Spring 2012 What Skis Will Be Fast Next Season? Race Skis for World and Europa Cup Racers Will Tions—Specifically, Could These New, Larger Mum Required
spring 2012 www.ussa.org What Skis Will Be Fast Next Season? Race skis for World and Europa Cup racers will tions—specifically, could these new, larger mum required. Meanwhile Ted Ligety has be different for 2012/13. Ski racing’s governing radius skis be faster? This question, with re- been racing very successfully on a 29m ski body, the FIS, under the apparition of safety spect to radius, has been floating around when he could be legally on a 27m ski. have increased the minimum radius of GS, SG, the World Cup for some time. Back in 2007, While controversy continues to surround and DH skis. when Aksel Lund Svindal won the overall the FIS decision to increase the radius on Although this radius change does not and GS titles, he was skiing on a GS ski that GS skis, Ted Ligety, at the World Cup finals affect Masters’ skis, it does raise several ques- actually had larger radius than the mini- in March 2012, skied the new larger-radius that made radius an issue and eventually a arc in the snow. Tighter with less skidding strategy for racing. In 1996, using a produc- around the gates creates a shorter path with tion model K2 Four, the young Bode won seemingly less friction, and because of this, (35m) the Junior Olympic GS and SG titles. After- they are usually regarded as faster. This par- skis to the wards a third place in the U.S. SL earned tially explains why racers “like” the smaller fastest second him a berth on the U.S.
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