How perfect is this, Mario Matt!

Here is a comparison of a typical top level instructor skier (bottom photo) compared to a world class skier and racer. The difference is dramatic. I continue to not understand how instructors try to relate their ski techniques to world class skiing, when they don't come close when put under technical scrutiny.

Mario Matt World Class skier

                                   The French Interski Team Demonstrator, a perfect example what happens when steering the skis with the legs, is more important to the skier than tipping and counter acting, which is what Mario Matt is demonstrating. Matt demostrates, perfect PMTS technique. 

Who said Head Downhill Skis don't bend?

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Why some World Cup racers are successful and others not.

The first two racers are similar in body angle and hip position. Their ski angles which is what rally counts are also similar.

When you look at the bottom photo you see a different story. The hip is dumped into the hill and the skis are not as angled. Ted's hips are also much further behind his boots.

Ted is struggling these past two seasons in slalom and the reasons are evident. He is behind his skis, not achieving angles with his skis compared to the best slalom skiers. 

Some of Ted's problems are related to his ski boot set up. But this gets complicated and he is not getting the help he needs.

Christian Neureither 

Hirscher has completed more turn at this point than the other two racers. He consistently gets more turn completed than any other racer, because he develops more rebound and ski energy from each turn.

 

                                                    Marcel Hirscher

                                                        Ted Ligety

Baring an injury, Marcel Hirscher is your World Cup overall winner for 2012.

When Hirscher is on his game no one can touch him. His technique and aggression,  are taking ski racing to a new level. The rest of the field has to figure out how to lift their attack and technique. When you think your feet are too close together while skiing, look at the world cup skiers in slalom.

Feet together, narrow up your stance

When you think your feet are too close together, watch the world cup racers.

Technique break downs and poor boot set up, makes it tough for Ted to score on the World Cup.

In this photo, Ted is totally out of balance.

Ted is fighting two battles in slalom this season. One is his back seated position and the other is his boot set up. Ted skis mostly with his hips behind his boots in slalom, which doesn't work when the gates are close and turns are quick. In GS there is more time between gates so he can adjust. 

Schild, makes it 5 in a row, two Austrians on Podium.

Slalom Queen stomps her authority on the world, wins by 1 second. point 4.

Maze 2nd.

Austrian Women after a few rough years, are currently dominating world cup races.

Fenninger, last year's World Champion in Combined, wins GS, Schild wins the last 4 slaloms. Lindsey preying for the Downhills.

Looks like Fenninger is well set up in Head boots, so it has to be the US Head boot techs that can't get it right for Lindsey, Ted and Bode.

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Counteracted upper body

                      Sometimes counter acting is better seen looking down the slope.

Inside hand leading, chest pointing toward the falline, skis headed toward the side of the slope.

Razzoli, Olympic champion finally comes through on World Cup

Podium at Alta Badia slalom!

Slightly undisciplined with his upper body compared to the Austrians, but very fast when he makes it.

Same characteristics for Ted compared to Hirscher, as you see below with Schild and Vonn .

Here you see Hirscher outside leg already straight, with strong edge angles at the skis. He has a bowlegged set up with his boots. The Bowlegged set up  is the most successful in Slalom with shaped skis. 

Knock Kneed Alignment

Here you see Ted Ligety, this is a weak position, his ski, edge angles that let the skis slip. Ted has to wait until the back of his skis hold, but with this set up, his knee has to drop in, which is weak, it makes him late and hold on to the turn too long. Hirscher is on and off the edges fast, Ted is skiing too round because he can't get the immediate pressure on his skis he needs to be quick.

Compare best slalom skier in the world to Vonn's set up.

                                               Knock Kneed Alignment
Vonn, twisted up! When the knee drops inside as shown here, the upper body follows with flexing at the waist, this loses power to the ski. Upper body rotation follows in this case, which helped to skid the tail of the stance ski. Notice how lindsey's outside boot doesn't have a strong angle it's slipping.

Schild, Straight leg, but still countered! Check out the great alignment on this girl. She just won her 30th World Cup slalom, amazing. Straight leg, upright upper body and skis headed where they are tipping. Strong angles on both skis, no knee drive, excellent!

                The next two photos show not an subtle difference, it's dramatic.

Collapsed at the waist, excessive hip drop and excessive twist of the hips.

Head ski boot technicians still don't have ski boots figured out.

Lindsey Vonn in slalom, over counteracted and knocked kneed.

Here you have the best skier in the world and she can't buy a slalom run on Head boots. When she skied on Rossingnol boots, she used to win 2 out of 3 slaloms.  Neither can Ted Ligety or Bode Miller score in slalom, they used to win on other products.

So what is up with Head boots?

All three US champions used to win slalom races and were almost a sure bet to be on the podium in slalom, when they were on Rossingnol Skis, Boots, and or Nordica and Fischer.

Head has yet to figure out slalom, they have great skis and even their boots are great, but setting the boots up for any of their athletes, to win a World Cup Slalom, is mystifying for them.

Here is a hint, your setup for slalom, is too soft or too knocked kneed. This doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out, even if you have one, which I do.

"World Cup", ski technique, by Harald Harb

Keys to focus on, inside hand lead, inside ski tipping and flexing. PMTS shows you how you achieve these movements. Skiing is not a position! You have to know how to move into these body angles and we can teach you how. www.harbskisystems.com

This is Deville a young Italian. Great skiing! The Austrians better watch out the other countries are producing some amazing skiers.

Svindal, If you thought when you were attending one of our ski camps, that inside leg flexing and tipping, was just for fun, you might be mistaken!

Cuche, Even the best skiers in the world, screw up, if they don't counter balance earlier in the turn.

This is Bode at his best, counter acting, and with strong counter balance, the inside ski has huge angle and the outside knee, is right up against the boot. His inside ski is too far forward, but that's Bode; he never follows established, proven skiing performance. But never, I say never, model yourself after Bode, there is only one Bode.

Exiting the turn by Dopfer

Here Dopfer, one of the new stars of the German Team, is in the releasing phase of a turn. He has relaxed his holding leg, which begins his transition to the new turn. He will change edges using a strong retraction move to get the ski light. 

The releasing movement result in flat skis and and  floating light skis in transition.

Ivcia Kostelic: Winner of Slalom

This is a much more efficient body transition and angulation. From here his release is easy relative to the winding and unwinding Ligety has to do. Ligety's boot set up is the main reason for his need for contortions and adjustments. (this is an update on the previous post, so read the previous post first.)

Ligety has had to adapt to his boot set up, rather than the other way around. Most racers don't even notice this unless their coaches or Boot Technicians bring it up. Such a minor change in the boots, can improve this situation,  but not changed can effect hundreds of world cup points through a season. 

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Casper Nolan, US slalom star, Perfect body alignment, strong turn exit.

 Ted Ligety, rotated, dropped hip, weaker knee angle. Minor differences like this in each turn result in differences of consistency and time over 50 or 60 gates.