After the run of promising results in the Giant Slaloms in the Australian New Zealand Cup in Coronet Peak, all four British girls in the race crashed out on the first run in the first of two slaloms. Talking after the race, ... coach Stefan Moser, explained that after the great training that the girls had done recently he was hoping for some good racing but was left frustrated by the mistakes made: "they make same old mistakes too many times."
Moser was at pains to explain that sometimes the girls he coaches, Alex Tilley, Charlie Guest and Darcie Mead, do not have the faith in their own abilities. "AÂ lot in racing happens automatically and it s not so easy to transfer the learned from the training into the race," he explained.
Moser, a winner of the Topolino Children's race as a child ('94 in Slalom and '96 in Giant Slalom), was a promising racer himself until knee injuries ended his racing career having been brought up through the highly respected Austrian Ski Academy at Stams, he has been through the endless drills to correct faults and now as a coach he knows that he has to adjust the training regime slightly for his charges: "IÂ will put more focus on combinations and terrain changes that they can get more solid and consistent in doing the right things at the right time," he declared.
"One time reaching with arms onto a gate can be too much already as the racer gives up strong position on gate radius gets too long or position too low cause of high pressure in end of turn for instance," Moser explained as to how he will try and correct the faults creeping in for the racers.
Despite this annoying day, Moser explained that "the turns are there but to make the step into the world class you really need to make this turns happening on at least 99 per cent of the course, that s what makes the difference between a 20 point skier and a top 30 world cup skier."
With only 22 of the 47 starters making the first run, the result was an Austrian whitewash from places one to seven with Megan McJames, an American World Cup racer taking eighth and best of the rest. Katharina Truppe beating Eva Maria Brem to the win with Lisa Maria Zeller in third.
Laurie Taylor also crashed out in the Men's race. Espen Lysdahl of Norway won the race ahead of Americans Robby Kelly and Nolan Kasper.
Results
Men
Women
Picture: Alex Tilley competing at the World Cup Slalom in Levi in November 2013 - Credit Zoom Agence, all rights reserved