Mikaela Shiffrin to focus only on World Cup technical events, at least for now

That is good, folks.

The NBC report brings up the salient indisputable fact that Shiffrin hasn’t competed in a pace 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 damage her again a couple of week earlier than the World Cup opener in Soelden, Austria, in October. Not solely did that forestall her from competing at Soelden, but it surely additionally disadvantaged her of extra pace coaching.

One does wish to be in control when careening down a mountain at 70 mph. Good pondering, Mikaela.

However let’s be sincere: That is additionally a strategic withdrawal, and a very good one. As Shiffrin returns to the World Cup after her father’s dying in February and the onset of COVID in March and after an extended 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 stunned and amazed us all along with her means to strap on pace 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 needs to be on prime of all the things to do this. Shiffrin understandably isn’t at this second.

By axing pace for at the very least December, Shiffrin’s giving herself more room on the schedule. That’s good for extra tech coaching and a while for herself and/or along 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 pace, right here’s her slate for the following month:

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

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

• Zagreb, Croatia, slalom, Jan. 3.

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

As we work our manner by means of the schedule, please do not forget that this can be a worlds yr 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, successful worlds medals trumps the general globe for Shiffrin.

One of many drawbacks of this race technique, based on 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 total.

Sure, when you might 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’ll make it tougher, however not unattainable. 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).

Concern No. 2 is that there are not any true all-discipline racers within the girls’s area. 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 prime 10 in all 5 disciplines — downhill, super-G, GS, slalom and parallel.

Even when she doesn’t click on right into a set of pace skis this season, she’s nonetheless acquired a shot on the total. 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 determination to not ski pace initially might be not as prohibitive to her World Cup title possibilities because the mere presence of Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova. Similar 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 pace final yr and we’ll have a watch on her this weekend with Shiffrin out of the sphere. Doubtless one of the best factor for Shiffrin is for anybody however Vlhova to win this weekend. (Significantly, the sensible rooting curiosity for Shiffrin partisans is Switzerland’s Corinne Suter, who solely races pace, whereas Vlhova finishes within the 20s. FYI, it’s dangerous karma to root for a DNF, folks.)

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

cfreud@vaildaily.com