Parallell GS coming up

[Karl B]

As someone that drag races in the summer and continues to ski race into my sixties, I really enjoyed the Parallel GS format. There were many similarities between the two sports. Many drag races are won or lost on the starting line due to the drivers reaction time. This is equally important in PGS, yet I did see some great comeback efforts as well. While many purists will scoff, I feel this event adds a new dimension to Alpine Racing.
What I did find interesting was there was only about 2 meter offset in the gates. Makes for a very fast race and the racers could take more risks, especially off the jumps. All in all I found it to be very entertaining.

Karl

 

[Black Dog]

I enjoy watching it. Looks like the Night League racing we do. Anybody know what length and radius they are skiing on?
Don't look like regulation GS or Slalom skis.

 

[Primoz]

Are we the exceptions and others somewhow tied with FIS who don´t venture to say what they see and feel?
Alpine racing is, with the exception of Austria´s ORF 1, just one of the sports showed and no more Nr. 1 in winter.

Realistically, I don't think alpine skiing was ever no.1 sport in winter. In Germany, which is basically all that matters in Europe, is biathlon no.1 for ages. I don't know current data, but few years ago, biathlon was sport number 3 in Germany, right behind football and formula1. On WC finals in Schladming (I think it was 2012) I was at one of last team captains meetings where they gave out some numbers, and even inside FIS, alpine was "only" number 3, with cross country being number 1 and ski jumping no.2 (mainly due Germany), and honestly, I don't think this changed much since then. When you look on all this a bit more, you will actually see that Austria is pretty much only place where they live for alpine skiing. Everything else is minor sport, even in Switzerland, which years ago was on pair with Austria when it came to skiing, but now even in Switzerland alpine skiing is not high on list anymore.

You guys are just grumpy Eastern Europeans

Haha always... and proud of that

What I did find interesting was there was only about 2 meter offset in the gates.

That's what I mean to say with my post You have someone, who's last year's results are 25, 15, DNQ1, 24, 29, 14, and this year's GS results are DNF2, DNF1, DNQ1, winning "GS" race and this year finishing third. But with 100 WC points for this win, he's secured on start number 31, even though he's around place 120-130 on GS WCSL. On normal GS day before, they had 7 gates on this length, yesterday they had some 15 or 18 gates, but with no offset, it was really more like how well you handle start and those two jumps, and that's something downhillers do better then GS guys.
PS: Even though it might look like so, I have absolutely nothing against Jansrud. He's really cool guy, and I'm happy for him to win, just not GS race, as realistically he's not a player in GS lately, so it's kinda unfair to set "GS" race just to keep some overall contender in the race.

 

[Primoz]

Anybody know what length and radius they are skiing on? Don't look like regulation GS or Slalom skis.

Alta Badia was both, this and last year GS race, which means GS rules apply. This means 195cm 35m radius GS skis. Other paralel events until now were classified as slalom, which means they were using SL skis.

 

[Swede]

Even though I am on the evil populistic and capitalistic side in this , para is of course a different thing than a normal SL or GS, no doubt. And I agree it is very questionable if SL and GS points should be awarded. Perhaps better to do them as invitationals based on points (but no points awarded) and hefty price checks to the podium. Or a few extra SL and GS-parallels so that it can become a globe of its own (scheduled against speed events) with it's own ranking, but points counted in the overall.

 

[ScotsSkier]

The US Pro tour had side by side and drop offs.
1970's:
View attachment 17462
https://www.aspensojo.com/articles/2015/2/1/breaking-trail

Ooh! Parablocks!

 

[Muleski]

Ooh! Parablocks!

Do we know who that is with the Parablocks? And the sweet knee Pads? Frenchman who had a lot of success in the mid 70's on the tour.

Who is on the left? Drawing a blank there. No goggles, hair flowing....great 70's Aspen look!

 

[James]

There were no names listed on the photo or text. Very interesting info on Aspen. Did not know this:
---------
1974: Aspen’s season pass price doubles “to keep local yahoos from skiing too much,” because tourists are intimidated. Ted Ryan ends the Mt. Hayden ski-area dream and gives the Ashcroft property to the Forest Service for preservation. Aspen ski areas break one million skier visits.
---------
So the local place became Aspen Highlands.
The timeline diesn't mention serial killer Ted Bundy's escape from Aspen Court House and run up Ajax. Captured, he later escaped from Glenwood Springs jail in the winter.

