Reduced Drag Destroyer Shin Guards

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!

If you checked out the alpine ski action at the Olympics, then you would have seen a whole lot of racers dawning Slytech Protective Gear.

Here's just a brief rundown:

1. Bode Miller used Slytech Nervous Arm Guards in his silver medal performance in the Super G.
2. Silvan Zurbriggen was on Slytech Nervous Shin Guards in his bronze medal super combined performance.
3. Ted Ligety rocked the Nervous Arm and Shin Guards in his 5th place Super Combined finish.
4. Julia Mancuso and most of the US Ski Team hittin' it with Slytech Nervous Shin Guards and Arm Guards. Julia got ANOTHER SILVER!

Racers on the start list for tomorrow's Giant Slalom who have worn Slytech in the past and are likely to use us again include:

• Ted Ligety (USA)
• Tommy Ford (USA)
• Jake Zemansky (USA)
• Bode Miller (USA)
• Silvan Zurbriggen (SUI)
• Marc Berthod (SUI)
• Didier Defago (SUI and winner of the Olympic Downhill Gold)
• Andre Myhrer (NOR)
• Sandro Viletta (SUI)
• And several more...

Keep an eye out for our boys tomorrow at 10:30 Pacific Time from Whistler Creekside. Giant Slalom, baby!

Were you able to check out the TRUTH IN MOTION broadcast on NBC yesterday? If not, you really missed something quite worthwhile.

Good news is, you can catch it again at the following times:

Universal Sports: Sunday January 31, 10-11pm
Monday February 8, 8-9pm
Thursday February 11, 9-10pm

While a lot of the story is about Ted Ligety's road to Vancouver as he fights for top spot on the squad and his 2006 Torino Olympic Gold, the heart of the story really centers around the Slytech crazy man Jake Zamansky.

It's Jake's dedication to even just make the US Olympic Squad and qualifying or else be faced with imminent retirement that helps make this documentary compelling. Stunning visuals (thanks to funding by Audi) and the directorial work of Brett Morgan, make this a must-see for any ski racing fan. Check it out!

Jake Zamansky Audi Birds of Prey in Beaver Creek Photo © Eric Schramm

Ted Ligety reacts to an excellent second run to finish 8th in the Wengen slalom (Doug Haney/U.S. Ski Team)

Slytech Nervous Shinguards representing in Wengen, Switzerland this past weekend. The Ted Ligety + Silvan Zurbriggen duo bringin' it home in both the Super Combi and the Slalom:

Friday's Super Combi:
3rd Silvan Zurbriggen
5th Ted Ligety

Sunday's Slalom:
6th Silvan Zurbriggen
8th Ted Ligety

Racers are always looking for any possible advantage to shave even just a mili-second off of their time. Whether it's the particular wax that's used, the ski edges that are tuned in a specific way, the material of the speed suit or the way the shin guards slap the gates away, everything comes together.

We reported last February that several racers grab the Slytech's even though they are sponsored by other manufacturers. We've been told that it's because they have what racers call a more "elastic feel." The result is less energy wastage of the protector hitting the gate, allowing the skier to plow through efficiently.

Ted's Grill

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Courtesy of the US Ski Team

Are you a ski speed freak? Then you have to see this teaser to the upcoming release of Truth In Motion: The U.S. Ski Team's road to Vancouver a documentary film to hit TV in the USA on January 30th.

It's scheduled to air on Jan. 30 at 8 p.m. on NBC, followed by an encore showing on USA Network on Feb. 6, the film chronicles the trials of select members of the U.S. Ski Team as they prepare for Vancouver in 2010.

If the visuals are anything like the teaser suggests, then this should be a MUST-SEE for any ski buff.

Check it...

Ted Rocks the Stach at Beaver Creek

For those of you in North America checking out the Men's Giant Slalom race from Beaver Creek, Colorado on UniversalSports.com (and of course televised in Europe), you saw some pretty sweet nail-biting action. Ted Shred just missed the podium by 0.21 seconds behind Aksel Lund Svindal with a mistake in the 2nd run that cost him.

But you would have also seen 4 out of the top 12 racers wearing Slytech:

• Ted Ligety of the USA
• Hannes Reichelt of Austria
• Didier Cuche of Switzerland (2nd Place in Saturday's Downhill)
• Sandro Viletta also of Switzerland

Not a bad weekend for the Slytech guys.

Didier Cuche Rockin' the Slytech Nervous Arm Guards

First off, a hearty congratulations to the Slytech Shredder Ted Ligety for his 2nd place finish in the season opener in Solden, Austria. He's an established Slytech rider who's been loving his protection for years now.

What you may not have known is that Didier Cuche, the winner of the steep hill Soelden GS race, ALSO rocks the Slytech Protection! Check out this pic from the race...

That's some serious fire-power right there! Cuche # 1, Ligety #2, both relying on Slytech to protect them. And it's never been more important than in an Olympic year to keep your body protected. If you get injured now, your 2010 Vancouver Olympic dreams are toast.

CONGRATULATIONS BOYS!

Ted will rock out with this Polo outfit.

Fresh off the presses of the Wall Street Journal... Polo Ralph Lauren made a deal with USOC to feature athletes wearing their threads during the 2010 Olympics. Amongst the shredders wearing a zip-up snowflake sweater with the Polo Player Logo at the Vancouver games???

... our very own TED LIGETY. Sweet Teddy! Rock it out with the Polo!

Read the entire Wall Street Journal article here (have fun).

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."

These are some more pictures taken from ISPO in Munich at the beginning of February. Snowboard legend Romain Di Marchi and Olympic Gold Medalist Ted Ligety took the time to meet and greet with fans and industry players, sign autographs and show the serious engineering merits of Slytech and Shred products. The show was a huge success and everyone here is so stoked to see the family of shredders come together under one roof at one booth.