Getting a boot set up on world cup skiers, is not as easy at it may first appear. The best skiers are in very stiff boots, and they dictate how you will stand on your skis. If the angles are not correct relative to the leg and ankle, adaptive movements are required to overcome the mis-alignment.
How is the correct set up achieved? The process starts with a complete analysis of the foot and ankle. Also, a fitting evaluation is incredibly important, especially for how the ankle and foot sit in the boot. Next is analysis of how the boot cuff acts on the leg. This is measured statically standing and can also be done dynamically indoors on an angled slant board. The last but not least part of the set up is the boot sole canting angle.
All of these steps leads to a functional alignment of the leg, boot and ski. This helps the skier move the body optimally to align with the forces working on the body. When one part of this process isn't right, adaptive movements become part of the skier's technique.
The top racers on the World Cup are great athletes and they can adapt to a compromised boot set up. Although to the regular viewers the skier maybe skiing fine, the ski actually isn't doing the job it could with the right set up, therefore, it affects speed down the course.
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Above the gate the angles are not developed yet with the lower body, the legs are stiff, not moving to create angles. All the weight is on the inside ski. |
The untrained eye will except this as the best one can do in a tough turn on very hard snow. However if you compare this to the same skier in the same type of turn in previous boot set ups, there is a huge difference. You can visit other posts here on this Blog, to see the differences for this skier's technique.