05/02/2012 Ski Sunday

Hello and welcome to Ski Sunday. This week we are in Chamonix.

Mont Blanc and the surrounding area is a paradise for adrenalin junkies.

And there is no greater thrill than the speed and danger of downhill

racing. Didier Cuche continues his farewell tour, chasing a record

fifth World Cup title. Didier Cuche leads the way.

It is an amazing love story. Later on in the show, we will be bringing

the intensity back a little bit as we contemplate the simple life with

the monks on the Great St Bernard Pass.

First up, it is the downhill on the Chamonix. Didier Cuche won here

last year and he won earlier in the season. Is there anyone who can

challenge him? Klaus Kroell is one of the favourites, but Didier Cuche

is going to want to get back at him. Who else is in the running? Well,

there are racers like Bode Miller and the two French guys. They will

be wanting to perform well on home snow.

On this course, there are long flat sections. I see the top 15

downhillers split almost into two camps. You have got young and up

and coming skiers. What are the older guys having to do? It takes a

while to build up the muscle that you need for downhill racing. Once

you get 35, it is harder to keep keep the bulk on.

They are working harder physically, but surely the confidence and the

experience that they carry, knowing the courses must count for a bit?

Experience counts for so so much in downhill. Knowing what direction to

have off a jump and if you have done it 15 times, it is going to

help. Didier Cuche does have that

experience and he will be missed next season by ski racing fans

around the world. That's why Graham caught up with him earlier in the

week to find out why he announced Didier Cuche's CV stacks up against

the all time greats of ski racing. A glittering career spanning almost

two decades. Such a long career. So why call it

a day now when you are still winning?

I was starting to think about that even last year, but I had so much

fun and I was really to go for one more season, but one more season

that means six or seven months really hard training. I'm not ready

anymore to do all that. Didier Cuche announced his

retirement this year and went on to win on his favourite course for a

record fifth time. Didier Cuche skis for the lead. He

has got it! It was amazing how it turned into

an early love story with that mountain. Every year for me it was

like, if you don't see your girlfriend one year and you come

back, you just feel so light and so OK when you see her again and

that's like I felt this year again. The one thing missing from Didier

Cuche's medal collection is an Olympic gold medal. He won a silver

in the super-G back in 1998, but that remains his only podium finish.

Another Olympic day ends in disappointment for Didier Cuche.

It is about luck, but it belongs to my career, yeah. The Olympics is

only in two years, but that's almost 700 days just for two

minutes racing. It would be nice to have a medal, but if you are fourth,

you have no medal and you went for 700 days more and yeah, for nothing.

Do you have a to do list of things that you can never do as a ski

racer? Yeah, for a few years I started to put that on my iPhone,

on the to to do list, but I quit almost after I started because the

list was so long after so many - after so less days.

You are not going to go back to being a butcher, are you?

definitely not, it it is too hard. The early mornings waking up and

working hard until it is dark again. That's too much. It was easier to

Well, if he is going to claim the record fifth downhill title,

victory in Chamonix will be key. Downhill is won and lost on the

finest of margins and with that in mind, Graham has been taking a

closer look at where the racers can Most of the meters are on the top

of the course so you have got to go of the course so you have got to go

from the start. It is brutally cold.

You have got to work it out through here - these sharp turns. The snow

is really aggressive. Working down now on to the jump. Over - nice

flight. Tucking down now. This is the carousel turn. Set up high.

Stay high and then dive in high on this gate.

It is really quite bumpy here. Now on to the gliding section. This

is where you have to really let your skis glide. Relax your feet in

the ski bots and let -- boots and let your skis wash in the snow. The

racers will just fly over this. Here we go!

Over the road jump. Now hard on the left ski. This brings you towards

the finish. Pushing hard and across the line.

Oh, wow, I tell you what, it is bitterly cold and I think I got a

touch of frostbite. Some of the racers will be taping their face up.

