I wanted to describe in a bit of detail our experience of the French 'test technique' at Alpe D'Huez this week. I have also added a section describing the ESF training week before hand. There are quite a few details that it is hard to find online in English and hopefully this might be useful for someone in the future. We essentially did this for fun to see what the level was like.
About us: I did not ski, but my wife did. She had a race background and made the national team for a small European country (not the UK...) in her early teens. She had not done slalom for a *cough* very long time and this will actually be her first full season on carving skis! Definitely the only participant breast feeding a baby during the breaks between training!
1) First of all, registration is handled centrally: see the BASI pages for info:
This needs to be done well in advance and you need to get a certificate signed by a doctor, which states your fitness to participate. After various experiences of lost documents in France, we sent ours with the Avis de réception service, which provides evidence of receipt by return of mail.
2) The ESF in ADH (and presumably elsewhere) run a course called "Stage test technique" or sometimes "Préparation au test technique" before the test date. We signed up for a whole week of training, which was about €450 including lift pass. No equipment was provided. Further training days were made available right up to the test day due to local demand. In total we did 7 days with one rest day. Registration was easy and could be done on a day-by-day basis.
The course was in French and run by extremely experienced race coaches from the ESF. There were only two foreigners that we saw. Most of the participants were in their early twenties and were coming from local race teams. Quite a few seemed to be the kids of ESF instructors! All participants seemed to have nailed on technique, with excellent positioning etc. i.e. they were only there to train slalom, not to learn to ski.
Slaloms were set daily on the Stade de Slalom on the Signal hill. This was useful as this was also the slope for the TT. The instructors, although quite busy, were prepared to give individual drills and also gave video analysis. All were extremely friendly and put up with bad French! At the end of the first week, a mock TT was run (Test Blanche), with real openers and timing etc. There is a shop called Sarenne Sports close to the slope which sells/rents race gear etc and is run by a couple of very nice chaps who speak English. We also had a good race boot fitting there, complete with shell modifications etc which seems to have gone well.
3) The day of the test technique was as follows:
- Meeting at 8 a.m at the Maison de Tourism with the other (60!) participants. As far as we saw, there were no other foreigners and the average age was about 20! Race numbers were handed out and IDs checked. Limited lift passes issued and fee payed. The total cost of the TT itself is only about €30 or so.
- Participants assembled at the top of the slope immediately afterwards. Two slaloms had been set from the top to the bottom of the signal slope. ID was checked again (put it in your ski jacket!).
-Although the rules we found in French suggested that soft-eared helmets were acceptable, local ESF said that people had been turned away in the past with these. We therefore rented a race helmet at the last minute. Ski lengths are supposed to be FIS standard (155 for women and 165 for men). However, no check was made. I saw one participant (who passed!) on 150 cm skis... Most turned up in race suits and all had full protective slalom gear.
- Around 9.30 the openers arrived and it became clear how difficult it was going to be! All were male and totally smashed the course. Four ran in total and the fastest time is selected as the base time. This was around 38 seconds, giving a pass time of ca. 46 s for the men (+20 %) and 48 s for the women (+25 %).
-The race number is less important than in a standard race as the ESF referees lining the course would smooth the snow after each runner by side slipping or by raking the snow.
-One independent race is run on each of the two slaloms. Obviously those who pass on the first run don't do the second. Lots of cries of "Allez Allez!" from the ESF lining the course, a few crashes, tears of joy and (mainly) tears of sorrow.
4) The difficulty.....
- According to our count, seven passed first go and three passed second go. A mixture of men and women and a pass-rate of 16.6 %, which is apparently about normal. Those who passed were absolutely flying on the edge of their skis and sometimes looked on the edge of their ability. Total commitment needed...
-This thing is SERIOUSLY hard! The wife was surprised that many of the kids she trained with the previous week did not pass, althought they were excellent slalom skiers. Might be a touch of nerves? There were kids in jackets from ski teams all over Rhone-Alpes who failed, and a few ESF instructors consoling their children.
5) Although the wife did not pass (best time was 6 s off in the second run), we were happy that she was not last, and was at least competing with kids of more than ten years younger! Although technique was quickly remembered/relearned, she felt that it was fitness and strength that was holding her back. It might be revisited in March...
Anyway, hopefully that will be of help to someone! Will dig up a few photos later on.
Cheers,
J
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Fri 17-01-14 14:20; edited 2 times in total
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
A really useful and insightful writeup, thanks. I've often wondered just what was involved and how hard it actually was.
