Today’s Men’s Alpine Ski Slalom is lining up to be a stacked field of competitors. With tough tight technical turns, each requiring the athlete to slap the gate out of the way with the pole guard and shin guard, aerodynamics and reduced friction of the guard on the pole is of utmost importance.
Slytech’s 3 raised fin concept does exactly that… it keeps the contact surface of the shin and arm guards to a minimum on the gate, thereby reducing drag.
Also important is the back protector. Often times, racers will catch an edge and literally get launched into the air several feet and slammed down hard on their back (that happened to Lindsey Vonn in the Women’s GS a few days ago). Skiing is a dangerous sport and protective gear is an absolute must if you want ski another day.
Amongst today’s Shredders who use or have used Slytech (either the guards or the back protector) are:
Ted Ligety(USA)
Jimmy Cochran (USA)
Marc Gini (SUI)
Reinfried Herbst (AUT)
Marcel Hirscher (AUT)
Nolan Kasper (USA)
Sandro Viletta (SUI)
and many more…
The first run starts at 10AM PST, so make sure to tune in to your country’s TV coverage to see the drama and glory unfold!
No explanation why Julia Mancuso decided to start using the Slytech 2nd Skin Back Protector she’s been lugging around for a year or so now, but she did. An amazing game-day competitor, Julia is, and now she can be called…
“The Most Decorated Female American Olympic Alpine Skier with 3 Medals!”
And what back protector has she worn for the past 2 silver medal performances?
SLYTECH, BABY!
Check out this little video of the crowd going nuts as she crossed the finish line to take over the top spot at the Vancouver Olympic Super Combined.
We’re going to be seeing a lot of Slytech at the Vancouver Olympic Games in both the men’s and women’s GS & slalom races in form of arm guards and shin guards. You ask the athletes about why they use the Destroyer Guards, they’ll tell you that they love the off-white look of the pre-preg fiberglass and because of the reduced surface area of the 3 gills, they are the fastest off the gate, bar-none.
What you won’t see is what’s under the athlete’s ski suits. Back protection is absolutely essential in the world of ski racing. Injected hills (super hard and icey so that the later racers are not as much at a disadvantage) and super fast speeds (70, 80, 90 mph!) make for very dangerous conditions.
Without safety standard approved back protection the athletes would put themselves even more in to harm’s way.
Racers need to go with equipment they trust. When you look around the ski huts where the skiers hang before a race, you’ll see that a great number of racers trust Slytech.
Watch the Girl’s Downhill race TODAY, Tuesday February 16th at 11AM PST! Olympic Fever is all over Whistler, so catch a glimpse wherever you are! It’s lining up to be a nail-bighter. Will it be the favorite Lindsey Vonn with the busted shin (or so they say), or will it be the Victoria Secrets Vixen Julia Mancuso? Or will it be any one of the other powerhouses from Austrians to Germans to the hometown Canadians? You’ll just have to tune it!
