Skiing at the limit: “Then the whole package explodes”

More than 20 athletes are injured in the World Cup between women and men: is your heart bleeding or is it simply part of the job? “Of course my heart is bleeding. It's very difficult to watch. But it's not the first year it's been this bad. The difference this year is that a lot of world-class athletes were involved. That's why it generates more attention, the outcry is greater. But as stupid as it sounds: we are average. The whole story is very complex. It’s the cat biting its own tail.”

Can you explain that in more detail? “Every fall has its own history. That’s why it’s wrong to lump everything together and to demonize ski racing in general.”

Then let's start with the details. The material... “The material has long since overtaken the driver. In order to be faster and faster in this high-risk sport, the material is being exploited more and more. It's no longer just the skis alone that are dangerous. It is the combination of bindings, binding plate, ski boots and skis that is fatal. The service people, the industry, the developers and inventors – everything is subordinated to an even higher cornering speed. There is absolutely no room left for driving errors. Then the whole package explodes. The bindings are also so tight that they hardly come undone. With fatal consequences for the athletes.”

Aleksander Aamodt Kilde is out for a long time. © ANSA / PETER SCHNEIDER

Is speed the main problem? “Sofia Goggia was training during giant slalom training and her foot crumbled. She probably wasn't going that fast, but when the ski eats into it, the binding is tight, the edges are prepared to the maximum - then the ligaments and bones tear. The forces in the corners are now extreme. Even before, people drove straight ahead at 140 km/h on the descents. The difference to today is that the piste preparation was completely different and, above all, the speed in the curves was noticeably lower.”

“Would the routes have to be prepared differently? Not so icy anymore? “I don’t see that as a problem. I'm talking about the men's World Cup here. We as FIS race directors work hand in hand with the organizers and the athletes. For us it's a process of approach, from the first training session to race day. We work every day to make the slopes as safe but also as spectacular as possible. It is important that the athletes do not encounter conditions that are not rideable with the racing setup. No driver gives full throttle in training. This also requires us as piste builders to have some flexibility between training and racing. Then there are the athlete representatives with whom we are constantly in contact: before training, after training. For some drivers it never goes fast enough, others are more cautious. Some only see their own advantage, others find fault with every curve and every jump. But when it makes sense, we are the first to take action in terms of safety.”

The dynamics of the fall not only result in cruciate ligament tears and broken bones, but also more and more cuts... “It is a fact that 80 percent of falls result in damage to the knee. What is certain is that an airbag would have helped significantly in Broderick Thompson's fall. And Aleksander Aamodt Kilde would probably be racing again if he had worn the cut-resistant underwear in Wengen.”

Why not make airbags and cut-resistant underwear a must? “There are also other protectors on the body, but they are not desired by the drivers. The airbags will be mandatory from next season, but unfortunately the underwear will not be. Ask Aksel Lund Svindal. He almost bled to death after his fall in Beaver Creek in 2007, where he cut his entire lower body including the edges. He always wore his underwear afterwards. But our problem is different.” “In MotoGP or Formula 1, decisions are made from above. The individual pilots are not asked whether something suits them or not.” Markus Waldner Namely? “Some athletes use the underwear and airbags, some don’t. It would be high time to create clarity, i.e. make it mandatory. Introducing it as just a “recommendation” is unnecessary. A top driver once told me that he would forego any safety detail if it meant being a few tenths of a second faster. In MotoGP or Formula 1, decisions are made from above. The individual pilots are not asked whether something suits them or not. The world's best ski racer - Marco Odermatt - has always skied with an airbag. I’ve never heard him complain that he feels restricted in any way.”

There is no discussion about the thin racing suits? “Of course these were also an issue. It would be very simple: Let's make thicker racing suits. Nobody notices whether you are traveling 20 km/h slower. But all the big ski nations have their own development centers, everyone looks for their own possible small advantage. The latest craze among top athletes are carbon socks. This means you are extremely rigid in the ski boot and you can put the ski on edge even faster.”

