This was a sweet weekend of World Cup Ski action with the women up in Zauchensee, Austria and the men in Adelboden, Switzerland.

A lot of Slytech Nervous Shin and Forearm Guards were out in Adelboden with the men shredding the giant slalom and slalom tech events. Gates slappin' and men tumbling... Adelboden is one of the toughest hills on the tour. A real grind.

Saturday's mens giant slalom saw Ted missing his 4th victory in a row with an unfortunate second run hiccup that sent him flying. Back protector on, 4 Arm guards in place, Ted finished 28th. Swiss Slytech man, Marc Berthod finished an impressive 7th place while his iron man team mate (you may recall his near fatal crash in Kitzbuehel a few years ago) Daniel Albrecht finished 29th.

Sunday's Slalom results:

• 10th Silvan Zurbriggen
• 19th Filip Trejbal
• 21st Marc Berthod
• 24th Will Brandenburg

Click the Image above to see Brandenburg's Runs

The women were out in Altenmarkt/ Zauchensee, Austria where they battled in downhill and super g. While not wearing her customary Nervous Shin Guards for speed events (obviously), Lindsey Vonn once again showed her dominance in downhill with a victory. Other top finishing Slytech athletes were:

• 7th Gisin Dominique
• 11th Nadia Kamer
• 12th Fabienne Suter

Sunday's Super G was almost a repeat for Vonn, when out of nowhere a little Swiss Shredette (who also wears Sltyech Nervous Shin and Arm Guards) took first place. What an upset! A lot of Slytech ladies in the bunch:

• 3rd Dominique Gisin
• 11th Nadia Kamer
• 23rd Laurenne Ross
• 24th Andrea Dettling
• 32nd Leanne Smith

... and if I'm not mistaken, there was an AUSTRIAN ski racer in the bunch who I swear I saw wearing Slytech Nervous 4Arm Guards in the Super G. If my memory serves me correctly it was Margret Altacher, but I'm not 100% sure. Anyone out there see which Austrian wore Slytech?

Check out tomorrow's Women's night slalom event from Flachau, Austria when Resi Stiegler enters the mix again and Sarah Schlepper looks to keep her red hot skiing going. Next weekend's action comes from Wengen, Switzerland where the men duke it out in Downhill and Super Combined. Women head out to Maribor, Slovenia where it's been a slalom and giant slalom slush-fest the past few years. Should be interesting!

You just can't say enough about Ted Ligety's roll in the Giant Slalom discipline. Last week he was named Athlete of the Week by the USA Today and this week comes out charging once again and beating out the competition for his THIRD STRAIGHT World Cup win.

He now stands all alone atop the World Cup Overall Leader-board.

Ted was rocking the Slytech Destroyer Arm Guards and the Slytech 2nd Skin Superlight Back Protector. Last week he mentioned in an interview, that besides keeping him safe, the back protector also offers him a higher level of aerodynamics. Who knew?

If you're into Ski Racing, you've got to check out Ted's amazing 2 runs from Alta Badia. Click on the image and you'll be directed over to Universal Sports where both runs are available.

Our first North American World Cup race weekend is behind us and here are some of the Slytech highlights:

Saturday's Aspen Giant Slalom:

• saw an 8th Julia Mancuso with Slytech arm guards. She was so good after the first run, but then lost positions in the second. Good run for her
• 18th Sarah Schleper, (slytech-shred)She raced with the orange Brain with a blue flower on the helmet. really funny. The race wasn t so good for her, she can be faster!

Sunday's Aspen Slalom:

• 8th place Lindsay Vonn raced on Slytech shin guards. She seemed more self confident.
• 15th Michelle Gagnon: she raced with Slytech shin guards and had a fantastic 2nd.
• 25th Resi Stigler: The first race after the injury, she is happy to be back on the snow and she was pretty good considering that the Aspen conditions were somewhat sloppy for the slalom. She raced with her Slytech 2nd Skin Back Protector and Slytech Nervous Shin guards.

