about as high as the potential heart attack victim wasting away in front of the TV.

Only difference is, we've really lived.

Adios,
Stephan

- fellow shredder

ARE, Sweden (March 11) – An Olympic or World Championship gold means you were best on one given day. But a World Cup crystal globe symbolizes excellence over six grueling months chasing ski racing's white circus around the world from mountain to mountain. The U.S. Ski Team's Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) put herself into the record books with an unprecedented second straight women's Audi FIS World Cup overall crown Wednesday, clinching at the World Cup Finals in Sweden with a win in the downhill.

Her triumph further establishes her legacy, following in the footsteps of 1998 Olympic champion Picabo Street, 1983 World Cup titlist Tamara McKinney and the legendary Andrea Mead-Lawrence, who won two gold at the 1952 Olympics.

"I didn't know if I could do it this year," she said. "To win the overall is so difficult – there are so many aspects involved and you have to be really strong from the start of the season to the end. I'm just really happy and thankful I was able to do it again.

"In any professional sport – the toughest thing to do is to repeat," said U.S. Ski Team Women's Head Coach Jim Tracy. "A lot of it has to do with confidence – the confidence in her decision to be the best. It's evident to win the overall and downhill title last year was a huge accomplishment. But to back it up and do it again the next year is tough."

Vonn did it in convincing style, taking the globe with three races remaining in the season. She clinched her second straight World Cup downhill title in February. Thursday, she has an opportunity to add another title in the super G. And she's accomplished all this while still brandishing a splint on the thumb she cut a month ago at the World Championships, where she won two gold.

Coming into the 2008-09 season, Vonn knew she would be a target. And she knew something would need to change. She was already the strongest speed skier in the world. And she knew that if she wanted to win the overall again, she would need to improve in slalom her worst event. That she did, picking up two wins and actually challenging for the World Cup globe.

"I was really surprised to have a slalom win and was excited about that," said Vonn. "My super G has also been surprising. And I'm I the hunt for the super G title tomorrow and hopefully I can get the 15 points I need. I was quite surprised but really happy with the season."

With three events remaining this week, Vonn now has 21 career World Cup wins – including seven this season. And she owns four crystal globes, with a shot at one more Thursday in Sweden.

Vonn is a textbook example of the athletic development principle of winning at every level. Growing up in the Twin Cities area (Burnsville, MN), she was on skis at two before moving into Erich Sailer's renowned U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) club program at the tiny Buck Hill Ski Area. Before she was 10, the rising U.S. Ski Team star Picabo Street became her hero.  And when Street won the 1995 World Cup downhill title, the 10-year-old vowed she would do the same one day. They met that summer at a ski shop autograph session and became lifelong friends.

At age 11, she medaled in the 1996 USSA Junior Olympics. A year later, she was a Whistler Cup champion. In 1999, at 14, she became the only American to win at the prestigious Trofeo Topolino children's race in Italy. As a 15-year-old, she won silver in the downhill at her first U.S. Alpine Championships. She continued to progress through the NorAm Cup, World Junior Championships and the 2002 Olympics, where she had the best U.S. women's result. She was on her first World Cup podium in 2003-04 and a winner one year later.

"Success like Lindsey's doesn't happen overnight," said USSA Alpine Director Jesse Hunt. "It takes time and people – her family, her club coaches, the hundreds of volunteers who have supported her in races since she was 10 years old. It takes great clubs programs like Buck Hill and Vail to provide the opportunity for talented young skiers like her.

"Lindsey's success is the result of those opportunities she was provided and the hard work she has put in all along the way."

Today's hard work for Vonn has been the six to eight hours a day she put in at the U.S. Ski Team's training facility in Park City all summer and fall to prepare for the season. On the snow, Tracy and his staff, including Downhill Coach Alex Hoedelmoser and Technical Coach Trevor Wagner working with her on tactics and strategies to win races.

"It's been a long process," said Tracy. "To achieve these things [at national team level] it started five or six years ago with Team staff that were hired 12-15 years ago. The accolades need to go to Alex' [speed coach Alex Hoedelmoser] crew – Alex, Chip [White] and Frankie [Kelble]. These guys have gone about their business race after race and doing whatever it takes to help Lindsey be confident and be where she needs to be. There's a commitment from them every day to find the best training, to do the best video, the best of everything."

From Vonn's side, it's hard work but no secret. "I just set goals," she said. "Each year in the summer I set new goals for myself that's what keeps me motivated. For me, I just look to the next goal – to try to defend the overall and downhill title, the World Championships, and next year will be the Olympics. For me, there's always something to keep me motivated. I'm only looking to improve myself and find more speed. I'm going to work even harder this summer. "

Vonn is thrilled to celebrate her success with a second straight title. But she's also quick to remember that 2009-10 is a new season. And that gold in Vancouver will not be a test of who is best over six months – but who is best on one given day. And while others are extolling her success, Vonn remains humble.