I'm just going to go and try and get mine as warm as possible. Oh,

get mine as warm as possible. Oh, that's cold.

The real speed merchants are up in the start gate gate ready to get

the race underway and the atmosphere is bubbling up. Matt has

the commentary for the Chamonix, which was won by Klaus Kroell who

is rare to see this much powder snow this low down in the Chamonix

Valley. Conditions are optimum. Look at him go now. 800 and the

green light is on all the way. Sporn hits that control gate and he

glides across this across this aggressive snow jump which has been

built up artificially to give them a kick into the air.

The crowds line the course. The course takes them down into the

foot of the valley and Sporn leads the way by two tenths of a second.

Andre Sporn takes an early lead. Yesterday's race was very tight. It

was much warmer. Today is bitterly cold and the skis that -- skiers

that ran yesterday, may not run today. Andre Sporn is very happy

with that run. Patrick Kueng is in the start for

Switzerland. He pushes and skates and looking for good speed at the

top. Now can he harness it and use it to good effect? A couple of

sweeping turns and he has gone through the middle of that one.

Patrick Kueng in all sorts of trouble. Thankfully, the powder

snow at the side of the course slowed his fall. He went through

the middle of the gate. The right ski went the wrong side of the

upride and then he had all that powder to slow him down. And he is

No French skier has won a World Cup race of any description. Clarey

22nd in Friday's version. How does he compare to Andre Sporn? Very

good. He lands cleanly. He skis away in

contention here. On to areas of the course still in

the shade. A big left-footed turn. A big flight. And he has got the

green light now Clarey. The French anticipating something a little

tasty here from Clarey. He flies the road jump. He is almost home

and the noise vessels are -- levels are rising. Yes, it is tight, but

he takes first by 400ths. Clarey takes the lead for France. A

close margin, but this race yesterday was also really, really

way for Switzerland, in his final season of racing.

Didier Cuche was third on Friday, just 400ths of a second away from

victory. Great flight. Wonderful to watch in

the air, Didier Cuche. Majestic. He is tucking in tight. He sets

himself up. A little low on the exit there.

And then goes skywards and he has switched on the green light. A

wonderful jump. He wrapped his poles around his body to increase

his aerodynamic shape in the air and Didier Cuche is cooking here!

300ths of a second up. The winner in Kitzbuehl this year

to make it five victories. 900ths, it is still tight. He pops the road

jump. 95.6 kilometres per hour through the speed gun. Didier Cuche

a French speaker would be a welcome winner in Chamonix. He leads,

1300ths of a second quicker. This race is decided by 100ths and I

don't think Didier Cuche is cure on the podium because there is other

racers yet to come. Feuz had a stunning victory in

January, but his form has dipped. He finished 23rd on Friday. The day

after he turned 25. Perhaps his birthday celebrations took their

toll on the Swiss star. Only 21st in Friday's downhill.

Hoping for a huge improvement here. Away he goes looking for descent

speed. He didn't have the best build-up to this race in Chamonix.

He had his wisdom teeth removed earlier in the week and has this

gaping wound in his mouth and he has this freezing air. Imagine the

leads the way here. Nice high line. Good entrance, good exit.

Keeping that right-footed turn, and then he pops the little jump. Two

10ths of a second behind. Beat Feuz is in touch here.

The third best downhill racer of the season so far.

100th of a second off the pace. He's closing in on Cuche.

Good glider, allowing the skis to wash across the top surface of the

snow. Barely moved from his tuck during

that jump which threw him upwards and east and west in flight. Look

at the time difference now. 1600ths of a second, he is in front of

Cuche. He could steal it away. It could be a Swiss one and two. Beat

Feuz leads the way. It just goes to show the

temperature difference between today and yesterday. Feuz earning

21st yesterday, his skis really didn't run. Today he wasn't good on

the turns at the top of the course but on that gliding selection

before the finish jump he literally went like a rocket. He is pointing

at his skis, he can thank his serviceman for that time.