Injured: Sofia Goggia © ANSA / ANDREA SOLERO / z28

Subject of course setting? “We are at the limit on the descents. We can't make any more turns, then we're in the forest. We now have a good handle on the giant slalom and are on the right track. We have abolished the telemeter (device used to measure distances such as goal gaps). For a long time, attempts were made to set courses in the race that were identical to those previously driven in training. Just to maybe have an advantage. But in Adelboden I have to follow the terrain. An unrhythmic course must also be permitted there. That was implemented really well recently.”

Lara Gut-Behrami said in an interview that the coaches often react exaggeratedly with their radio messages when someone falls. “I thought her statements were great. Coaches tend to over-analyze everything. They comment on every meter, which is why the athletes have chaos in their heads and become very insecure as a result.”

The fact that there were more than 3 retirements in three races in Cortina d'Ampezzo was extremely worrying, wasn't it? “I am responsible for the men and was not there in Cortina. From the TV images, many drivers were simply overwhelmed; there were blatant driving errors. Even Mikaela Shiffrin wasn't really focused on the matter for a brief moment, and then it was too late. Shiffrin is the best example: She is not a typical speed specialist. Where curve follows curve, it follows along brilliantly on the descent. But where technical elements such as jumps play a role, it also has its limits.”

Back to the men. Is Wengen really too long? Can't top athletes, who do nothing but train their bodies all year long, run at race pace for 3:4 minutes 2.30 or XNUMX days in a row? “The crashes in Wengen had nothing to do with fatigue. Each of Kilde, Pinturault and Kohler's falls had its own story. Kilde was sick but still decided to compete. Pinturault, who is a former slalom specialist, made a driving error on a jump, as did Kohler. But the problem is different here too.” “I hope that we learn the right lessons from the calendar misplanning.” Markus Waldner What? “The downhill skiers used to do two training sessions a day. That is no longer possible now. Because: After the training there are media appointments, there are further commitments in the afternoon, and the start number raffle follows in the evening. The sponsors want something, and every athlete has to feed their social media with stories. This costs time and – more importantly – energy. But it's not possible to delete these so-called sideshows. More coal and less presence – that doesn’t work. And ask a professional cyclist who, after 2 hours of toil on the bike, has to get in the car for another 7 hours to get to the start of the next stage. They don’t grumble either.”

This year there is no World Cup and no Olympics. Now it's February and it almost seems like the season is already over... “The calendar is planned extremely unfavorably due to various circumstances. It's not even mid-February yet and for the downhill skiers the season is almost over. Only Kvitfjell follows in mid-February, then the World Cup final in Saalbach in March.”

That's why you go to the USA again... “Exactly, at the end of February and beginning of March we are over there for two technology weekends. I hope that we learn the right lessons from this bad calendar planning and that this doesn't happen again. Ski racing needs to come back into focus and travel routes need to be taken into account. It can't be that we have speed races on the program on 2 weekends in a row in January. It shouldn’t be surprising that many athletes can’t do that.”

13 World Cup downhill runs were on the calendar. By the end there will only be 9, right? “Exactly, and that is a “normal” value in recent years. It was clear to me from the start that the start of the season in Zermatt-Cervinia would hardly be possible. I stick with this opinion, my FIS superiors also know it. It was a shame about Beaver Creek. I am also against adding catch-up races. They have zero marketing value. We shouldn't do that anymore in the future, it's overloading the sport. I don’t think it’s good to be present too often.”

Last question: Is it understandable that many parents no longer want to send their children to ski racing? “Of course the many falls and injuries are not good advertising. But it would be wrong to use high-performance racing as an example. Franz Klemm's brother had a serious fall 50 years ago and has been in a wheelchair ever since. Skiing is a risky sport. And I stand by it: the majority of injuries can be attributed to the material. Since the advent of carving skis, which don't miss out on a mistake when backwards or in rotation, the ligaments have torn. I find it completely absurd to advise your children not to ski. It’s an incredibly complex, difficult but also fascinating sport.”

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Skiing at the limit: “Then the whole package explodes”

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