The Men's Lake Louise Downhill:

• 4th Silvan Zurbriggen: great race for him. He s in a good shape and really good in all the disciplines. In the downhill he used the Slytech Back Protector.
• 18th Feuz Beat: the young swiss guy is coming.

Men's Lake Louise Super G:

• 9th Silvan Zurbriggen. an other wonderful race for the swiss. really good week end for him in Canada. he raced with the slytech arm guards!
• 23rd Ted Ligety. Good race if we consider that speed events are not his races.

Next week's men's race will be in Beaver Creek, Colorado and the women head up to Lake Louise. Laters!

ASPEN, CO (Nov. 24) – Seven U.S. Olympians, including 2010 medalists Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) and Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, CA) will be in the start house this weekend when the Visa Aspen Winternational opens the North American swing of the women's Audi FIS Alpine World Cup on Saturday.

Vonn and Mancuso will start both Saturday's giant slalom and Sunday's slalom, along with Sarah Schleper(Vail, CO) and Megan McJames (Park City, UT).

Also racing GS will be Leanne Smith (Conway, NH) and Laurenne Ross (Klamath Falls, OR), while Hailey Duke (Boise, ID) and Resi Stiegler (Jackson Hole, WY) will jump into the slalom.

Resi Stiegler trains giant slalom on the women's World Cup slope in Aspen (Aspen/Snowmass - Jeremy Swanson)

Fans can catch the action with a full television broadcast package featuring coverage on NBC, Versus and Universal Sports. NBC will feature the giant slalom Sunday at 1 p.m. ET with a replay set for Saturday, Dec. 4 at 4 p.m. ET on Versus followed by the slalom at 5 p.m. ET. Universal Sports will air the races on its 24-hour TV network Dec. 6-7 at noon ET.

"I feel like we had great preparation leading up to Levi," said Vonn, who finished sixth in the Levi slalom despite a big second run bobble. "Besides that mistake, I had a great second run in Levi, so I’m really looking forward to Aspen and the next technical races to hopefully get some good points."

Mancuso opted to stay in Colorado in order to capitalize on the excellent training conditions. The result of which, she says, is already paying off.

"I feel like things are coming together really well for Aspen," said Mancuso. "I felt confident in my skiing after the Soelden opener and I've just continued to feel really good on my skis throughout this entire training period."

It will be Stiegler's first World Cup race in over a year and only her fourth start since late Dec. of 2007 when she when she fractured her left arm and tore ligaments in her right knee while competing in Austria. Her return was hampered further when she broke her right leg in late summer of 2008 forcing her to skip all of the 2009 season except the World Championships where she finished an incredible 19th in slalom.

After starting the first two World Cup's last winter, Stiegler was knocked out yet again with a fractured left tibia and fibia while training for Aspen just down the road in Copper Mountain, CO.

She has been running full-length courses since early November and was back in the race start gate to forerun the FIS slalom at Copper on Nov. 19.

"It felt awesome," said Stiegler. "I was able to put down two good runs, but I did it at Copper, almost a year to the day from the crash that ended my 2010 Olympic season. I'm still things in perspective though. It's still going to be a while before I'm back to where I was two seasons ago, but I'm being smart and patient with the process."

Resi Stiegler trains giant slalom on the women's World Cup slope in Aspen (Aspen/Snowmass - Jeremy Swanson)

Thanks to the support of Mother Nature and the Aspen race crew, Stiegler and the U.S. Ski Team were able to take a number of laps on the Aspen race hill last Friday and Saturday. Technical Head Coach Trevor Wagner reported the conditions as 'incredible' and is looking forward to seeing what his Team can do on the hill this weekend.

"It's not an easy hill by any means," he said. "It’s always pulling you in one direction or another, so the more you are on the course, the more you learn to master the tricky sections. To get on the podium here, you have to risk everything and have the confidence to do it."

