Recently, the reigning world champion in giant slalom saw several competitors have their seasons ruined in Adelboden after dangerous crashes, including Norwegian national team colleagues Lucas Braathen and Atle Lie McGrath.
Alexis Pinturault won the two giant slalom competitions in Adelboden and there was only a tenth difference in total time for the Frenchman both days.
- When Hirscher won in 2018, he did it at 2.29.
Now Pinturault had 2.18 (!).
It is eleven seconds, and eleven seconds in alpine skiing is extremely much, Kristoffersen points out and is supported by SVT's expert commentator:
"Has a limit"
- There is absolutely reason to look at how the coaches set the courses and slow down.
Another important aspect is the skis and equipment that are becoming more advanced.
Even if the skis can withstand extreme stress, the skiers have a limit to what they can handle, says Tobias Helllman.
Barely two weeks ago, SVT Sport reported on the injury chaos in the Alpine World Cup in a mini-documentary.
The International Ski Federation FIS takes the situation seriously.
Hard to reverse the trend
Despite the fact that FIS has good control of statistics and the causes of the injuries, the trend does not want to reverse, states Atle Skårdal, former competition manager.
- I feel that we as a union and responsible for the regulations are always one step behind.
They work day and night to make equipment that runs faster and better.
And slowing down such a development is not always easy.
But we must continue to work together to find the best solutions to the problem, says Skårdal.
See the mini-documentary: Knee injuries in alpine sports (9 Jan 2021)
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Mini-documentary: The knee injuries in alpine sports