I think, and I'm not alone, that the Mens' SL field is just "stacked". Deep and talented. Very much so. There are SO many guys in the field who can bring blazing speed. Now bringing it for two runs, and across the finish line, well, that's a real challenge at times for most. Everybody in the field seems to have periods of time when they have it all working and others when they just don't quite. And all that I hear is that everybody is going full gas, pedal to the medal all the the time! Which will lead to straddles, getting thrown out, etc. These aren't like U14's backing it down to finish.
It doesn't take much to make a difference one way or the other for the experienced guys. In my observations, tweaks to boots and the whole gamut of "setup" can work magic and make them feel right on top of their game.....skiing to win. Or, they can be convinced that it needs more work, is not working and they are just not going to be near the top.
At this level, they ALL seem to be able to handle any surface, any terrain, steeps, flats, transitions......sure, some better than others. But in general, these guys are so damn good.
Right now, HK seems to have it working, both on snow and in his head. And, when he's been dialed in like this in the past, he is one tough competitor. But so are the others. I like his chances to win the globe, But there are guys who will not win the globe who could pop two runs and just smoke him in either race.
That's pretty much the way SL is these days. The first repeat winner was HK, winning both this weekend. The first six SL's.....six different winners and a lot of faces on the podium. And in Beijing each guy on the Podium {Noel, Strolz, F-S} had won on the WC this season.
Next two should be interesting, IMO!
Really amazing. Quite a bit different than the ladies.
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