Super-G and me

I’ve never been a fan of the alpine event called super-G, a hybrid between downhill and giant slalom, but closer to the former. 

Unlike downhill, it can only be inspected and unlike giant slalom, there’s only one run. The super-G was introduced in 1988, while giant slalom, the real hybrid between slalom and downhill goes back to 1952. 

During the current Olympics, I have observed both men and women super-G races, and have came up with more personal observations. 

First, its all in the line a racer follows and this is by far the most difficult element for a skier to figure out after inspection and apprehend in course. 

Tempo is fast, turns come even faster and with them the actual line is more often a consequence of past moves than a studied, premeditated itinerary. This creates huge surprises (good and bad) and enormous time differences.

Sure, racers should position their turns well before the gate rushes on them and know how to adjust their edges in relation to the steepness of the slope and the quality of the snow, but the events (turns and jumps) occur way too fast for integrating them all into a cohesive strategy. 

This means many will miss and a few may be lucky and this, in part, is why, in my humble opinion, this event remains a “filler” and makes very little sense...