Do they get a split via an ear piece or maybe have someone yelling a split at them from the side or do they have no idea until they get to the bottom if they are ahead or behind?
Do they get a split via an ear piece or maybe have someone yelling a split at them from the side or do they have no idea until they get to the bottom if they are ahead or behind?
They wouldn't be able to hear splits. Fast skiing creates a lot of noise on the snow, as well as the wind passing by the ears. They would have to use ear pieces, but I doubt those are allowed.
Nordic skiing gets most of its intensity because of the time trial setup. You can never slack off.
Imagine Mr. Farrah had to run against the clock!
I came to see if there was a Schriffin goes home devastated thread. That's what happens when you are expected to win two golds. One gold is a major accomplishment! She did well. She looked like she had the flu in that interview before the second run.
No, they don't get their splits during the run.
No. Alpine skiing is tenths or hundreths of seconds. Watching teenage hotshots--not world class-- on the downhill or super g--there is no perceptible difference from one to the other--they just whiz by. World cup skiers are very similar--just whiz by 10 mph faster. Standing on the course is not like watching it on TV. 1st to 15th in the Olympic Downhill is probably within a couple seconds in a two minute race. It's also not about pacing or saving energy--the only strategy is balls out--but don't fall. Memorize the course, and plan each turn to set up efficient line into the next turn. Smooth, carved turns, minimize skidding, ride a flat ski on the straights, minimize air. Splits would not alter that strategy-even if they could be communicated, processed and acted upon. Alpine racers, the top seeds start first, before the course gets rutted up.
In Nordic, it's usually time trial, where you randomly start every 30 seconds or so. Each team's fifth seed starts,, then each team's fourth seed, and each team's third seed, etc. The order within the seeds is randomly drawn. The top seeds start at the back of the pack--sometimes your coach will tell you if you are gaining or lagging on one of your primary competitors--but it's pretty random--and as often as not, they lie so you ski faster....... If snow is moving in, sometimes coaches will switch it up, and send their top guys out first, when the snow is probably faster before the blizzard gets heavy.
Mass starts are rare, except in relays or citizen races. And Nordic Combined is a pursuit race, with start handicap based on your jump score. Top Jumper starts first, and the lesser jumpers chase him. First across the line wins. Coaches on the course will usually tell you if you are gaining on your rival, or lagging-if you can't yet see them. If you start ahead of them, you just go like hell.
rojo wrote:
Do they get a split via an ear piece or maybe have someone yelling a split at them from the side or do they have no idea until they get to the bottom if they are ahead or behind?
if you mean Alpine skiing, then no. but that doesn't mean they have no idea at all how they are doing, they can to a certain extent guess how they are doing.
for XC / Nordic Combined / Biathon, yes, usually there are coaches along the track that tell them.
If you mean downhill skiers (Slalom, GS, Super G, Downhill) no, at least not when I was competing. If you have ever done it you know when you are late on a gate causing you to slow down. It's a horrible feeling. You don't need splits for that.
At least for me it would have been horribly distracting if my coach was in my ear the whole run. With skiing it was about memorizing the course ahead of time and finding the right line and rhythm. Like I said you know when you messed up. It feels like someone tied an anchor to you.
Most of the time you can't see the gate over a ridge so you need to memorize your line and familiarize yourself with the course on the practice runs before the race. It takes a great deal of concentration.
If this were the case, I could easily see it being a distraction that could make a person lose a couple hundredths of a second. You need to be concentrating on the course. No time to hear a coach and process that information.
Colorado Ski Meister wrote:
1st to 15th in the Olympic Downhill is probably within a couple seconds in a two minute race. It's also not about pacing or saving energy--the only strategy is balls out--but don't fall. Memorize the course, and plan each turn to set up efficient line into the next turn. Smooth, carved turns, minimize skidding, ride a flat ski on the straights, minimize air.
Yes, you must have experience with this also. We used to sharpen our downhill skis down 3 degrees so your not riding the edges on the flats and potentially pick up extra time. I was never really sure that worked? Picking the right wax was important. I liked it because it took my nerves away from competition if I was worried about what wax to use.
