Mikaela Shiffrin to focus on World Cup tech events

This can be a good, folks.

The NBC report brings up the salient indisputable fact that Shiffrin hasn’t competed in a velocity World Cup since January. She additionally hasn’t been capable of practice it in the course of the offseason. COVID-19 wrecked many of the journey for summer time coaching to the Southern Hemisphere and locations like Mount Hood, Oregon.

Then Shiffrin harm her again a few week earlier than the World Cup opener in Soelden, Austria, in October. Not solely did that stop her from competing at Soelden, however it additionally disadvantaged her of extra velocity coaching.

One does wish to be up to the mark when careening down a mountain at 70 mph. Good pondering, Mikaela.

However let’s be trustworthy: That is additionally a strategic withdrawal, and a superb one. As Shiffrin returns to the World Cup after her father’s demise in February and the onset of COVID in March and after a protracted summer time, she’s following the KISS idea — preserve it easy, Shiffrin.

Whether or not you’re the best skier on the earth proper now or a mean Joe, when disaster strikes, it’s finest to return to fundamentals. Shiffrin’s bread and butter, after all, is making turns.

Sure, she’s shocked and amazed us all together with her means to strap on velocity skis and win six World Cups (two downhill and 4 super-Gs) and the 2019 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships super-G, however an athlete must be on high of all the things to do this. Shiffrin understandably isn’t at this second.

By axing velocity for no less than December, Shiffrin’s giving herself extra space on the schedule. That’s good for extra tech coaching and a while for herself and/or together with her mother, Eileen, with whom she’s touring Europe. (And don’t underrate time with Mother. Mikaela, Eileen and older brother/son, Taylor will all assist one another at sure factors of this course of. It’s what households do.)

With out velocity, right here’s her slate for the subsequent month:

• Courcheval, France, two GS, Dec. 12-13.

• Semmering, Austria, GS and slalom, Dec. 28-29.

• Zagreb, Croatia, slalom, Jan. 3.

The following velocity weekend is St. Anton, Austria, on Jan. 7-10. Do keep in mind, nonetheless, that the Flachau, Austria, evening slalom is Jan. 12, adopted by a weekend of tech in Maribor, Slovenia, so don’t pencil in velocity but. She might skip St. Anton.

As we work our manner by way of the schedule, please do not forget that this can be a worlds 12 months in Cortina, Italy. The GS is Feb. 18 and the slalom on Feb. 20. Whereas we’re about to speak about who would possibly win the World Cup championships this season, profitable worlds medals trumps the general globe for Shiffrin.

One of many drawbacks of this race technique, in response to NBC, is that Shiffrin won’t have the ability to compete for the general crown with this schedule.

“It’s fairly a bit much less in my ideas than it has been in years previous,” Shiffrin mentioned to NBC concerning the general.

Sure, when you may have three of them, you in all probability don’t want a fourth instantly, however is a World Cup title out of the query? No.

If Shiffrin is just going to do slalom and GS, it should make it more durable, however not inconceivable. Tech skiers have a bonus within the chase for the general just because there are extra big slaloms and slaloms (19) than downhills and super-Gs (15).

Situation No. 2 is that there aren’t any true all-discipline racers within the ladies’s subject. Shiffrin was as shut as anybody acquired to being a real all-arounder. Even with the untimely halt to her 2019-20 season, Shiffrin was the one racer ranked in High 10 in all 5 disciplines — downhill, super-G, GS, slalom and parallel.

Even when she doesn’t click on right into a set of velocity skis this season, she’s nonetheless acquired a shot on the general. Throughout the three seasons (2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19) she received the general, Shiffrin might have received the title solely with slalom and GS factors.

Fairly frankly, her resolution to not ski velocity initially might be not as prohibitive to her World Cup title probabilities because the mere presence of Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova. Identical to Shiffrin, her roots are in tech and Vlhova’s crushing it in the course of the early going.

Vlhova was additionally profitable in branching out into velocity final 12 months and we’ll have a watch on her this weekend with Shiffrin out of the sector. Seemingly the perfect factor for Shiffrin is for anybody however Vlhova to win this weekend. (Severely, the sensible rooting curiosity for Shiffrin partisans is Switzerland’s Corinne Suter, who solely races velocity, whereas Vlhova finishes within the 20s. FYI, it’s unhealthy karma to root for a DNF, folks.)

So, good name, Mikaela. Take your time and we’ll be prepared for Courcheval.