Behind the Scenes - World Cup Racers FREESKIING #2

Hi
We have all seen WC racers fly down a racing track on TV. However, more fascinating is watching them out on the hill inspecting the course, warming up or performing drills. Skiing slowly. Talking to the coaches. Ripping a free run down a flat groomer on Hero Snow. Or sliding sideways down the water injected training slope. True BEHIND THE SCENES footage.
Have fun.
Tom

[@mailitedd185]

The soothing music is wonderful. I love this. Thank you. It makes the video beautiful to watch. 💖

[@Triggerboy62]

Thank you for wathing, Cheers Tom

[@jameszeng2666]

Love the video and the music ... thanks Tom

[@Triggerboy62]

Thank you too!

[@marilenacrisan1965]

Delightful..

[@chopin4321]

oh... so beautiful... i was a mogul champion.. very similar.. my little kid is starting to compete in slalom.. this is what i was looking for to show her... thanks... skiing like it should be... a children's game.. like angels.. muses all around.. pure pleasure.. relaxation.. music... everything flowing like Mozart said music should be.. soft and easy going like a finger flowing in oil... yes... thank you... do more of these please...

[@Triggerboy62]

Thank you for such a nice comment. More to come but also lots out there already that might be of interest. Have you seen our video "My Story". Its supposed to be an inspirational and informational video log of Chris skiing from age 2 until 16. Thanks for watching and all the best to you and your family, reg Tom

[@Bai_L]

Hejsan Tom! I've watched this video countless times and what attracts me the most is the section between 1:30 and 1:50. Obviously she is doing the turns slowly. Her upper body seems to follow the arc and turn as much as the lower body and the arc turns (never exceeding though). Whereas racers don't turn upper body nearly as much as the arc during competition slalom runs. Could you explain what this slow turn with the upper body following is all about? and why the upper body turning reduces when speed is increased? Thank you!

[@Triggerboy62]

Excellent question. And thanks for watching. I also wonder what she is doing. Obviously she is only doing it as a drill and not as a way to ski the race track. We often do drills that isolate movements. We also try to simplify things as much as possible. Looks like she is trying to ski without upper body counter or angulation. Just letting her upper body follow her skis. Note how she is releasing her downhill ski to initiate the turn. Later on she is making proper carved turns and you can see how adding a few movements boosts her performance quite a lot @2:02. The skidded turns actually do not require a lot of movement from her legs, hip or upper body. But carving does. Probably if you compare these two styles of skiing you can find out exactly what her technique is. How she builds up her WC technique. Her gaze at me at 1:56 is priceless :) . Cheers, Tom

[@MrMoiseyeff]

😍

[@gencosmansahin]

Tom, that tiny turn @0:47, she looks kinda like pushing the skiis forward. Is that the case there? Pushing the skiis forward for edge engagement or something?

[@makalacc]

I believe it's just a fun way to make a few quick turns at low speed, as moving the center of your gravity backwards ( and straightening up ) makes your skiis easier to turn ( but with less control ofc) . I mean that's at least how I use it, but I have no experience in racing so I could be wrong. Edit: center of W̶e̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ gravity*, English is not my greatest achievement.

[@Triggerboy62]

Interesting.... thanks for pointing it out. I took the clip and looked at it frame by frame on my editing software. First of all, she is inspecting the course and is paying any attention to any movements or technique. It looks like she is just on autopilot. Second, the course is pure ice. With some soft snow at the side of the track that has been scrubbed off of that hard surface. This makes the skis drift and skid really easily so not a lot of movements are needed to turn. When I looked at that particular turn I can see that the turn starts a moment earlier. You cannot see it from the original footage but looking at it frame by frame its clear that she starts the turn with a slight rotation movement into the turn. Right as she stops skidding in the other direction and the skis gain traction on the loose snow. This rotation momentum is enough to watch the tails of the skis out in the left hand turn. As Marko pointed out, leaning slightly back, or standing upright, she helps the skis turn as she is not turning all the way around, merely pointing her skis in the fall line as the line is straight after that gate with a hair pin. It is possible that she is applying some "foot steering" as well which would explain why her inside ski is pushed forwards. Makes any sense?

[@gencosmansahin]

​@@Triggerboy62 I dont have much experience on surfaces like these, although i cant help but think that the tips of the skiis losing contact, especially when the surface is almost rock hard like the one in the video, should result in losing control as Marko pointed out. It probably would be tricky to say the least to stay in balance while doing something like that.

[@makalacc]

@@gencosmansahin Believe me these athletes have balance on top of their priority list 😀 But yeah, simply inspecting the course and memorizing it for future runs. As this is not a stance for high speed, you wouldn't see it outside of training grounds :)

[@cormaccomerford]

She's imitating the feeling that she would experience at full speed. It takes a huge amount of force to pull yourself forward to hold onto the acceleration you experience during the second half of the turn after the gate. Hence the forward and back rocking. Also leaning to the tails helps the skis go straight after the gate when you are releasing from one turn heading towards the next. This works because the amount of ski behind the binding is less than in front so when you put weight on the tails you get less turning motion. The opposite is true when you pressure the front of the race ski - gives more turning motion.

[@otisregatoni617]

The worst was Tomba. After Calgary ‘88 Olympics, he tried to go heli powder skiing at CMH..... he could barely stand up. Probably doesn’t even ski now. Tomba was a ski racer not a SKIER. The vid is sad.

[@Triggerboy62]

Tried to look for the Tomba video but could not find it. Some of the WC racers actually ski well outside the gates but as it is their profession they tend to stick strictly to race training and racing.

[@dasalpengluhen1747]

That‘s great fluent skiing, isn‘t it! To all of us, who search for „the flow“ in skiing: Rythm and the imagination of smooth dancing moves are the key.

[@Triggerboy62]

Nobody could have said it better.... thanks and thanks for watching :)

[@tomjourney5306]

Money.

[@Triggerboy62]

Makes the world go round?