Olympic Ski Cross Track Rebuild: Speed Concerns

Hardly any of the future Olympic skiers on the women’s side made it all the way across the finish line when it was time for ski cross training in Livigno. The small alpine town which, as of Friday, will host the freestyle and snowboard disciplines in the Olympics.

An early morning snowfall had made the ski cross run sluggish, and the ladies simply couldn’t build up enough speed to make the final jump to the finish. Instead, the riders had to turn off and end the ride prematurely.

Also several of the gentlemen chose to break, others fought their way to the finish line. But everyone agreed that something had to change before the time came for the Olympic competitions.

– It was extremely slow. We had to “pop” fully to get over the last jump, says Swede Erik Mobärg, referring to how the riders make an effort to gain momentum during the ride.

– Considering the length of the track, it is a bit sensitive to snow. You would like to have a little more speed so that it feels like a good race.

The organizers did their best to remove most of the newly fallen snow. But the scorching sun that then appeared still made the surface hard. Since the track is on the flatter side, it had a big impact on the slide.

The ski cross is among the last disciplines to make it to the Olympics and the competitions will only be decided on February 20-21. Until then, parts of the track will be rebuilt to increase speed. Among other things, at the beginning of the track and towards the last jump.

– I think they will want to pick up the speed a little in the first turn, says Erik Mobärg.

Otherwise, they like blue-yellow the riders the newly constructed, technically challenging course.

– It feels like a good course for us Swedes. It’s a long streak, I like that. Then we’ll see how much they rebuild, but hopefully there will be a bit more speed in the rest of the track, says Sandra Näslund.

David Mobärg, the middle brother in the Mobärg sibling trio who will all run the Olympics, says that the hill in Livigno makes a lot of demands on the skiers:

– It is important that you set the pace and don’t mess it up for each other, because then it will be difficult to make up for it, he says.

Because it is so far for the start of the competition, the ski cross riders will now leave Italy for a camp in Björnrike in Sweden.

– It feels a bit strange to be here now and enter this Olympic bubble and then leave here again. At the same time, it’s nice to have come here and seen how everything works and how we should live, so that when we come back, it’s just full focus, says Sandra Näslund.

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