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Alpine Skiing

Am I right that there is no thread about alpine skiing yet? :eek:
As an Austrian its probably my task to change that because although its summer I already miss the winter sport season. Skiing in particular is my favorite sport to watch and I wonder if there are any other big skiing fans in this forum.
 
Jun 3, 2011
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Absolutely!
Although it's such a niche sport in the U.S. we're just lucky to get TV coverage of the events. No off the hill stuff here, commentary at the perpetual level of chit chat. :(
But after the melodrama of the cycling season it's kind of a relief to just watch what the athletes bring on race day and enjoy.
So-Go Hannes Reichelt and Anna Fenninger in 2016! And I hope we have great race conditions for the whole WC season!
 
Jun 22, 2009
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Aber sicher!

I grew up in Vienna and used to ski every weekend...but that was a lifetime ago. I still follow skiing every winter, my current favorites are Hirscher (who is half Dutch) and the lovely Anna. :p

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Re:

Amsterhammer said:
Aber sicher!

I grew up in Vienna and used to ski every weekend...but that was a lifetime ago. I still follow skiing every winter, my current favorites are Hirscher (who is half Dutch) and the lovely Anna. :p

218.jpg
Where did you go skiing every weekend when you lived in vienna? The only possibility which would be directly in vienna is the Hohe Wand Wiese, otherwise you have to drive to the south of lower austria (semmering probably) but thats about 1 hour of driving away.
ps: I have the feeling you need a babes on skis thread ;)
 
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Re: Re:

Gigs_98 said:
Where did you go skiing every weekend when you lived in vienna? The only possibility which would be directly in vienna is the Hohe Wand Wiese, otherwise you have to drive to the south of lower austria (semmering probably) but thats about 1 hour of driving away.
ps: I have the feeling you need a babes on skis thread ;)

I was in high school at AIS back in the 60's. I used to arrange one day ski trips for the older kids on weekends. The only places I remember for sure are the Semmering and Mönichkirchen.

I have never in 50 years of watching skiing seen so many great looking girls as in recent years, but I fear that a Babes on Skis topic needs to be started on a different kind of forum. ;)
 
Re:

Tyre Byter said:
No! It took me almost a month to track down that Tina Maze had (semi) retired.
So what's the story on Anna? Inquiring minds want to know!
Well first of all you need to know that one of the main sponsors of the ösv is audi. And you have to know that the skiers can't really choose there own sponsors on their own, because they need the agreement of the ösv first.

So, in the last winter Fenninger announced that she wants to change her sponsor because the partnership with Raiffeisen wasnt good. Fenningers german manager suggested mercedes as a new sponsor, and mercedes announced that they really would like to sponsor Fenninger. However the ösv didnt allow it because audi didnt want that the most important female skier of the ösv gets sponsored by one of audis biggest rivals.
After that there was nothing about this topic in the media for months until Fenningers manager announced that Fenninger isnt satisfied how she gets treated in the ösv. She said that she wants 2 trainers who only train her, and some more special treatment. The ösv said that its just impossible to give fenninger everything she wants because they also have to focus on young skiers and that everyone should get more or less the same treatment. (maybe worth mentioning that fenninger already has one trainer especially for her, so IMO the demand of fenninger is absolutely crazy). That was the first time that some people said fenninger could leave the ösv because then she could finance herself on her own with the sponsors she wants, and she could have as many trainers as she could pay. However in a meeting between the bosses of the ösv and fenninger they made up again and everyone thought that the problem would be solved
Only a few days later:
GXqV00T.jpg

