Foreign exchange: Norwegian, US racers share tips for speed
BEAVERCREEK, COLO. (AP) >> The Norwegians reveled in teammate Kjetil Jansrud’s super- G win last weekend at Lake Louise.
So did the Americans. Not to the same extent, obviously — “they win a lot,” downhiller Jared Goldberg cracked — but Jansrud’s speedy performance at least showed the U. S. men’s squad they’re on the right track.
The two countries have become partners in training the last few seasons. The Norwegians bring a wealth of experience, knowledge and another level of seriousness to the hill. The Americans add a top-level training facility, more coaches on the course to relay information and different level of playfulness.
In the end, the two nations speak precisely the same language — speed.
“Having them around, it’s awesome,” said U. S. racer Travis Ganong, who finished 1.87 seconds behind the top time turned in by Otmar Striedinger of Austria during a World Cup downhill training session Wednesday. “Having the Norwegians on the hill elevates our level. When we’re training with our group, we joke around and have a lot of fun. We’re not always pushing that hard. It’s nice to bring in the Norwegians to help us push hard. Hopefully, it helps them, too, to have this cooperation.”
It definitely does. Especially early in the season, when the Norwegians gain access to the U. S. ski team’s speed center at Copper Mountain, Colorado — a well-manicured 2-mile track where they can cruise up to 80 mph. Along with it, U.S. coaches who can relay information.
“When we wanted to work with someone, we wanted to work with the Americans,” said Norwegian standout Aksel Lund Svindal , who was third in training at Beaver Creek. “It tells you something about the way they work — it’s fairly similar to the way we work. It just fits better together than some other teams.”
Even on training days, Svindal, Jansrud and the rest of the small but tightknit Norwegian group treat everything like a podium spot might be on the line.
“We have high standards of what we bring to training as well as with energy,” Jansrud said. “We go hard.”
No exceptions. And break training protocol — you will get warned.
“That’s probably why the Americans think we’re a little (uptight), they see us calling each other out,” said Svindal, who’s recovering from a left thumb injury that forces him to tape the pole to his glove. “It’s important to stick to the training program. If you don’t, you lower the standards.”
This is an intensity the Americans are taking to heart.
“The Norwegians take care of the tiny details very well. Being surrounded by that, you pick up on that,” American Bryce Bennett said. “Not that their team is way better than ours or we’re way worse, but it’s a good team to be paired with.”
The American downhiller squad did a very Norwegian-like thing this summer: A group of them got together for a bonding session in Malibu, California. They were put through a series of activities run by former Navy SEALs. One of the tasks was carrying logs over their heads and up a sand hill, then locking arms as they waded into the surf to get pummeled by waves. They did this over and over.
“They try to get us to feel uncomfortable and be able to push past that uncomfortable state,” Goldberg said. “We got our butts kicked. But it was beneficial.”