Olympics - GS vs Downhill

[gmcunni]

anyone know why the women's GS competitors had to ski the course "cold" with no practice while the women's downhill had at least 3 practice runs?

while i love to ski i am not much of a spectator/fan of the professions. I don't know if this is common or not but seems weird to me that they'd get no practice runs.

 

[cdskier]

Those are the rules...simple as that

Edit: Adding a link to some info on the various ski races...it is from the 2010 Vancouver games, but I don't think any core rules mentioned have changed: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/winter_sports/4567422.stm

 

[gmcunni]

Those are the rules...simple as that

thanks. i know they had some weather issues at the start of the games, i wasn't sure if they had to push the GS back and ended up skipping practice OR there just wasn't any.

 

[drjeff]

Yup. Downhill is the only discipline in Alpine racing with training runs before the race.

All other disciplines just have a low speed, non continuous skiing inspection of the course (or courses if it's a 2 run event) prior to the race run.

Makes it a mental challenge as well as a physical challenge to both remember the course as well as try and figure out race lines and how much speed you'll have in the course

Sent from my XT1254 using AlpineZone mobile app

 

[Jully]

Yup. Downhill is the only discipline in Alpine racing with training runs before the race.

All other disciplines just have a low speed, non continuous skiing inspection of the course (or courses if it's a 2 run event) prior to the race run.

Makes it a mental challenge as well as a physical challenge to both remember the course as well as try and figure out race lines and how much speed you'll have in the course

Sent from my XT1254 using AlpineZone mobile app

Exactly. In a nutshell, the only reason downhill gets training runs is because if they didn't it would be flat out dangerous with the way these courses are set up nowadays with the jumps and blind corners.

 

[x10003q]

Exactly. In a nutshell, the only reason downhill gets training runs is because if they didn't it would be flat out dangerous with the way these courses are set up nowadays with the jumps and blind corners.

The super g has no practice either, only inspection - which is why it is such a crazy race. With downhill practice you can get a handle on how fast you can go, lines and air time. Super g is downhill speeds and good luck with your guesses.

 

[Scruffy]

Exactly. In a nutshell, the only reason downhill gets training runs is because if they didn't it would be flat out dangerous with the way these courses are set up nowadays with the jumps and blind corners.

Right. It's a safety issue. And, by FIS rules, for the downhill, there are three training days set aside and each racer must complete at least one timed training run before the race.

 

[Jully]

The super g has no practice either, only inspection - which is why it is such a crazy race. With downhill practice you can get a handle on how fast you can go, lines and air time. Super g is downhill speeds and good luck with your guesses.

Super G is absolutely my favorite due to this haha. The one in the Olympics this year for men was nuts. First 2 crashed.

 

[Jcb890]

Even though I'm a snowboarder, I enjoy the alpine skiing events very much. Its awesome stuff to watch.

 

[Funky_Catskills]

Super G is the shit.... Love it...

 

[drjeff]

Super G is the shit.... Love it...

I used to love watching Super G more..... Now my kids are racing that event Gives a very different perspective when you listen to Bode Miller's great commentary with his own personal experiences, and then thinking (as I am right now) that both my kids will be racing Super G this Saturday (weather permitting)!!!

Pretty sure that next season, when my oldest hits the age group where she'll be finally able to race downhill, that that will 100% be a race where my wife says to me "you're going, not me!!" to that race!! LOL!

It's awesome to watch on TV, especially as someone who used to race it many years ago! It's quite anxiety inducing though to watch your kids race it from the bottom of a race course!!

 

[Glenn]

I get a little anxious watching the races on TV. I guess when you participate in the sport, you know how devastating a fall can be...especially at speed.

 

[Hawkshot99]

I get a little anxious watching the races on TV. I guess when you participate in the sport, you know how devastating a fall can be...especially at speed.

The pain from a crash wears Off, the glory of a win lasts forever!

Sent from my SM-G930F using AlpineZone mobile app

 

[bdfreetuna]

Always been a downhill over Super G guy myself.

The downhill courses usually involve some serious air time so I think it's fair to give some practice runs. It's not as if it creates any unfair advantage, but probably a lot less serious injuries and major wipe outs.