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
JamesHJ, great write up. Very interesting and like feef something I wondered about.
As a fairly typical British skier I also always wondered what it would be like. Maybe like many I also occasionally dream of running away from the day job to become a ski instructor...
I asked my wife what someone of my ability would have to do to pass and she just laughed and refused to comment!
Thinking about it though, outside the technique, there is a huge contribution from sheer balls. The TT slalom is not so long and the set is not so hard. After instructing her to "get angry" after the first run, she sliced four seconds off!
Maybe, just maybe, if one got fit and strong enough, trained a few gates, had a huge dose of luck and titanium-coated balls it might be do-able.... Obviously this favours the young, but there's a thought...
I asked my wife what someone of my ability would have to do to pass and she just laughed and refused to comment!
Great report, thanks. All credit to her for doing so well whilst breast-feeding between runs!
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
And here is (or was) the man to beat. Obviously a pole he took a particular dislike to!
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Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Fri 17-01-14 14:58; edited 1 time in total
After all it is free
After all it is free
Can you resize the photo a bit! It's huuuuuuuuuge!
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Done!
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pam w wrote:
Quote:
I asked my wife what someone of my ability would have to do to pass and she just laughed and refused to comment!
Great report, thanks. All credit to her for doing so well whilst breast-feeding between runs!
She was very good about the whole thing given that I only told her about it a week or so before Christmas
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
That's an excellent photo
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
JamesHJ wrote:
She was very good about the whole thing given that I only told her about it a week or so before Christmas
brave lady!
Good report, the TT and/or just the accompanying SL training being something i've considered myself. Already heard the Dec pass rate was pretty low, wondering now if it is actually any easier than the Eurotest
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Technique-wise, my former racer is much less worried about the Eurotest, although much improved fitness/strength will clearly be needed. Actually, if she ever has to ski on FIS GS planks she should be on good form as about the only person left on the planet who still likes the old straight skis!
On paper of course the ET is a much higher standard than the TT as it is normalised to 0 FIS points. There was a calibration event for the openers at ADH this week and they were fairly lashing down the course. However, we also heard that the French had been making an effort to make the TT harder. Certainly I have read elsewhere that it was about the same standard as achieving gold in the ESF school holiday races, which no longer seems to be true.
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
A photo of the wife in fine flow- only slightly spoiled by the ESF man with an enormous tool in the background!
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
JamesHJ, Thanks for posting. I have wondered about having a pop at some point.
Out of interest why did your wife have a go if she's already working ?
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
JamesHJ, is she doing this as part of instructor training?
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
nice write up thanks for taking the time to put it up here for reference... The TT is no joke and very very tough unless you have raced SL for a long time....
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
AndAnotherThing.. wrote:
JamesHJ, Thanks for posting. I have wondered about having a pop at some point.
Out of interest why did your wife have a go if she's already working ?
You should post it over on the BASI FB page on the Cart-Pro thread
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Since the TT in January, we joined the Voiron Ski Montagne club near Grenoble. A really nice bunch, and they do slalom training six days a week up at Villard des Lans.
It has been a long fight to suppress the old technique, especially when in extremis. Hopefully she is getting a lot quicker now, although there has not been any timing for a while. Next TT is end of March/beginning of April... Will it be enough???
I also posted this over at EpicSki hoping to get some technique tips. Any comments here also welcomed!
In particular, one question is how les experts manage to look so fluid on the slalom. They also seem to be much more dynamic and snappy. The wife feels like she is skiing with one constant rythm through each gate, rather than really imposing herself on the course.
This may just be the result of practice, practice, practice of course. When she asked the VSM coach why she couldn't carve like the others at the top of the course, he replied "because it is difficult!". There may well be some truth in that!
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
JamesHJ, does the slalom training involve drills outside of the gates to help her with the carving?
JamesHJ wrote:
In particular, one question is how les experts manage to look so fluid on the slalom. They also seem to be much more dynamic and snappy.
This is because they are getting more performance out of the ski. It's all progressive, they get onto their edge earlier and make the ski work, which then creates pressure which they can use to their advantage
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Thu 27-02-14 10:32; edited 1 time in total
After all it is free
After all it is free
JamesHJ, I had to unlearn old slalom technique as well, it took me a long time.
The main thing that will make your wife quicker is to carve more of the turn, to do that she needs the bigger edge angles that will come from more angulation.
