The Snowboard Cross course is hard. There are multiple hops up to a tabletop (flat surface) which then drop off sharply, several jumps (two of them big ones), and sharp "Daytona" turns (they're quarter-pipes, like in Daytona, hence the name... duh). Then there's the weather, causing snow conditions to vary from slush to soft powder to ice all of which affect the racers' speed and control.
What this all means is that it is not surprising that heavy favorites Nate Holland and Pierre Vaultier didn't metal, it's actually a miracle that anyone could stand long enough to cross the finish line at all. So if Lindsey Jacobellis does not "redeem" herself and win gold in Snowboard Cross, don't be too hard on her, it might just be the course.
The one woman with the best chance of stopping an American sweep in Snowboard half-pipe is Australian (and Mormon, who knew they had those in Australia?) Torah Bright. Her one flaw, sadly, is also her greatest strength: Torah goes BIG. She wants those huge tricks even when it isn't wise to attempt them. Of course, if she lands all her tricks and completes a full run, she is unbelievably good, but it's that IF that gets her sometimes. Hell, she just suffered two concussions within three days while training the week before X-Games, which was about three weeks ago. As for her American competitors, Kelly Clark is the most consistent rider on the women's side, but she doesn't always go big enough in competition (which is partly why she's so consistent). Gretchen Bleiler and Hannah Teter have bigger tricks, it's just a question if they can put down a whole strong run.
For men's half-pipe, if Shaun White puts down a run like he had at X-Games, he is unbeatable. So, assuming that happens, it becomes a fight for second, where the other Americans might have some problems. Louie "Tiny Dancer" Vito (yes, they really call him that, now) hasn't put down a full, strong run in the finals of a competition in quite a while. This is partly because White has pushed everyone else to raise their games to a level not all of them have yet, but this also seems to be something of a mental problem with Vito. As for the other two Americans, Scotty Lago has good consistency, good air, and strong runs, but he has also been coming up short in recent competitions, and Greg Bretz is the other guy just lucky to make the team.
The men's biggest foreign competitors include I. Pod. (I'm not even going to try his real name), Kazuo, and several others who are landing double-corks and following them up with other big tricks. It's a deep field and it could be hard for the Americans to snatch more than one medal, based on how they've been riding recently.
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Great breakdown of these events, and what could lead to wins or losses for the Americans. What I don't understand is why can't I get this on either ESPN or NBC? NBC covers the Dew Tour regularly, shouldn't they have experts by now who could do this, or do the announcers and studio people there suck as much as they do on the other channels for other sports? Where is the Kirk Herbstreit of extereme sports to help break it down for us causal fans for the big events?
ReplyDeleteI don't know why the hell it isn't easier to find an Olympic sports for Dummies kind of summary anywhere. I was watching Curling with Heather earlier, and they have vague terms for everything. Other than "get the stone closest to the center" I really had no idea what was happening. I guess they just expect us all to watch enough that we figure it out.
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