One would say this is a Mercedes advertisement but fenninger and her manager strongly disagreed. They claimed that on this picture its not even about Mercedes, they said this is actually advertisement for the "Laureus campaign" which helps to rescue wild cheetahs, and that this campaign only gets sponsored by Mercedes. You have to know that this text in the right corner at the top means "breathtaking in the city. Predator in the wilderness. Well, Fenninger probably forgot that the ösv isnt a group of complete idiots, and maybe also that there is a Mercedes Logo on the right side combined with a car from mercedes and the little text under the stuff I just translated is also a description of a car and not a cheetah.
You can maybe imagine that the ösv went completely crazy after they saw that because its just a kick in there butt that after they were always criticized by fenninger and they did everything they could to make her happy, fenninger just gives a f*** about every contract she ever signed and made a Mercedes ad. (Yes for once I was on the side of the ösv) Of course fenninger claimed that the ösv agreed that she can make this advertisement, but why the hell should the ösv ever do this. I guess the ösv just said that she can go one with her cheetah campaign although it is sponsored by mercedes. Everyone expected that the ösv would throw fenninger out, but somehow they made peace with fenninger again and since that the topic is out of the media again.
 
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Re: Re:

Gigs_98 said:
Tyre Byter said:
No! It took me almost a month to track down that Tina Maze had (semi) retired.
So what's the story on Anna? Inquiring minds want to know!
Well first of all you need to know that one of the main sponsors of the ösv is audi. And you have to know that the skiers can't really choose there own sponsors on their own, because they need the agreement of the ösv first.

So, in the last winter Fenninger announced that she wants to change her sponsor because the partnership with Raiffeisen wasnt good. Fenningers german manager suggested mercedes as a new sponsor, and mercedes announced that they really would like to sponsor Fenninger. However the ösv didnt allow it because audi didnt want that the most important female skier of the ösv gets sponsored by one of audis biggest rivals.
After that there was nothing about this topic in the media for months until Fenningers manager announced that Fenninger isnt satisfied how she gets treated in the ösv. She said that she wants 2 trainers who only train her, and some more special treatment. The ösv said that its just impossible to give fenninger everything she wants because they also have to focus on young skiers and that everyone should get more or less the same treatment. (maybe worth mentioning that fenninger already has one trainer especially for her, so IMO the demand of fenninger is absolutely crazy). That was the first time that some people said fenninger could leave the ösv because then she could finance herself on her own with the sponsors she wants, and she could have as many trainers as she could pay. However in a meeting between the bosses of the ösv and fenninger they made up again and everyone thought that the problem would be solved
Only a few days later:
GXqV00T.jpg

One would say this is a Mercedes advertisement but fenninger and her manager strongly disagreed. They claimed that on this picture its not even about Mercedes, they said this is actually advertisement for the "Laureus campaign" which helps to rescue wild cheetahs, and that this campaign only gets sponsored by Mercedes. You have to know that this text in the right corner at the top means "breathtaking in the city. Predator in the wilderness. Well, Fenninger probably forgot that the ösv isnt a group of complete idiots, and maybe also that there is a Mercedes Logo on the right side combined with a car from mercedes and the little text under the stuff I just translated is also a description of a car and not a cheetah.
You can maybe imagine that the ösv went completely crazy after they saw that because its just a kick in there butt that after they were always criticized by fenninger and they did everything they could to make her happy, fenninger just gives a f*** about every contract she ever signed and made a Mercedes ad. (Yes for once I was on the side of the ösv) Of course fenninger claimed that the ösv agreed that she can make this advertisement, but why the hell should the ösv ever do this. I guess the ösv just said that she can go one with her cheetah campaign although it is sponsored by mercedes. Everyone expected that the ösv would throw fenninger out, but somehow they made peace with fenninger again and since that the topic is out of the media again.

:D :D :D

This the kind of soap opera we never know about in the U.S. What a riot!

Who is this 'enabler of fantastical thinking' manager of hers? He has to deserve a lot of the credit for this furor. It will be very entertaining to watch further chapters of this unfold. Please, keep us informed!

I'm glad Anna is as feisty off the piste as on. Bodes well to her dethroning Lindsey once and for all.

Any info if Klaus Kroll will be back on the team this season?
 