And yes, it was important to not get too much air. The Downhill looks reckless but it is incredibly technical.
Colorado Ski Meister wrote:
In Nordic, it's usually time trial, where you randomly start every 30 seconds or so. Each team's fifth seed starts,, then each team's fourth seed, and each team's third seed, etc. The order within the seeds is randomly drawn. The top seeds start at the back of the pack--sometimes your coach will tell you if you are gaining or lagging on one of your primary competitors--but it's pretty random--and as often as not, they lie so you ski faster....... If snow is moving in, sometimes coaches will switch it up, and send their top guys out first, when the snow is probably faster before the blizzard gets heavy.
Mass starts are rare, except in relays or citizen races. And Nordic Combined is a pursuit race, with start handicap based on your jump score. Top Jumper starts first, and the lesser jumpers chase him. First across the line wins. Coaches on the course will usually tell you if you are gaining on your rival, or lagging-if you can't yet see them. If you start ahead of them, you just go like hell.
You haven't been paying attention since before 1998 or 2002 or something. Only one of six races for each sex is an individual start time trial, unless you count sprint qualification. And of course, sprint qualification is just the prelim for the head-to-head heats/semis/final.
rojo wrote:
Do they get a split via an ear piece or maybe have someone yelling a split at them from the side or do they have no idea until they get to the bottom if they are ahead or behind?
1) Exactly who would be giving splits and how would it help?
Skiing requires EXTREME concentration on the task at hand. They are skiing the moment, not what happened five seconds ago (an eternity in alpine skiing) Receiving splits would be a meaningless distraction. By the time they would recieve them they would be far down the mountain. Additionally, it isn't as though they would will themselves faster, if only they knew. Their objective, ahead or behind, is to ski the remaining course perfectly, regardless.
Basically, Super G and downhillers are maniacs who risk death on every run.
otter wrote:
Colorado Ski Meister wrote:
1st to 15th in the Olympic Downhill is probably within a couple seconds in a two minute race. It's also not about pacing or saving energy--the only strategy is balls out--but don't fall. Memorize the course, and plan each turn to set up efficient line into the next turn. Smooth, carved turns, minimize skidding, ride a flat ski on the straights, minimize air.
Yes, you must have experience with this also. We used to sharpen our downhill skis down 3 degrees so your not riding the edges on the flats and potentially pick up extra time. I was never really sure that worked? Picking the right wax was important. I liked it because it took my nerves away from competition if I was worried about what wax to use.
And yes, it was important to not get too much air. The Downhill looks reckless but it is incredibly technical.
I would be shocked if your base bevels were really at three degrees. You would have no grip at all. A half a degree or one degree (for speed events) is pretty common if you're doing it yourself. Robot tuners can do variable bevels. Three degrees is a common side bevel for a solid club racer. World Cup racers go even higher. I once skied on a pair with. 4.5 side bevel, and it was a crazy experience. You could really grab the ice, but it was hard not to catch an edge.
zzzz wrote:
Colorado Ski Meister wrote:
In Nordic, it's usually time trial, where you randomly start every 30 seconds or so. Each team's fifth seed starts,, then each team's fourth seed, and each team's third seed, etc. The order within the seeds is randomly drawn. The top seeds start at the back of the pack--sometimes your coach will tell you if you are gaining or lagging on one of your primary competitors--but it's pretty random--and as often as not, they lie so you ski faster....... If snow is moving in, sometimes coaches will switch it up, and send their top guys out first, when the snow is probably faster before the blizzard gets heavy.
Mass starts are rare, except in relays or citizen races. And Nordic Combined is a pursuit race, with start handicap based on your jump score. Top Jumper starts first, and the lesser jumpers chase him. First across the line wins. Coaches on the course will usually tell you if you are gaining on your rival, or lagging-if you can't yet see them. If you start ahead of them, you just go like hell.
