Chris vs Kristoffersen - GS Performance Analysis

Here is a short Performance Analysis of a junior ski racer using Vegas Movie Studio 15.0 Platinum. As a reference we have no less than one of the best WC skiers ever, Henrik Kristoffersen.
The aim here is not to point out flaws and mistakes but instead look for differences and similarities. The best thing to do is to compare to the best there is. That's when video and some editing skills comes in handy. Many use The Coach’s Eye and I do it also but somehow I find the Movie Studio Platinum easier to work with and for what I do anyway.
Disclaimer. Let me point out the obvious first. Chris is here in this video using a SL helmet with a shin guard not allowed in GS. He was trying out GS skis for the first time and he only had a SL helmet. This will not happen again.
Hope you enjoy the video. Leave a comment and don't forget to subscribe. I'm releasing new videos every week.
reg. Tom

[@arontal]

Love these sorts of break downs. Very informative. Thank you.

[@miltiadischeimonidis]

Just bravo triggerboy62, you make a perfect job! Thank you...

[@paleace]

Really good analysis. Feeling enlightened 😁

[@word67]

Great -- I''m trying to grasp "scarving" this year and been looking for a clear analysis I can see. Hard to pick it up just watching great racers in real time. This is the best I've seen. thank you. I like going over these things pre season so when I get on skis I can work on them correctly. Keeps the blood going for me.

[@Triggerboy62]

Im a little late to the party here and maybe I answered before all my comments were erased but let me thank you for all your good words on my video. Now its past season and hope you could experiment this past winter.

[@billarmatage5858]

And thank you for the analysis! Excellent!

[@byjavy8672]

Great job!! Thanks for sharing.

[@nenesurfer]

One of the best videos ever, thank you, I (we) can learn a lot from it, it’s all in there Best regards

[@Triggerboy62]

Wow, thanks! I just met Kristoffersen and told him about this video. He laughed :) By the way, have you seen the new video I made of Kristoffersen? Also, there is more to come. I have lots of runs by him from this week that's not in that video. Cheers, Tom

[@lynnmiller5940]

Great visuals and trigger phrases that I think will help me learn better angulation when I am limited with my knee and ankle flexibility (probably due to age and imjury). Thank you so much for posting. Your ski racing videos are at the top of my list as the best for ski racing internet learning.

[@Triggerboy62]

Thank you very much for your kind words. And for watching, liking and commenting on my videos. I broke my ankle in 2018 and I'm still not recovered fully. I feel pain in my ankle every time I ski. Not before I broke my ankle did I know how much my ankle joint moves inside the boot. Stretch and work on ankle mobility. All the best to you!

[@Triggerboy62]

Linn, I went over to your YT channel to check you out. Boy was I surprised. The connection is 100%. Love your stuff. BTW, search my channel for tennis, particularly the ones where I compare myself to Fed and Djoko. Be creative :)

[@trouts4444]

Excellent production. Great to get views like this. More.....

[@lachilly1131]

And now, Kristofferson is the GS Worldchampion

[@jagers4xford471]

Love the side by side, great job... One thing I see allot of athletes do and I encourage them to experiment with is, forcing the outside arm through the turn, rather then leaving it in trail. Ligity was great at this and made history doing it. The other factor that has made headway is reducing the amount of counter seen at the apex. Maintaining lead, but not facing outside the turn to the point of winding them up. Thank you.

[@Triggerboy62]

Thanks for your comment. Yes, the outside arm drive can boost your carving a lot done correctly. Could youplease explain a bit more in detail what you said about counter. Thanks :)

[@TomBomBing]

Very talented skier :)

[@Chris-jr8ci]

Thanks ;)

[@magnificoas388]

Very good imho ! @ 5:14 you say "very similar except thay Chris drives his knees into the turn for higher edge angles". Very important point : at that point Kristoffersen is PREPARING the following apex with inclination instead of knees action. While Chris uses unfortunely his knees too early (in french we say "dissociation pluri-segmentaire"). The result will be MORE edge angles for Kristoffersen LATER at apex.