2010 Visa Aspen Winternational

Saturday, November 27
10 a.m. RACE START: Women’s Giant Slalom Run 1 - Strawpile
1 p.m. RACE START: Women’s Giant Slalom Final – Strawpile
6:30 – 8 p.m. Bud Light Hi-Fi Concert Series featuring Blind Melon Upper Gondola Plaza
8 – 8:15 p.m. Awards Ceremony for Giant Slalom Winners and Presentation of
Bingham Cup – Concert Stage
8:15 p.m. Fireworks Extravaganza - Little Nell

Sunday, November 28
10 a.m. RACE START: Women’s Slalom Run 1 - Strawpile
1 p.m. RACE START: Women’s Slalom Final – Strawpile

Sarah Schleper trains giant slalom on the women's World Cup slope in Aspen (Aspen/Snowmass - Jeremy Swanson)

Sarah Schleper trains giant slalom on the women's World Cup slope in Aspen (Aspen/Snowmass - Jeremy Swanson)

Ever seen Sarah Schleper psyche herself up in the start gate before a race? That patented "rooooooooaaaaaaaar" has kept her going all these years and keeps her coming back for more. Named to the US Ski Team once again, Sarah now straps on her Slytech Back Protection and Nervous Shin and Arm Guards... here her racer profile:

Name: Sarah Schleper

Sport: Alpine Skiing

Hometown: Vail CO

Birthdate: Infinity

Best Results: World Cup Podiums, World Cup Win

About Me: Sarah Schleper made her World Cup debut at home but three years later was injured when the World Championships came to her hometown in '99. She's been to three Olympics, been ontop of a World Cup podium and won 4 U.S. championships. She likes that view from a podium.

Skiing Magazine called her "the great blonde hope -- part Rasta, part Harpo, part Medusa, all Sarah." In her free time, she likes to see her brother Johnny play live concerts with the MTHDS and surf. Schleper is frequently recognized by her thicket of long, curly blond hair, which can be unruly, bringing about mystical qualities.

Twelve years after her World CUp debut, Sarah wed Federico Gaxiola de la Lama of Mexico. The two welcomed Lasse to the world in early 2008. With citizenship in both the United States and Mexico, Lasse has become one of the World’s youngest locals. The three of them have traveled to and from continents and countries racing in the Alpine Ski World Cup. Lion like, Schleper “roared” back at a fourth trip to the Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Schleper's father, Buzz, raised Sarah and her younger brother as a single parent. In 1972, Buzz was a self-proclaimed ski bum who moved from Minnesota to Vail with a van and $1,000 in cash. Upon arrival, he worked in a local ski shop and later opened his own store. "She literally grew up in my shop," Buzz says of Sarah. "I think she learned you have to work for everything you get." As a child, Sarah would beg her father to ski, then head to the shop afterwards and fall asleep under one of the ski-tuning benches. When Buzz got done with his shift at midnight or later, he would carry his sleeping daughter to the car and drive her home. Sarah began skiing at age 2 after receiving a pair of skis for her birthday. She was racing by age 11. Schleper won five Junior Olympics gold medals and was Junior Skier of the Year for "Ski Racing" in 1995; she also was Whistler Cup slalom champ in '94 and made her World Cup debut at Beaver Creek, Colorado, in November 1995 at age 16. In '97, Schleper was slalom silver medalist at World Juniors.

- Paul Robbins (Friend of Alpine Ski Racing)

Website: in progress

TV: Truth in Motion. Rocky Mountain News 'Vail's Olympic Mom'

Something You Think Everyone Should Try In Their Lifetime: meditation

Craziest Dream: all my dreams are crazy. But I tell you this: my living waking dream is my fantasy. I am happiest when I'm counting my blessings and living with an open heart. The forces are strong to pull you about, but if you can surrender and be yourself, no matter what, that is what it feels like to be free.

Age You Learned to Shred: I was born shredding.

What Excites You: Yes people, let's do it together. Make changes. One love. Care for our home, care for our brothers and sisters. Let's live in peace. Accept the unaccepted and expect the unexpected.

Hard-charging Leanne Smith joins the Slytech team! For those of you who don't know her, here's a little introduction.