You haven't been paying attention since before 1998 or 2002 or something. Only one of six races for each sex is an individual start time trial, unless you count sprint qualification. And of course, sprint qualification is just the prelim for the head-to-head heats/semis/final.
Indeed that's a very old school and high school scenario. At sanctioned USSA type races (including Junior Nationals qualifiers and championships, NCAAs, or FIS races) maybe 1/2 to 1/3 of the races (if you included sprint qualifiers) are interval start. And the seeding has little to do with the team and everything to do with the skiers' rankings, which are based on percentage points compared to the top skiers in the country/world.
And yes, Nordic racers get detailed info along the way in interval start races. Including their ranking so far in the race (against key competitors) and seconds behind or ahead they are.
As others have said, no to alpine. It's too fast. They're going 70 mph in the big hill events.
A better question is if the Nordic skiers have water tables and gels?
Fanny Packer wrote:
A better question is if the Nordic skiers have water tables and gels?
They don´t have tables. Coaches give them bottles. They don´t use gels. That would be very difficult when you have gloves and poles in your hands.
malmo wrote:
rojo wrote:
Do they get a split via an ear piece or maybe have someone yelling a split at them from the side or do they have no idea until they get to the bottom if they are ahead or behind?
1) Exactly who would be giving splits and how would it help?
Skiing requires EXTREME concentration on the task at hand. They are skiing the moment, not what happened five seconds ago (an eternity in alpine skiing) Receiving splits would be a meaningless distraction. By the time they would recieve them they would be far down the mountain. Additionally, it isn't as though they would will themselves faster, if only they knew. Their objective, ahead or behind, is to ski the remaining course perfectly, regardless.
Basically, Super G and downhillers are maniacs who risk death on every run.
Downhill is very risky, but not super G. There are no jumps and the course is constantly turning, unlike a downhill course where you have gliding sections.
Swede... wrote:
malmo wrote:
1) Exactly who would be giving splits and how would it help?
Skiing requires EXTREME concentration on the task at hand. They are skiing the moment, not what happened five seconds ago (an eternity in alpine skiing) Receiving splits would be a meaningless distraction. By the time they would recieve them they would be far down the mountain. Additionally, it isn't as though they would will themselves faster, if only they knew. Their objective, ahead or behind, is to ski the remaining course perfectly, regardless.
Basically, Super G and downhillers are maniacs who risk death on every run.
Downhill is very risky, but not super G. There are no jumps and the course is constantly turning, unlike a downhill course where you have gliding sections.
You're correct that there is less of a risky but we were at speeds of 50+. Catch an edge and fall, you could fly off the run. Not all of our turns were protected by netting especially on Super G and the 5k of skiing GS. It's risky.
Maniacs? I never thought of it that way, but I like that designation! I did have a really bad fall once and broke three ribs. To be honest my initial thought was not how dangerous it was. It was more that I was embarrassed because I screwed up
Even if people are falling and breaking their legs on the course you never really think that will happen to you or ever again if it did. That was my experience with it as well as my fellow competitors. You feel as much under control as if you were driving your car on the highway. If you miss a gate your speed might slow down by 10mph or more (I never knew how much?) and it feels at that moment that you are in slow motion. I can only relate it to hitting the wall in the Marathon. It's just as aggravating because you have to finish the race but any chance to do well is gone.
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I asked thinking they could Have someone watching the electronic timer and telling them to hey are behind. Then they could just go for broke and take more risks. Bode Miller is always talking about taking risks.
well,, wrote:
Fanny Packer wrote:
A better question is if the Nordic skiers have water tables and gels?
They don´t have tables. Coaches give them bottles. They don´t use gels. That would be very difficult when you have gloves and poles in your hands.
Definitely use gels in the 50k.
rojo wrote:
I asked thinking they could Have someone watching the electronic timer and telling them to hey are behind. Then they could just go for broke and take more risks. Bode Miller is always talking about taking risks.
A lot is luck. Vonn had to start first. She made a mistake at the bottom. Everyone after her got to hear about it and adjusted their run. They just had to ski better on the section Vonn messed up and they'd be sure to beat her time.