[@Colem359]

The song in the beginning, Castleshire if I'm correct, sounds a whole lot like Leo kottke's vaseline machine gun. Also, nice analysis.

[@HeroMaster23]

You are very great!

[@Triggerboy62]

Thanks :)

[@miked.7722]

Super Job! lots of work went into this and it shows. What I see when Chris is different from Kristoffersn at the gate Kristoffersen has a counter which is actually his shoulders hips, knees, boots&skis lined up (stacked, if you put three lines through the shoulders, hips and boots they would all match up) which is more powerful than what Chris is doing in that he is actually rotating a little bit with his upper body a slightly weaker position. Just something Chris can learn and improve on Chris is a really hot racer great job to Chris and to you dad.

[@Triggerboy62]

Thousand thanks Mike. You are perfectly right in your analysis. We are aware and working on it :)

[@TopAlpineSkiing]

great 👍

[@Triggerboy62]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@keirfarnum6811]

Chris is really hunched forward through the transition between turns. He needs to stand up and return to the athletic position between turns. It’s a common mistake: not completing the turn fully and transitioning back to the athletic position between turns before starting the next turn. While freeskiing, he should emphasize finishing his turn, pause long enough to to stand tall with his hands in front for a few extra seconds before starting his next turn. Emphasize and exaggerate the in between phase. His feet look good and he has a nice carve though. Edit: you mention exactly what I was talking about at 5:10. And you’re right. Too much rotation through the turn and not enough counter rotation in the shoulders. Tell him to get his hips forward; it will help with the hunching aspect.

[@Triggerboy62]

Thanks for your comment. Yes, we have been working on this exact movement. This video and the discussion that has followed, particularly the input from Rasmus W, has helped us a lot. This video has prooven to be the most helpful coaching session for Chris ever. And continues to be so. As you so well pointed out, Chris skis well but there is always room for improvement. Thanks :)

[@keirfarnum6811]

@@Triggerboy62 I had that same problem myself for a long time when I was racing. Once I learned to get my hips forward, it allowed my to straighten my knees and get a more skeletally stacked position in the turn. I also made that same mistake of not squaring up to the skis between turns; it’s always easier to say than to do! 😁. Chris is going to be a great racer though. He’s getting there.

[@mauro2223]

Hi Tom , thanks for all the videos .. what kind of music is for the first 2 min ? thanks a lot Mauro

[@Triggerboy62]

Hi Mauro, thanks for watching and writing a comment. Glad you liked the music. The name of the song is "Castleshire" by Chris Haugen. Its in the KZbin creators free music library. Thats where I take all my music to avoid copyright claims. BTW, what do you like my own song Blanco Post Office? Search for it on my channel.

[@mauro2223]

@@Triggerboy62 Thanks a lot Tom and again.. thanks a lot for all your useful video..

[@Halblooline]

I’m watching this video again! At 5:23 can I say Chris is more like a SL racer on GS course for this turn?

[@Triggerboy62]

Yes, could be. That is actually a super nice turn by Chris. Chris has not done lots of GS training so SL carries over I guess. Thanks for watching and for your nice comment. What exactly are you referring to when you say its more of a SL turn than a GS turn? More anticipation, upper body facing more in the fall line, before the gate?

[@Halblooline]

@@Triggerboy62 I feel Chris has more anticipation and face the fall line earlier, while Kristoffersen is more patient and let the ski turn the body. Also, Chris shows a more aggresive initiation of the turn because he seems flex the knee a lot. Kristoffersen stands up higher. But interestingly Kristoffersen was not late or low for that turn. How could that happen?

[@RasmusIsh1234]

Again, keep going! I know there are a lot of experts around these comment sections but keep going and keep smiling. I would although take another look at the so called crossover you guys are working on, from apex and out your goal is to bring as much speed out of the turn. This crossover will kill any momentum and is a way of keeping the speed down, sometimes good, but also one of the reasons some wc SL racers was winning 5 years ago, but aren’t anymore! Good luck!

