How the right ski-material reaches the right place …
Ski-tour overseas – the World Cup in Canada and in the US as upcoming prime time events on TV. The ATOMIC athletes are already preparing for the imminent speed-opening in Can-ada (Sun Peaks, Nakiska). On schedule and under best conditions. There is more behind it – a logistic masterpiece in the ATOMIC headquarters in Altenmarkt: In order to allow the stars of the ATOMIC team to test and run the D2 RACE for downhill and super-G races also on North-American snow, a whole ton of highly sensitive ski-freight had to be transported to the right places in time …
At first flying, then sliding. Meanwhile, the ATOMIC-team’s speed-elite has arrived in the Canadian training-camps Sun Peaks (where the Austrian Ski Federation stars Michael Walchhofer, Mario Scheiber & Co. are preparing for the speed-opening in Lake Louise in 10 days) and Nakiska (the ladies are training at the Olympics venue of 1988). But what are the causes lying behind the fact that all ATOMIC athletes got their proper material in good time? A logistic masterpiece in the ATOMIC head-quarters in Altenmarkt. Sepp Jäger, as ATOMIC Racing-Assistant in permanent connection with Race Director Rudi Huber and Team Manager Eric Wolf, is the mastermind behind the ATOMIC logistics: "For our athletes’ appearance overseas one ton of highly sensitive freight has to be disposed and transported at the right time to the right places", knows Jäger.
The Slalom amidst complicated import regulations
Not the transport via Air-Cargo itself was the criterion, says Jäger, "but it is the complexity of import and export regulations which render the material transport in ski-sports so complicated." Because – every pair of ATOMIC D2 RACE has to get through customs! And the ATOMIC headquarters has to dis-pose and transport hundreds of pairs of ski for the European team members. "Especially in Canada and in the US the controls are really tough. There must not be, for instance, anything in the material cases that could somehow be inflammable", explains Sepp Jäger only one of numerous customs regulations. Important information, since it is not solely about the transport of the ski themselves; the service-technicians’ equipment, too, has to be brought on site. Jäger: "It might happen that the customs offi-cials open every single case of a 1000 kilo freight – and that costs time and this time has to be taken into account." The logistics mastermind’s headmost premise: transport security. "Fortunately, ATOMIC material never got lost in transport so far," according to Sepp Jäger. At the other end of the D2 RACE airlift in Canada the service experts of the ATOMIC team (15 of them are operating in the overseas races) have, by the way, accepted the delicate consignment in person and transported it to the train-ing destinations. "No forwarding agency and no security service in the world could take better care of our material than our folks", praises Race Director Rudi Huber.
Marcel Hirscher and Ana Jelusic compete at the Moscow-Showdown
This year, transport logistics is more complex than in other years. After its debut in the last season the second "Champions Cup" in Moscow – a promotion competition for the Olympics in Sotschi 2014 – is on the agenda. On Saturday a parallel-slalom is to be run on the 60 metres high and 200 metres long ascent with a gigantic structural steelwork. In spite of the warm temperatures the FIS finally gave its Ok. From the ATOMIC-Team at the start: Youngster Marcel Hirscher and Croatian Ana Jelusic, who will represent the ATOMIC-Team in the Ladies competition, organized for the first time. Felix Neureuther who won the debut of the Moscow-Snow Show in January, skips the promotion race this time due to tactical reasons.
