Marco Buechel gives the secrets of Wengen
Marco Buechel is a veteran of the Lauberhorn. Having raced here 16 times on the World Cup in six years, Liechtenstein’s Buechel got his last World Cup podium here in his final race in 2010. The man has fond memories of his time here. This year he was the second man down the hill carrying the TV cameras down, after Bruno Kernan. After he had caught his breath we caught up with him.
So how was the feeling coming down the course this year? The thing is I was number 2 on the very first training day. We all know that the course is always smooth on the first training day. I would say that the snow was rather soft, which I did not like but on the other hand it was just perfect skiing. I just loved it because I had no pressure and it was amazing to ski. The one thing I realised is that some gates are turnier than before.
As a veteran of the Lauberhorn, how were the emotions standing in the start gate? “I have a certain bond with Wengen because this was where I had the last podium of my career. It is emotional walking into that start house! It is very emotional and all these images popping up in my head with my last race up here and it kind of fills me with happiness and sadness at the same time.”
But as soon as he kicks out of the start house what then? Does he have good memories? “Oh yes!” Buechel is one of the nicest guys from the World Cup tour and you can feel the joy and excitement that he has of his racing days as you talk to him. He talks with great passion and joy. “Back then I did it this way and then I skied really good here! I do not have to inspect the course these days as I know the course so well.” With FIS using GPS to ensure that the gates are placed in the same place each year, you can understand that man could ski, sorry race, the course in his sleep. “Wengen is unique for me!”
So what does he feel are the places that are special about the course? “First of all, Wengen is not something that you could not make up in your mind. It was nature that formed this course. Nowadays if you made a course like this, the FIS would not approve it. This is one of the big classics and it has about five key sections. Some of these are not even visible on TV but the major thing that is different to other downhills is that here you cannot win anything on any section. You can only lose. Technically it is not the most difficult downhill but that means that a lot of racers can ski it good. It also means that if you make mistakes, you lose. You lose. You can never make it up. The thing is that you stay cool and accept that if you make mistakes, you keep on skiing the way you were skiing before, because if you don’t, you will have no more gas in the tank when you come to the finish. It is very simple. And it also needs experience.”
Buechel feels that this of all slopes is one that racers need to get on as early as possible age wise. The young racer needs to feel how it is and to memorise it in their brain and not to expect the big result in their first couple of attempts. The key point is to learn, learn and learn some more. “Ski the key sections perfectly and stay cool, not try to win it at other places by putting in extra effort because this is almost suicide because at the end you have no more power for the finish S. It is a very technical race.”
So for a course that is over two and a half minutes in length, what is his favourite moment on the course? “When you are coming over Hundschopf and the following turns, on the opposite side of the hill, on race day, you have 20,000 people and if you have half a second to hear them, wow. When you come over Hundschopf you just see black with all the people standing there. Through Canadian Corner if you are good and on the line, you listen and you can hear them and this is the only section in a World Cup Downhill where you can hear the people cheering.”
Wengen is long at 4415 metres, you drop 1028 metres in the two and half minutes you are on the course. Yet the final section, Ziel S, is maybe the most draining on the racers, Buechel explains: “You have to imagine it this way: You come to the Finish S and you have three drops of gas left in your tank and you have three turns to do. You need these three drops. And you have no gas left when you come down and you try to stop. Some people do crash but you are totally empty, your legs start burning, cramping up and sometimes you have that bloody taste in your mouth. You are just all powered out!”
So what does a man do when he is bringing the camera down with him for skis? Simple you go to your old ski technician and ask him. And who is his ski technician now working for? Just one Aksel Lund Svindal! It helps to know the right people obviously! So what sort of ski was he given for his run – a pair of stock skis? No chance! Buechel got to ride the course on a pair of Svindal’s top race skis! To the ski fan this may seem strange but Buechel explains: “The more time skis get on the snow the faster they get! As long as I pay attention and do not wreck them, he is fine with this. I am only allowed to put them on at the start at take them off at the finish and not do one metre more. No rocks. ‘Don’t screw them,’ that’s what he said!”
So there you have it!