[@charlesalarie543]

Dude, Rasmus is a World Cup skier

[@magnificoas388]

Sorry but I don't understand what Rasmus said about SL racers since they almost use only crossunder transitions..for so many years!

[@RasmusIsh1234]

Triggerboy62 Hello again, sorry for my late reply. Haven’t been all to much around KZbin lately, love that there is some discussions and that you guys want to hear more. I’m going to talk mainly about SL, but as an example at the end use the GS turn shown at 5.15 and particularly what you described as a tactical difference, while I would say it’s one thing that makes Henrik the fastest in the world. 5 years ago when Henrik broke through in World Cup and won his first races, he was the first to fully understand and start using what they called it then/what we still call it “to stand against.” This starts early on into the turn, but the main difference isn’t seen until exit/transition into the next. After a ski has fully bent you want to bring as much of the tension of the ski to create/maintain speed, any movement that counters this move, collapsing upperbody/or bending your knees will kill some of the potential speed that you could have brought with you into the next turn. You see it more extremely if you look at flats, Levi, a hill you guys know very well is a perfect example, try to look at some WC races from before and really look at the difference between racers that fully stand against/even makes extra movements upwards/forwards to create even more, compared to racers that let some of the tension disappear with a flex in knees or upperbody. It’s tough to explain all of this in a comment, but as a final example you can look at the exit of the turn shown at 5.15 and look at the difference, Henrik doesn’t let any of the power from his skis go anywhere but forwards to create, while Chris in this example, let’s a lot of what he created in apex go away with bending knees/and upperbody. In general, both of these skills are important to master, the standing against is particularly tough and will take practice and understanding, but in the end, this is where skiracing is going. More and more racers are able to master this standing against, even in steep hills. And maybe particularly for you guys I think it’s something to focus on going forward. But this is all my opinion, try to take a deeper look into it and see if you understand what I’m talking about. I hope all is well, and have a great Easter. Let me know if there are any more questions.

[@RasmusIsh1234]

Triggerboy62 no worries. When coaching this stuff it’s extremely important to learn the difference between standing against before apex and follow through, compared to standing against from apex and out. The usual result of standing against or focusing on it to late will result in the skis going to fast for the body to follow them, which will result in the tips leaving the ground or the racer hanging to much in the backseat which will result in an not so perfect entry into the next turn. So, you initiate the turn in the position you want to finish the turn, you then focus on almost locking your body in that position while creating the angulation needed which will result in an earlier release then your used to, this will give you more time and space to work on the next turn, the rest is up to practice. At the beginning this will feel strange, for a time he will lock the position to late and feel like his skis are not with snowcontact, this is most certainly because he starts to stand against to late. This is although very difficult to master, and as previously stated only what maybe the top 10 SL racers really have mastered. I just think that for Chris to focus on keeping his upperbody a bit more up, and not purposely working on bending his knees too much in between turns is his next step. Keep asking questions if there are anything else, looking forward to seeing him working in this in a future video!

[@magnificoas388]

@@Triggerboy62 Hello I am following conversation between you and Rasmus. Very interesting. I won't interfere between you 2 :) I have read Rasmus remarks carefully. And I have a question for you Triggerboy62: what is the goal of Outside Leg Flexion?

[@CostantinoLenzi]

I don't understand if traslation extension start from outside ski new inside or from inside ski..i thinked outside..but here in video they pull up outside ski

[@CostantinoLenzi]

@@Triggerboy62 but In exceptions like in Krist turn at 5.55 what happened, he start to push on the inside leg new outside?

[@CostantinoLenzi]

@@Triggerboy62 thanks. My confusion come from exercises like that in link. As you can see in this exercise the transition start from outside ski not from inside..but in your video here seems the opposite (2.23)..I'm so confused..have this exercise sense? m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/mamanmaNdrN2mKs

[@CostantinoLenzi]

@@Triggerboy62 thanks, but this drill is the same happened in basic beginner : from parallel to snowploug start extend from outside ski then open inside ski light go in fall line and then switch weight on the new outside and return parallel.. But seems in gs everithing change.. Im still confused but i will try to start change weight directly from inside ski new outside. Thanks from your time.