"Every athlete wants to create a special place in the record books in their career," said Vonn. "Right now I'm just trying to ski the best I can every day, win as many races as I can, and hopefully, at the end of my career, people will look at me as a great racer. But I'm a long way from being finished and I'm looking forward to the next few years of racing and hopefully I'll make some mark on skiing."

Lindsey Vonn Career Highlights

2009    Second World Cup overall and downhill titles (24 years old)

2009    World Championship DH, SG gold (24 years old)

2008    World Cup overall and downhill champion (23 years old)

2007    World Championship DH, SG silver (22 years old)

2006    Olympic Spirit Award after crashing in DH training then finishing seventh (21 years old)

2005    First World Cup win; five podiums (20 years old)

2004    First U.S. Championships titles, Alyeska, 1st SG, SL (19 years old)

2004    World Junior Championships, 2nd DH, 3rd SG, 3rd GS, 4th SG, 4th CO (19 years old)

2004    First World Cup podium, Cortina DH (19 years old)

2003    World Junior Championships, 2nd DH (18 years old)

2002    World Junior Championships, 6th SG (17 years old)

2002    Olympic Team; best U.S. women's result, sixth in combined (17 years old)

2001    World Junior Championships, 5th SL (16 years old)

2000    First World Cup, Park City (16 years old)

2000    First NorAm Cup win (16 years old)

2000    Named to U.S. Ski Team (15 years old)

2000    First FIS race wins (15 years old)

2000    First World Junior Championship Team, 14th DH (15 years old)

2000    First U.S. Championships, Jackson, 2nd DH (15 years old)

1999    USSA team, Trofeo Topolino SL champion (14 years old)

1998    USSA Junior Olympics J3 SG/GS/CO champion (13 years old)

1998    USSA team, Trofeo Topolino GS silver (13 years old)

1997    USSA team, Whistler Cup GS champion (12 years old)

1997    USSA Junior Olympic J3 SG/CO silver, GS bronze (12 years old)

1996    First USSA Junior Olympics J3 SL silver (11 years old)

1995    Watches as Picabo Street wins the World Cup DH (10 years old)

 

 

PS: check out the men's overall standings! This should be a super tight, down-to-the-wire finish... who do you think will pull it off? There are 100 points still up for grabs in the last event! Here the standings...

SVINDAL Aksel Lund NOR 1 with 1009 points
RAICH Benjamin AUT 2nd with 1007
CUCHE Didier SUI 3rd with 919

WOOOOO MAMA!

KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia (Feb. 28) - Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) came from third place after the first run to win a World Cup giant slalom Saturday in Slovenia. Ligety out-skied Switzerland's Didier Cuche and Massimiliano Blardone of Italy, who were second and third, for the win.

The win makes it a back-to-back situation for Ligety, who also won in Kranjska Gora last year. In fact, the hill marks the place where Ligety truly burst into the racing elite. Longtime fans recall his Europa Cup slalom win on the Pokoren in 2004 following a pair of World Cups.

"This year has been tough, and to come to Kranjska Gora is always an awesome experience. It's been such a good hill for me for so long," Ligety said. "My coach set the second run and it was just how I like it. You know, I like those big sweeping turns. I had a couple of bobbles along the way, but I'm really happy."

For Ligety, who is coming off a World Championship bronze medal, it's the fourth win of his career and 15th time he's been on a World Cup podium. Though the win keeps Ligety in third for the season's discipline standings, Ligety said overcoming Cuche, who is 73 points ahead after Saturday's race would be a tall order.

"I'm still a long way off. It's going to be hard to make up so many points on Cuche. I'm happy with the day, but I'm not really figuring the red bib anymore," Ligety said.

Austrian Benjamin Raich sits in second in the giant slalom standings, just 21 points behind Cuche, making the race even tighter.

"In Sestriere, at that point when I went out in the second, I knew the crystal globe chances were gone. It was pretty disappointing. Then I let that go. We had a couple of race to go. At least I wanted to come away happy," Ligety said.

"After last week's performance, to step up and win a race is amazing," Men's Alpine Head Coach Sasha Rearick said. "Cuche is skiing really hot, so to go out and catch him took a lot of effort and a lot of risk."

Rearick said American coaches took the opportunity to set a course for Ligety that would give him the best shot at a win.

"We set the second run set really turny to try to give Ted an opportunity to shine at his skill, and he skied super."