If I were a ski coach…

With great interest, I’ve watched the first world cup races of the season and could only marvel at the incredible talent displayed by the participating athletes. Beside a form often defined by an athlete given morphology, is there a visible hint as to who skis better than the other?

I’d say perhaps in the way different athletes control their speed and how often they slow themselves down. This is visible through the spray of snow and ice their skies leave, particularly in steep and sharp-turning sections of the race course. 

From my observations, this is the only space where one can spot tangible differences. Then, I ask myself this question: “What best advice could I give these almost perfect skiers? I think I’d say something like: “Keep your skis as flat as you can and let them go as fast as possible, then as you’ll go very, very fast, your main job will be to go through all the gated, only focus on this and see that part as a the ultimate challenge!” 

Do you agree with this advice or do you think it’s overly simplistic?