[@CostantinoLenzi]

@@Triggerboy62 today i tried flexing trough transition and i tried OLR and i have really a new good sensation especially in steep slope where i have problems, still i have a problem that my inside leg is to much foward and my hips slightly rotated, in your video Chris oriented his upper body to the fall line, this don't cause a twisted hips in gs slalom? Thanks

[@kchughes7901]

now i just have to do it!

[@Triggerboy62]

Go for it :)

[@kchughes7901]

@@Triggerboy62 very helpful and well done video.

[@magnificoas388]

hello I have new remark at 4:07 I agree with you when you compare Krist vs Chris. You see counter ok. Krist does counter. Chris no. And you say : "counter helps push your hips into the turn while balancing over our outside ski". I don't have same idea about the role of counter. First, "balance over outside ski" is rather linked with angulation instead of counter. More angulation more pressure on the outside ski. Second for me counter is the result of the TORSION of your body at apex. At apex you use this torsion and also the dissociation of all segments for a solid pressure on your skis. So Krist does this. Chris doesn't do :)

[@magnificoas388]

@@Triggerboy62 I am a fan of your videos and now I am following Chris's improvement :) You have very good eyes to point out the differences between C and K. This is very analytic. Next step and I am sure you are working on it, is synthesis. This is more complicated since it is not only about relations between all the visual "components" you noticed. It is also about including performance keys: quality of the pressure at apex, energetic approach, trajectories, etc. The synthesis requires precision about the roles of each components. If not, synthesis is wrong and message to the skier will not be optimal. I told you here in youtube about : 1/ OLF-OLR role 2/ counter role 3/ forward wheight transfer etc. Each time my ideas were different of yours. That is why I posted them :)

[@user-il3gh2qr1y]

Compared to Christophersen, only Hirscher is well done. And Chris still needs to work on his technique. The main problem, in my opinion, is the lack of vertical work. Because of this, ski loading is insufficient and it is difficult to make a clean turn.

[@c.g.c2067]

the hip position is different.

[@rhystrudeau9546]

wait why is he wearing a chin guard in GS???

[@miked.7722]

one is a high school racer who pays for everything, hence he has one helmut and the other is a WC who pays for nothing,

[@BurakSahinOnline]

This is the main problem of sport. If you want to be in top you should pay for everything, every year, every race and training. For me, as a former racer chris doing amazing job. But as we all know it’s not enough, he should join FIS races by his pocket money or from his ski school (if he is lucky guy) and he must promote himself to get some sponsors for his expenses. Unfortunally many perfect talented racers are disappearing because of financial issues...

[@skrxxet7845]

Chris has a positional problem but good job overall. nice video

[@Triggerboy62]

Thanx :)

[@jerzybartonezz4439]

Thanks. I think Chris is out of balance. He consistently drags his outside ski tail out, pushing it "sideways" and loosing speed. Kristoferson,s body moves less. "Less is more".

[@Triggerboy62]

Yes, Chris pivots a lot more.

[@pacific_1286]

Du blockierst di, wenn du dein Oberkörper nach vor kippst! Oberkörper aufrecht! Hüfte muss zum Hang nicht wegdrehen beim Tor.

[@Triggerboy62]

Thanks for commenting. So you think Chris rotates his hips outwards in the turn and that the forwardlean is the problem?

[@jacoporinaldi373]

I hope u are joking, u can't compare your self with a wc champion. You compress and roll back every corner, and you don't move forward

[@Triggerboy62]

Hi, thank you for watching and commenting. We compare to find ways of improving and better to compare to the best.

[@LukeZhang]

This is my impression as well. Just look at 4:25 and one was clearly in backseat and shoulders squared up.