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kitenski wrote:
JamesHJ, does the slalom training involve drills outside of the gates to help her with the carving?
Actually no, they just ski the slalom and get the comments from the coaches who are watching. The usual comment is "Le ski, cest comme un couteau", with a sort of swishing arm gesture. I think they are on the same page as you.
You can see in the video that she does not get low enough and angulate enough, especially when it is steep. Any tips for exercises to improve this?
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When you watch the locals, you can also see that they carry MUCH more speed onto the flat as they do not skid high up. Probably this accounts for seconds over the whole course.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
JamesHJ, first off I'm not a slalom racer, however I have had to unlearn some bad habits and try and learn how to carve.
Some ideas to get more edge angle. If she's not on her edges that will explain the lack of speed compared to the others.
ankle rolls on flat paths etc 3min 20s secs into the video below. I do this in places where I'd usually just ski straight down now.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Funnily enough a trip down to see Darren in Serre Chevalier has been on the cards for a while, we just need to get ourselves organised. I suspect a day with a really good English speaking coach will do wonders.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
JamesHJ, was also going to suggest that, time outside the gates working on drills would be very beneficial....
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
JamesHJ, also take a look at Podium, Snoworks Pro, or JJC. They tend to focus more on GS training (for the Eurotest) but I they also run slalom weeks from time to time.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Turns out the club were a no-show today (and there is 50 cm of fresh powder!). She just went off for a two hour lesson with the ESF, it will be interesting to compare notes later on today!
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
JamesHJ, I am a slalom racer and a FIS level coach. I don't think relaying coaching hints through you is going to help her much, just talk to your coaches. I have always been impressed with VSM, Patrick C-E is a very good course setter though I guess he isn't all that chatty.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
rob@rar wrote:
JamesHJ, also take a look at Podium, Snoworks Pro, or JJC. They tend to focus more on GS training (for the Eurotest) but I they also run slalom weeks from time to time.
The (UK) focus on the Eurotest is really interesting. A French colleague of mine is nearly finished his skiing diploma and said that he failed the TT four times! He said that for the locals the ET is regarded as something which requires significant fitness training, but does not usually prove a huge stumbling block. For sure the majority of people here are giving up on becoming a ski instructor at the first hurdle, i.e. the TT.
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
rjs wrote:
JamesHJ, I am a slalom racer and a FIS level coach. I don't think relaying coaching hints through you is going to help her much, just talk to your coaches. I have always been impressed with VSM, Patrick C-E is a very good course setter though I guess he isn't all that chatty.
They are indeed a great bunch- it is harder though to learn to ski while also learning French!
Actually, I have to say that reading and discussing skiing technique also gives me significant pleasure, although I am no great skier. The forum stuff at least makes me think that I contribute to something other than making the sandwiches : )
JamesHJ, also take a look at Podium, Snoworks Pro, or JJC. They tend to focus more on GS training (for the Eurotest) but I they also run slalom weeks from time to time.
Podium have an equal focus on slalom and GS, they run test technique training right through the autumn.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Phew- just back home from Alpe D'Huez. Not a great day at the final test technique of the season. The snow was re-frozen brown stuff for the first run and turned to ice cream for the second. Eight passed from 83 candidates by our count... : (
Still life goes on and a little stronger each time! Bring on December (and LOTS of training in between!).
And here is a picture of the missus standing in a hole earlier today!
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
JamesHJ,
After all it is free
After all it is free
I think one problem is warming up physically and especially mentally for the first run of the day. Only one person passed in the first run when the snow was icy but not rutted, whereas seven passed early on in the second run. Bib 17 is pretty good for a field of 80+ and the chance was there to be taken in the first run. She actually posted about the same time off the openers in both legs, going cautiously in the first and like the clappers through the ruts in the second.
I think also that specific training for ruts is needed, maybe forgetting the cross-blocking...
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Quote:
specific training for ruts is needed
If you come up with any good ideas for that let me know ! seems like just skiing rutted courses is the only way.. Well done for having a crack at it, looks very tough. Was it on the ADH stad skiers right ?
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skimottaret wrote:
If you come up with any good ideas for that let me know ! seems like just skiing rutted courses is the only way.. Well done for having a crack at it, looks very tough. Was it on the ADH stad skiers right ?
I think I meant tactics rather than training! Lots of good stuff floating around advising practising the inside clear and not getting fixated with cross-blocking:
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
Great report, thanks. All credit to her for doing so well whilst breast-feeding between runs!
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