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The ÖSV also pressured Anna to change her manager before that, they did the same with Hirscher in 2012 successfully, he dropped his manager Michael Holzer. They get a big cut of every deal that the athletes sign and have to agree with it.
But back to skiiing, i really like Anna, her downhill position is nearly perfect and she was very nice when I met her. Lara Gut is funny as hell and Dominik Paris is a nice guy and likes to drink a few beers.
Innerhofer is a little bit arrogant, sometimes he has the demeanor of a rockstar, he's rather full of himself and considers himself to be a sexsymbol because he gets sponsored Armani and Intimissimi :eek:
 
Re:

Mayomaniac said:
The ÖSV also pressured Anna to change her manager before that, they did the same with Hirscher in 2012 successfully, he dropped his manager Michael Holzer. They get a big cut of every deal that the athletes sign and have to agree with it.
But back to skiiing, i really like Anna, her downhill position is nearly perfect and she was very nice when I met her. Lara Gut is funny as hell and Dominik Paris is a nice guy and likes to drink a few beers.
Innerhofer is a little bit arrogant, sometimes he has the demeanor of a rockstar, he's rather full of himself and considers himself to be a sexsymbol because he gets sponsored Armani and Intimissimi :eek:
I like Innerhofer, he says what he thinks, but yes he is a little bit arrogant.
I really like Kristoffersen. He seems to be a very nice guy and never in a bad mood. However I normally like all the Norwegians until they become super successful and always win in front of an austrian :D
Gut is probably my favorite female skier. She is very sympatic, funny and I love her skiing style.
My favorite skier at all is the one and only, the greatest of all time, Blitz aus Pitz, Benjamin Raich. I think my opinion about Raich is a little bit like Libertine Seguros opinion about the Fedaia :D
Oh and because saying whom I don't like is by far more funny: tina Maze and Lindsey Vonn
Only satisfied with first places, extremely arrogant and they always seek for excuses. (And in 2013 maze looked like a man but I think thats more something for the Doping in other sports thread)
 
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Oh yes, you could find more than enough material for the Clinic in Alpine Skiing, but I don't want to start that discussion right now.
Yes, the best thing about Maze is probably the fact that she really dislikes Lindsey ;)
Mancuso on the other hand is the polar opposite of Lindsey, sympatic, funny and she always has time to talk with the fans.
Benny is one of the classiest guys in the sport, but I always like Matt Matt even more, Matt winning in Sochi was sooo awesome, I was really happy. Fun fact: he's also the reason why I I dyed my hair bleach blond in 2001 :D
 
Re:

Tyre Byter said:
Will Benny be back this season or is he joining Marlies in retirement?

.....and no love for Lindsey Vonn so far on this thread? hehe
for a damn good reason :D

oh and no, benni probably wont join Marlies (btw they married and she is pregnant, I can imagine that everyone who lives outside austria doesnt know that too) or at least he hasn't announced that yet. And I think with Zettel, Fischbacher, Hosp and Matt there are already enough retirements for the ösv this year
 
Already hyped for tomorrow :D :D :D

News update for all skiing fans who aren't from Austria:
-Fenninger crashed last week and has a bad injury so she can't ride this season :(
-Matthias Mayer also had a training crash but he will only miss Sölden
-Vonn also wont ride in Sölden
-Raich has retired (unfortunately) and has a child, called Josef.
-Maybe Miller has retired too, but as far as I know, nobody knows exactly...probably not even Miller :D
 
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Gigs_98 said:
Already hyped for tomorrow :D :D :D

News update for all skiing fans who aren't from Austria:
-Fenninger crashed last week and has a bad injury so she can't ride this season
-Matthias Mayer also had a training crash but he will only miss Sölden
-Vonn also wont ride in Sölden
-Raich has retired (unfortunately) and has a child, called Josef.
-Maybe Miller has retired too, but as far as I know, nobody knows exactly...probably not even Miller

The Fenninger crash is such a bummer, when I heard it it ruined my day. The big question is who'll win the overall world cup now? I dislike Lindsey, Gut stepping up would be fantastic, if she's in 2013/14 shape it's not impossible.
Shiffrin could be another potential winner if she's able to get good Giant slalom results and still dominates Slalom like usual, even if I prefer a complete skier winning the overall WC over a dominant specialist.
About the male Skiing, I hope that Paris dominates both Downhill and Super-G :D
Overall WC, anyone but Hirscher, sorry I just dislike the guy.
 
