GS RACING VIDEOS
As many race analysts and coaches will agree GS is the gold standard of skiing. Athletes like Bode Miller, Didier Cuche and others often made this event the centre of their drive to World Cup championships. In addition to being the midpoint mark in terms of technique on the continuum from slalom to downhill, it's technical requirements are a blend of the movements that promote speed and agility that most closely simulate the mechanics of efficient but fast free skiing.
Though we do not have the terrain to experience this to its fullest here in Manitoba (slope width being part of the issue) the experience that most of us cherish the most in our memories when we visit the mountains is that perfect cruising run. The rush of the wind from speed, the buildup of pressure in the skis and the sudden but controlled release of that energy into the new turn helping to propel us down the hill as fast as we feel comfortable going without pointing them straight, that's the GS feeling.
Then there's that momentary feeling of weightlessness as our mass moves inside the arc without resistance when everything is timed just right that's hard to describe. I always think it must be similar to the rush a skydiver gets when they first exit the plane!
A video of a GS free skiing run gives plenty of time to pick out the elements that we might want to incorporate into our own skiing even at lower speeds. It can help lay in a pattern of understanding and mental imagery that is so necessary to help advance our own ski performance. Hope you enjoy.
Credits:
3 files are of Canadian Ski Team athletes (Guay and Grandi) freeskiing GS and then Nyberg from the CSCF World Cup 2005 video off the ACA website.