 Poster: A snowHead
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Britain's Alain Baxter will compete against Europe's top racers today on indoor snow at Landgraaf, Holland.
This is the first race of the Europa Cup circuit, and the snowdome has been approved for use by the International Ski Federation. Crowds of "up to 20,000" are expected. According to a report on The Scotsman website:
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| Indoor skiing is not ideal for Baxter who finds the snow too soft and the humidity high, but organisers have poured gallons of water on the piste to replicate the icy conditions of high mountain skiing. After back problems and knee surgery earlier this year, Baxter announced that he feels "pretty good. The knee is fine, but my back can still give me a bit of gyp." |
Full report: Scotsman.com.
Additional reports: The Guardian ... BBC Sport.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Sat 5-11-05 1:36; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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P.S. Does anyone know if there's any TV coverage of this interesting event?
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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?
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An audience of 20,000? In a snowdome? Do they have a very large viewing gallery there? I would have thought putting 20,000 warm bodies inside a snowdome would have a disastrous effect in the snow!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Yes, that also struck me as 'surprising'. If all the spectators turned up, and all the snow melted as a result, it could make quite a funny news story!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Here's a report on the day's racing from Ski Racing.
Alain Baxter came 12th. Full results: FIS.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Baxter actually finished 27th, not 12th. The first results were from the pre-qualifier - two runs, with the status of a FIS race. The top thirty then qualified for the European Cup race (the knock-out slalom) with Baxter and Leuzinger being eliminated early on, finishing 27th and 29th out of 30 respectively. Alain's brother Noel didn't finish the second run of the pre-qualifier and so he didn't make it as far as the knock-out race.
Kwame, likewise, didn't qualify for the European Cup level race, failing to finish his first qualifying run.
Standards are high at this level, but the British racers would have been hoping for better.
Just last week in Tignes I was talking to the Val d'Isère racer Pierre Paquin, and he mentioned he was racing in Holland last night. In Tignes for speed training he looked in great form, and although he has only raced in a few WC slaloms early on around 2000, and is built like the proverbial these days, he was hopeful of starting a couple of WC races this season. Paquin, in the Tomba mould in terms of physique, finished a creditable 5th on the knockout, having taken 4th in the pre-qualifier.
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Yes it's a complicated situation whereby two events are held - one a FIS race (nothing to do with the European Cup) - but serving not only in its own right as a race enabling athletes to attempt to better their FIS points standing (as the likes of Kwame was hoping to do) but also as a qualifier for the European Cup race proper, a knockout slalom.
FIS slalom race:
Two qualifying slalom runs held, the top thirty (combined times taken) from the FIS race going through to the European Cup knockout slalom.
European Cup knockout slalom:
These 30 qualified racers then complete one slalom run (RUN 1).
The top 18 (excluding Baxter and Leuzinger who came 27th and 29th) go through to the next run (RUN 2).
The top 8 of these 18 do one final run (RUN 3).
The final European Cup classification of the top 8 is based on the combined times from runs 2 and 3.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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PS I only qualified your comment because in your first post you referred to the event as a Europa Cup event, which while correct wasn't the one in which Baxter finished 12th.
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Got it. Thanks.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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So it looks to me like Alain was 4th fastest on the first run, but then failed to keep posting consistently fast times. (Presumably the course was unaltered during the event?) As a ski-racer you always try to take the positive things from any event, and he'll certainly now know that he can produce some good basic speed on, flatter courses at leas, with his new skis (Volkl).
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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.
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Finished 4th in the first qualifying run, about 28th on the second. No idea how the snow holds up in these indoor events. I thought they had to reset between runs? Don't know how it works in these domes. Suppose the top 30 go in reverse order (slowest to fastest) in the second run, which would have meant Baxter was 28th to start.
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FAQ
