Olympic combined champion Ted Ligety reports regularly from the World Cup tour in collaboration with Denver Post ski writer John Meyer.
Innsbruck, Austria – We have dealt with a lot of crazy conditions this winter because of warm temperatures and lack of snow, but the scene for Sunday’s slalom in Garmisch, Germany, was bizarre.
All the snow had to be trucked in from Austria. There was a poma (platter pull) to get us up the slalom hill, with a 2-foot wide strip of snow going up the mountain on a slope otherwise composed of dirt.
Usually they set different courses for each run of the slalom, but there wasn’t enough snow to create a slope wide enough for that, so they held two runs on one course. There was no freeskiing for warming up – you just jumped into the starting gate and went.
I didn’t qualify for the second run. About halfway down, I missed a gate and had to hike back up to make it. I had the fastest split on the bottom of the course, so I was skiing well. It was just more bad luck. I have been having a run of crummy luck lately.
I’m taking a few days off in Innsbruck, Austria, for some much needed R&R this week before the races Saturday and Sunday in Slovenia. I have been run pretty ragged since the end of the summer, going from one race to the next, and I’m really tired.
Our team took a pretty good beating in Garmisch – not physically, but mentally and emotionally. We’re just not pulling down the results any of us wants, and the team as a whole is a little bit down.
We had a meeting about it the other day to pick up the mood and spirit within the team. In December we were on a roll. Now we’re in a bit of a slump, and we’re trying to figure out how to get out of it.
I think it’s just going to take a little bit of rest, but we need to turn it around. The next few races are super important in determining the final standings.
There is no lack of effort. Luck plays such a big role in ski racing, and it’s tough when things aren’t going your way. You have to brush it off and try to take it as it comes. Even the Austrians can’t dominate without going through occasional lulls.
We are in a little lull right now. It’s tough to take sometimes, but you can’t win every race, and it definitely makes you more grateful when you have good results.