Mayomaniac said:
Gigs_98 said:
Already hyped for tomorrow :D :D

News update for all skiing fans who aren't from Austria:
-Fenninger crashed last week and has a bad injury so she can't ride this season
-Matthias Mayer also had a training crash but he will only miss Sölden
-Vonn also wont ride in Sölden
-Raich has retired (unfortunately) and has a child, called Josef.
-Maybe Miller has retired too, but as far as I know, nobody knows exactly...probably not even Miller

The Fenninger crash is such a bummer, when I heard it it ruined my day. The big question is who'll win the overall world cup now? I dislike Lindsey, Gut steppung up would be fantastic, if she's in 2013/14 shape it's not impossible.
Shiffrin could be another potential winner if she's able to get good Giant slalom results and still dominates Slalom like usual, even if I prefer a complete skier winning the overall WC over a dominant specialist.
About the male Skiing, I hope that Pasi dominates both Downhill and Super-G :D
Overall WC, anyone but Hirscher, sorry I just dislike the guy.
I think most of the Austrians now hope for Gut to win the title. When the national hero can't race you simply choose the most likable person which in this case is without any doubt Gut (although some might argue with Shiffrin or Weirather but I don't think thats the majority).
Personally I still hope that Hirscher will win the men's world cup, although I understand very well that some people don't like his character. Objectively the Norwegians are definitely more likeable. (would be great to see Kristofferson fighting for the World Cup)
Now I have to ask you who is Pasi? Paris? If yes why, I mean its not like you are from the same nation...oh wait you are, you are both Tyrolean ;) . Joking apart, if you mean him, I also hope he will be good this year. Seems to be a very nice guy. But I don't hope he will dominate. Franz should finally win a race, Reichelt deserves to win the downhill world cup at the end of his career, and generally there are so many nice speed riders at the moment, I want all of them to win :D
 
I don't like Shiffrin. I like Weirather, and would have thought she'd be a good backup to support for many Austrians, being half-Austrian and the daughter of an Austrian former World Champion and all. I just have no faith whatsoever in her staying healthy for a whole season, unfortunately.

Generally though, I only keep one eye on Alpine through the season, as skis you can't go uphill in confuse me, and the only time I've ever seen a combination of Alpine skiing and guns was in a James Bond movie.
 
Re:

Libertine Seguros said:
I don't like Shiffrin. I like Weirather, and would have thought she'd be a good backup to support for many Austrians, being half-Austrian and the daughter of an Austrian former World Champion and all. I just have no faith whatsoever in her staying healthy for a whole season, unfortunately.

Generally though, I only keep one eye on Alpine through the season, as skis you can't go uphill in confuse me, and the only time I've ever seen a combination of Alpine skiing and guns was in a James Bond movie.
I don't like Shiffrin too, but I can't really say why.
Well Weirather is definitely likable too and she definitely also has many fans in Austria but somehow the fact that she is half Austrian doesnt really change much. That has probably two reasons: 1.) She trains with the Swiss team, not with the Austrian (which was definitely the right decision, but its still a factor) and 2.) You can see it from two sides. Either you say I should support her because she is half Austrian or you say I wont support her because she rides for the false country.
So I'm in the situation that I like her, but not because of her father, but because I she seems to be nice

Ps: why not watch both? ;)
 
She is kind of not competing for her false country though given that she's half-Liechtensteiner, was born, raised and lives in the country though ;) unless your argument is that Liechtenstein is not a "real" country, which is obviously a different argument.

Lots of events clash, or you simply have several full days of wintersports action and when you work full time and have things to do at a weekend, you can't watch everything, and Alpine is the one I am least bothered about missing, and often just pick up where the World Cup has got to next time I tune in rather than poring over the results of the races I missed like I do with the Nordic disciplines. I've always gravitated towards the endurance side of sports, so XC is far more interesting to me for the same reason F1 bores me yet I adore the 24h du Mans. I've also had many a debate on this forum because I dislike the XC sprint as a format and think its proliferation at the expense of the longer distance races is a really negative development for the sport.
 
