What can we learn about our everyday skiing from current World Cup Ski Racing? 

or

The value of 1) versatility, 2) angulation, 3) knowledge, and....

 

     
  Knowledge (and versatility)

Hermann Maier, talking about the Super-G race he just won at Lake Louise on November 30, 2008, says he remembered the course from the last time he raced, and one turn in particular was very difficult so, he said, he decided to use the old French rotation technique.  It takes knowledge to pull that one out of your bag of tricks. 

 

Angulation:  Oliver Brand increases his angulation, thereby putting more of his mass over the outside ski.  You can see the increased snow displacement from image 1 through image 4.  The snow displacement started in image one, when the downhill ski was engaged and continues in image two where the ski is continued to be bent.   At this point I'm not sure whether the angulation comes first (in this instance) or is a response to the pressure on the outside ski. 

 

 

 

 

Versatility (and agility):

 

Four different skiers showing a couple different styles.  The first and second, Peter Fill, #10 and Manfred Moelgg, #35, are on the same team (Italy) and show a similar style, but very different times.  Peter Fill won the race, but Manfred Moelgg came in 65th, 3.61 seconds behind Fill.  The third image, skier Klaus Kroell, #13 (Austria), is showing different form, perhaps being jarred causing his center of mass to be further inside the arc his skis are taking.  Kroell came in 5th, only 0.29 seconds behind.  The fourth image, although from the Super-G rather than the downhill, shows another Austrian, Michael Walchhofer, shows similar form as Kroell.  It seems true that different teams have different styles.