BIOGRAPHY
Olympian Leanne Smith followed her older sister Laurel into skiing, latched onto racing and has kept shaving microseconds from her time. A NorAm champion and topflight junior skier, she inked a spot on the World Cup elite after finishing 23rd in her career first World Cup start, which also happened to be the first downhill of the 2008 season.

Coming back from injury is never easy, but it didn't slow Smith in 2010. After missing the latter half of 2009 with a torn ACL, this Granite Stater linked World Cup points in seven races (scoring in downhill, super G and super combined) and notched a Europa Cup downhill win en route to three top five finishes at her first Olympic Winter Games. Then she won the U.S. downhill title.

Early summer, she was nailing the Center of Excellence with a bit of rehab following a minor knee scope and a procedure to remove a screw from her ACL surgery, but all things are pointing in the right direction and Smith was full speed by New Zealand.

LEANNE SAYS
It was definitely cool to be a part of the Olympics for the first time, but I didn't want to just be a part of the team, I wanted to kick some butt and I think I could have skied a lot better.

I'm proud of my season and things are coming along. I was more consistent towards the end of the year and feeling more confident. I got my butt kicked in the gym this summer doing a lot of things at the Center of Excellence and I made the switch to Rossignol, which I'm really positive about. I'm psyched on our new coaches and I'm excited about next season and the few after. I'm ready to do some damage.

FIRST TRACKS
On skis at six, Smith followed sister Laurel into skiing at Cranmore, the heralded Mount Washington Valley ski area made famous when instructional legend Hannes Schneider arrived from Austria in 1938. Smith skied for Cranmore’s race team until she entered Kennett H.S., where she continued racing. She spent a year at UNH and took leave for Winter ’07 when she moved to the Mount Washington Valley Ski Team...and erupted for a breakout season as a double NorAm champion.

OFF THE SNOW
Smith is in her third summer taking classes at Westminster. It's easy to stay motivated on school and working out with roomies/teammates Alice McKennis, Julia Ford, and Hailey Duke around. Spends as much time back East as possible, especially kicking it in NH during the month of May, which for some reason always has amazing weather.

I have no idea what these guys are saying, but if you watch this video, you won't need to understand the words. The pictures say it all... INSANE skiing action!

Makes you reconsider whining on a groomer wipe out! Booo-hoooo...

Introducing the all new 2nd Skin Protection Series from Slytech. Subtle, yet important enhancements have been made across the line, making for an even more free and safe experience. Whether you're into snowboarding or skiing -- even mountain biking -- you can rest assured that these products have been thoroughly engineered with REAL SCIENCE backing up the safety claims.

*** STORES ARE PREORDERING NOW! If you already know you're in need of a new back protector or other protection products for next season, call your local distributor with your request. The contact information is listed below the pictures ***

You just never know when a huge ski slam like this one will happen. It can strike anywhere, anytime, so lessening the probability of serious injury with protection will keep you riding longer! Ski back protection and helmets are key.

click pic to enlarge

It's no secret that hurling yourself down the mountain at high speeds, with changing terrain, light and weather at every turn is a dangerous endeavor. Top German Newspaper Welt had a full double page spread on all the typical injuries that can plague skiers all over the world.

Top injuries include:

• skull farctures
• dislocated shoulders
• thumb sprain
• collar bone fracture
• spinal chord injury
• femur fracture
• meniscus/ knee injury
• ankle fractures
• muscle tear
• scrapes and scratches

Injury is all about PROBABILITY (not if, but when) and the more precaution you take in mitigating that probability, the more up-time you'll have on the hill, the more stoke you'll feel while shredding. Of course, who wants cumbersome protection that inhibits freedom of movement? Who really wants to lessen injury probability if it means being weighed down by bulky protective gear?

No one.

That's why it's so important to TRY different protective gear before you buy. It pays to head down to your local shop and try the various brands out... and if your store doesn't carry SLYTECH, go ahead and tell them you want to try one.

We're pretty certain that the soft, pliable memory cell foam of the Slytech 2nd Skin Back Protector or the new Kevlar® infused SLAMMER PRO will provide that maximum freedom of movement and probability mitigation that you want and need to protect your spine, shoulders, and coccyx.