At the beginning of last year's season, Voglreiter was ahead of his roommate Thomas Stangassinger in almost every training run, but after the race it was "Stani" who stood proudly on the podium with Siegi quietly escaping unnoticed from the finish area.

Insiders are aware that Siegfried is a very sensitive skier, who is able to translate what he feels when he skis into words. This is a very important skill which he used to perfection in developing the new 'wonder' GS skis together with Atomic. He was responsible for the fantastic performance of these world-champion skis, but it was to be others (Hermann Meier, Lasse Kjus etc...) who skied on them to capture the world title!

Last April, as an examiner for the Austrian ski instructor exams, I had the pleasure of coaching and training Siegi Vogelreiter who was one of the candidates. I was very impressed with the elegance and power of his skiing, particularly in short-radius turns.

In the three weeks we worked intensively on various areas of skiing and I had many opportunities to encourage him to think aloud about the following topics:

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BG: Thoughts about the physical stress on the athletes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SV: The very icy slopes, the rule that the top 30 in the first run have to race the second run in reverse order, and the very radical side-cut of the new skis put enormous physical stress on the athlete's body. I had a severe problem with my back last season and you see more and more racers receiving treatment for back problems.

BG: What can be done to take the pressure off the athletes?

SV: The FIS (International Ski Federation) should review the unforgiving course preparation and the training program should focus more on the back muscles.

BG: Ski technology in Slalom?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SV: The skis are becoming shorter and shorter. Some of the younger FIS racers ski on skis only 160 cm in length.

BG: How will the new ski equipment influence the technique?

SV: An even tighter line through the gates with the torso moving more to the inside of the turn. The new skis will certainly influence the course-setting tactics of the various nations. The coaches will need to try to set courses which suit their athletes' equipment. Last season you saw the Austrian coaches setting very straight courses, while some of the other countries preferred runs with more turn.

BG: Why do you think you never made it to the top?

SV: In training I consistently proved that I could beat the fastest. Perhaps I am too sensitive, because I find it very hard to adapt to changing conditions such as weather, visibility or ski-tuning. I always did well in perfect conditions.

BG: How about the coaches, could they have done anything differently to help you to make it to the top?

SV: The best coaches in Austria work with the junior development teams and that is fundamentally the right thing, but unfortunately our World Cup coaches are under enormous pressure, just as the racers are. As a result, the coaches only focus on the very best in the team and have very little time for racers with technical problems.

BG: What makes a good coach?

SV: Besides the ability to make the racer feel as if the coach really cares for him, the coach also needs to come up with solutions and not just recognise the faults.

BG: You managed to pass the top level of exams in Austrian for ski instructors. What did you like most about this course?

 

 

 

 

 

SV: First of all, I wanted to do this course to learn something I could also use to become a better racer - unfortunately now it is too late for me, because I have to retire from the World Cup. However I learned so many interesting things about skiing from the course and I understand so much more about skiing. This is knowledge I wish I had had while I was racing and I believe it should be compulsory for every racer in Austria to participate in a course like this.
Apart from all the theory I really enjoyed skiing off-piste, because as a racer you only ski on perfectly-groomed runs and lose sight of the beauty of skiing.

BG: You have seen many super athletes during your career, who impressed you most?

SV: Rudi Nierlich really impressed me, because he was way ahead of his time. In the early nineties he used the same SL and GS technique that we are using now. He didn't consciously try to ski that technique, he just had an incredible feeling for the skis. He often skied with open boots, but not because he thought this was good training - he was just too lazy to tighten up his boots!! Things like this made Rudi Nierlich one of the really exceptional skiers.

BG: What are your hobbies?

SV: I like fishing in the Zellersee - a lake near my hometown - mountain biking, tennis, soccer (unfortunately I am very untalented, we both laugh) hiking, reading, watching TV (too much), I am very interested in politics, economy...

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Siggi, congratulations on passing the ski instructor exams and we all hope that you'll be involved with ski sport for many years to come.

 

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