Difference between Hirscher and Kristoffersen

Difference between Hirscher and Kristoffersen

Postby Eiszapfen » Wed Dec 23, 2015 2:19 am

Yesterday Kristoffersen won the Slalom in Madonna di Campiglio, more than one second faster than Hirscher. If Hirscher skis great, what is Kristofferson doing better at the moment?
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Re: Difference between Hirscher and Kristoffersen

Postby Hobbit » Wed Dec 23, 2015 8:41 am

He was almost hit by the drone.

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Re: Difference between Hirscher and Kristoffersen

Postby speedcontrol » Wed Dec 23, 2015 1:01 pm

I don't know how much better of a slalom skier is Kristoffersen then Hirscher right now ( we look at only 2 starts for the moment), but what strikes me most are the Marcel's words right after they stepped off the podium in Madonna : '' Yes, I'm impressed with Kristoffersen's skiing, but I'm not surprised that he is dominating at the moment in slalom, we have seen that already in Val d'Isere. There is no way at the moment if he is making no mistakes to beat him. He is the man to beat at the moment, definitely in slalom, and maybe in two months as well in GS." Those words make me wonder -- has Kristoffersen become mature enough already to be unbeatable in slalom , or this is just a normal courtesy from Marcel's side , the courtesy of the winner who is far from having said his last word for the season.
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Re: Difference between Hirscher and Kristoffersen

Postby h.harb » Wed Dec 23, 2015 6:07 pm

My evaluation is Marcel is struggling with his set up again like Shiffrin was, with Atomic product. He's playing with it run to run, and it's just not right. Atomic skis are harsh and they hold too much and are to stiff on grippy snow. It doesn't help that his boots are also over canted with the cuffs. You can see it in Marcel's skiing and he knows it. He's hard and late on his skis, his stance is too wide; wider than I have ever seen it. That is a true indicator that the is forcing his skis to get over to angles. If you watch Chritofferson his set up is mellow in comparison. When the snow is injected, frozen and really hard, Marcel can win with this set up, but on the softer surface, too much hold and grab.
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Re: Difference between Hirscher and Kristoffersen

Postby jbotti » Wed Dec 23, 2015 6:35 pm

That second run was one for the ages. The course was almost a bump run at that point and he was hardly affected by it. Some truly unbelievable skiing. Hisrcher skied great in his second run and HK added to his lead. I agree with Hirscher, when HK skies like that no one is going to beat him. Having said that, soft snow and or grippy snow is not where Hirscher is at his best. If the next race is on ice I imagine it will be closer.
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Re: Difference between Hirscher and Kristoffersen

Postby speedcontrol » Wed Dec 23, 2015 10:46 pm

h.harb wrote:My evaluation is Marcel is struggling with his set up again like Shiffrin was, with Atomic product. He's playing with it run to run, and it's just not right. Atomic skis are harsh and they hold too much and are to stiff on grippy snow. It doesn't help that his boots are also over canted with the cuffs. You can see it in Marcel's skiing and he knows it. He's hard and late on his skis, his stance is too wide; wider than I have ever seen it. That is a true indicator that the is forcing his skis to get over to angles. If you watch Chritofferson his set up is mellow in comparison. When the snow is injected, frozen and really hard, Marcel can win with this set up, but on the softer surface, too much hold and grab.


Last season he also had issues on softer snow. I wonder if coaches and reps could do something with his set up before it's too late this season. And also why not different Atomic ski for softer surface.. He got 100 SG points so far, it's a pity he looses precious SL points. Svindal looks in good shape. I 'm not sure for this year's overall anymore.... And this drone thing was ridiculous. I can't believe it happened.
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Re: Difference between Hirscher and Kristoffersen

Postby h.harb » Fri Jan 08, 2016 11:05 am



As everyone was predicting the end of Hirscher's slalom dominance and crowning a new king, Hirscher quietly stole the next world cup slalom race with a dominant second run in typical fashion. BTW. his led boot is still way off the mark, but the harder snow helps him adapt to the incorrect set up.
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Re: Difference between Hirscher and Kristoffersen

Postby gaku » Sun Jan 10, 2016 8:45 am

h.harb wrote:

As everyone was predicting the end of Hirscher's slalom dominance and crowning a new king, Hirscher quietly stole the next world cup slalom race with a dominant second run in typical fashion. BTW. his led boot is still way off the mark, but the harder snow helps him adapt to the incorrect set up.


I remember you said Kristoffersen had too weak a bootsetup, last season. Is that still the case, or is it safe to assume that's been fixed now? Got to give it to him, though, that kid can ski! He's not the most athletic in terms of speed, he doesn't have those quick muscle fibers Hirscher does, that lack of explosiveness is why he's not as good in parallell skiing where the courses are shorter, easier and more depends upon start reaction, but nobody skied those steep parts like him today.

Also, Luca Aerni displayed some out-of-this-world recoveries in the race. The way he rode that inside ski while his upper body maintained CB and CA ... mindboogling balance! He was so quick to adapt to the uncontrolled release I don't even think he lost any time there. His recovery in the first run too -- that guy rides on the edge!
Last edited by gaku on Sun Jan 10, 2016 9:12 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Difference between Hirscher and Kristoffersen

Postby gaku » Sun Jan 10, 2016 9:01 am

jbotti wrote:That second run was one for the ages. The course was almost a bump run at that point and he was hardly affected by it. Some truly unbelievable skiing. Hisrcher skied great in his second run and HK added to his lead. I agree with Hirscher, when HK skies like that no one is going to beat him. Having said that, soft snow and or grippy snow is not where Hirscher is at his best. If the next race is on ice I imagine it will be closer.


(Kjetil Andre) Aamodt actually commented on that during the Norwegian broadcast -- i.e. on how HK seemingly managed to "float" on the snow even on such a "collapsing"* snow condition. I don't know the terminology* in English, but he basically said that no one else in the race managed to transfer balance from outside and inside leg like HK depending on whether the snow held or gave in, that was why he was able to put in such a monster second run despite the conditions -- tactically and technically, he had superior release-, balance transfer and edge engagement control.

He also commented on Hirscher's boot setup in the race. Basically said the same thing as HH. I hope they get it right soon.
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Re: Difference between Hirscher and Kristoffersen

Postby jbotti » Sun Jan 10, 2016 9:18 am

Its turning into a great rivalry/competition. HK won today by a very tight margin over Hirscher. I have not watched the race yet so I don't know if it was on hard or soft snow. But these two guys are in a class by themselves. Having said that there are another 4-5 guys (Khoroshilov, Pinterault, Gross, Neureuther) in slalom that have the speed and ability to win. Its truly a stacked field every race.
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