 

[Muleski]

The skier on the right, I am quite certain is Henri Duvillard. He had a very good run with the Pro Tour. That look, including the Salomon hat, looks like him. That's my guess.

The other skier....looks familiar, but I'm drawing a blank.

Aspen has a pretty colorful history, to say the least. And great skiing. It's really interesting to me to spend time with people who have been there for decades. Funny stories.

 

[James]

Here's April 1973 Pro Tour at Aspen Highlands. Not a lot of skiing in it. I think that was down Thunder Bowl, but the lift has changed. There's now a lift on the left that goes down to the High School and not the one here on lookers right.

 

[Swede]

Bojan?

 

[Don in Morrison]

I was able to see a portion of a Pro event at Copper back then. I gotta say ski racing, regardless of format, works way better on TV than in person, from a spectator standpoint.

 

[Muleski]

I have a bunch of friends that skied on the "pro tour". For most, it was not so glamorous, and it was barely enough money to pay for gas. All of the money went to a handful of guys, who won all the time. Was fun at the time.
Peter Dodge, the longtime Dartmouth coach skied for a year or two after his USST time.

The has been some talk and activity looking into bringing it back........

 

[Muleski]

Bojan?

Don't think so. Bojan is younger than I am, and I think that picture is around 1975. So he would be 18 or so. Plus he had a pretty lengthy "amateur" career. Good guess.

I was trying to figure out the coloring of his clothes, if that was a clue. Face looks familiar, but no recall!!

 

[Bad Bob]

Fis really needs to hurry up with their evolution program in Alpine Ski Racing. They could eliminate so many events that just don't draw the world market and get right to the obvious final event to attract viewership :

Chinese Downhills! (None of this lame Ski-Cross) This would be a great made for TV sport, FOX would bid on this. Imagine dropping 6 race simultaneously off the top of KT22 with about 5 gates to the finish. You could run one heat every 15 minutes leaving plenty of time for commercials, replay of all the crashes (while the course officials mop up the blood) and still interview the heat winners.

Any kind of ski racing is a good thing, if there are different names on the podiums all the better.

Merry HanYulChrisKwan my Friends. Pray for Peace.

 

[James]

Wrll maybe @Bob Barnes could help identify the skiers. He skis on that trail or looks at it everyday now.
1970's:

https://www.aspensojo.com/articles/2015/2/1/breaking-trail

 

[Muleski]

I will bet money that the guy on the right is Henri Duvillard. I think the other guy is Italian.

I might need to check the Aspen Historical Society archives. They have an incredible collection of pictures, many of this era. Some cataloged with names.

Might be some local knowledge among those 60+!

 

[Black Dog]

Alta Badia was both, this and last year GS race, which means GS rules apply. This means 195cm 35m radius GS skis. Other paralel events until now were classified as slalom, which means they were using SL skis.

It really did not look like that was what most of them were one. A couple of the had what looked like GS cheaters on. Very wide tip and tail. I even slow mow a few to try to tell.
I noticed some of the guys on Heads had skis with last years graphics.

 

[Black Dog]

If you watch the end of this video Sarrzin is holding the skis he raced with (notice all the scratches on them) if they were prop skis they would be pristine.
Very short with wide tips. Definitely not FIS GS skis.

 

[Muleski]

Alta Badia was both, this and last year GS race, which means GS rules apply. This means 195cm 35m radius GS skis. Other paralel events until now were classified as slalom, which means they were using SL skis.

Agree with @Primoz. Quite sure if we wanted to dig through the FIS WC rules, we would find the exact wording. These are considered a GS race, and GS skis are what were skied. 35M min radius, 195cm. Sort of explains the set!

I suspect that some of the old graphics might be explained by there being a couple of pairs around with a slightly different sidecut or layup that might be better suited to this.

Skis at the end of the video are podium/box skis. Every Fischer athlete has been given a Curv this season, and often one that they have held base toward the camera. The graphic on the yellow base shows up better. Since this was his first podium, he might not have been schooled on that drill.

When the parallel's were SL, like last year's "City Event", there were some different skis being skied. 170-175cm. I know that Head made a run of them for the purpose. Or so I was told.