Re:

Libertine Seguros said:
She is kind of not competing for her false country though given that she's half-Liechtensteiner, was born, raised and lives in the country though ;) unless your argument is that Liechtenstein is not a "real" country, which is obviously a different argument.
False wasnt meant that way. I think it would be pretty stupid to compete for Austria when you have another nationality, and in Weirathers case it makes even more sense because she is definitely a Liechtensteiner and her Liechtensteiner mother also was a ski racer. But thats exactly the point. She maybe has an Austrian legend as her father, but the fact that she doesnt ride for Austria shows she isnt an Austrian, she is a Liechtensteiner, so her father isn't a reason to root for her and I also don't think she would be happy if the Austrians would say "we root for you because you are more or less Austrian".
So please don't misunderstand me (My last comment was written horribly so its not very unlikely that it happened :eek: ), I don't say she rides for the false country. It's not like I'm angry on her because she rides for Liechteinstein, because I think my last comment sounded a little bit like that. Like I said, imo it would have been a very bad decision by her to compete for Austria
 
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Gigs_98 said:
Mayomaniac said:
Gigs_98 said:
Already hyped for tomorrow :D :D

News update for all skiing fans who aren't from Austria:
-Fenninger crashed last week and has a bad injury so she can't ride this season
-Matthias Mayer also had a training crash but he will only miss Sölden
-Vonn also wont ride in Sölden
-Raich has retired (unfortunately) and has a child, called Josef.
-Maybe Miller has retired too, but as far as I know, nobody knows exactly...probably not even Miller

The Fenninger crash is such a bummer, when I heard it it ruined my day. The big question is who'll win the overall world cup now? I dislike Lindsey, Gut steppung up would be fantastic, if she's in 2013/14 shape it's not impossible.
Shiffrin could be another potential winner if she's able to get good Giant slalom results and still dominates Slalom like usual, even if I prefer a complete skier winning the overall WC over a dominant specialist.
About the male Skiing, I hope that Pasi dominates both Downhill and Super-G :D
Overall WC, anyone but Hirscher, sorry I just dislike the guy.
I think most of the Austrians now hope for Gut to win the title. When the national hero can't race you simply choose the most likable person which in this case is without any doubt Gut (although some might argue with Shiffrin or Weirather but I don't think thats the majority).
Personally I still hope that Hirscher will win the men's world cup, although I understand very well that some people don't like his character. Objectively the Norwegians are definitely more likeable. (would be great to see Kristofferson fighting for the World Cup)
Now I have to ask you who is Pasi? Paris? If yes why, I mean its not like you are from the same nation...oh wait you are, you are both Tyrolean ;) . Joking apart, if you mean him, I also hope he will be good this year. Seems to be a very nice guy. But I don't hope he will dominate. Franz should finally win a race, Reichelt deserves to win the downhill world cup at the end of his career, and generally there are so many nice speed riders at the moment, I want all of them to win :D
Sorry, just a silly typo, yes I like Paris and you can't really dislike Rechelt.
I've heard that Innerhofer's back problems are finally gone that he's once again able to train Slalom and Giant Slalom, he's a little bit arrogant and I don't really like him but you can't deny the fact that he's a great Skier.
Brignone was impressive, she really dominated the first run.
 
What's not to like about Shiffrin? She is a genius on skis, especially in the Slalom, and seems to be really nice. I like Weirather too, and hope she will steay healthy for a change.

Gigs_98 said:
I think most of the Austrians now hope for Gut to win the title. When the national hero can't race you simply choose the most likable person which in this case is without any doubt Gut (although some might argue with Shiffrin or Weirather but I don't think thats the majority).
Austrians backing a swiss skier? That would be a first. Gut without any doubt most the most likeable person? What a funny thing to say about a skier who is disliked by so many, especially in Switzerland.
 

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