Klaus Kroell. Yesterday's winner. His first downhill victory of the

season. Capped off a really consistent season but he still

trails Didier Cuche in the World Cup standings for 2012.

Needs to try and get ahead of Cuche here. And he leads them both.

500ths of a second. Klaus Kroell off to a flier in Chamonix. Loves

this this course. Says it's one of his favourites. Easing the skis

through that turn. A little wobble from the upper body.

Nicely done. 900ths. Still very much in the hunt here as he goes

between our leader and yesterday's winner Klaus Kroell. Kroell is

trailing now. He is 0.35 of a second off the pace.

The double-headed victory celebrations seem unlikely now for

the veteran Austrian. It looks like he had his best form

on Friday morning. Things are a little bit more

slugish in this bitterly cold sets in for the line. How close can

he get to Beat Feuz's lead? He's gone ahead of Cuche. Kroell pushes

Cuche down to third and that's crucial in his quest for the

downhill title. The Canadian Guay is up to 6th in

the standings and in a rich vain of form. He was just behind Klaus

Kroell in Friday's race and came second last weekend.

Eric Guay. The Canadian away adepressively, still pushing --

aggressively still pushing by the time he reached gate number one.

Equal fourth in in Friday's competition. Loves this hill and

these conditions, Canadians like it cold and firm underfoot. Beautiful

flight. Hands thrust forward to cut through

the air effectively. The last Canadian winner of this

race was Ken Reid in the era in 1978. Guay600ths of a second off

the pace now. Can he crank up his World Cup

season and push Beat Feuz here? And he is 1900ths of a second behind.

Excellent speed from the Canadian. Guay on a flier here in khpl in

Chamonix today. Now then, how is he going to deal

with the bottom khebgs of the course? -- section of the course?

He's found excellent form. He has to finish without a mistake.

Keeping the tucked position, keep the skis gliding effectively and he

could dislodge Beat Feuz from first. He has!

1,200ths faster. A new leader in Chamonix. The strange thing is he

would not consider himself a natural glider. He's been better in

the past on the technical sections of courses but today he was so

relaxed and able to let the skis run and that's what made the

difference. Bauman gave Cuche a scare when he

looked like he would pip him to victory. He finished tied fourth on

Friday and 800ths of a second behind Klaus Kroell. The kind of

form that suggests his first downhill victory may not be far

away. Romed Baumann away for Austria. He

felt the need for speed from the Chamonix today. Baumann is loving

it. 2200ths quicker than Eric Guay who is watching intently at the

foot. Mont Blanc towers over this

magnificent course. Half a second up. Getting better for Baumann all

the way down. Winding down the windows there. Trying to control

his balance in flight. He goes across the flats. Keeps up

the speed. Keeps the green light on. It's

still good for Baumann. Four 10ths of a second quicker than Guay whose

lead might be short-lived here. It's been green from the very start.

Can he keep it up and finish with the lead? Down in the village

they're waiting and watching as Baumann pops the road jump, not so

solid in flight, but it's OK. And his work is nearly done. The time

to beat 2.03.88. It's tight! He's done it. One 10th of a second.

Baumann goes first. So the two guys who are joint

fourth yesterday, 800ths of a second down are now first and

second today. Baumann very good on the turns, not as quick as Guay at

the lower gliding section but did tphouf hang on and keep -- did

came so close on Friday. Bode has made a good start. Lots of

support for Bode Miller, the neutrals love to see him race

because it's seat of your pants stuff. He is on the edge all the

way down and he never holds back. Miller cuts a high line, gets

himself slightly out of shape and he is struggling before he has to

get airborne, actually absorbed that little jump, rather than pop

it but he has paid the price for the poor entry and exit into it. He

will fight all the way down the rest of the course to recover some

of that lost time. How close is he to Baumann? Within striking

distance of the lead. He trails by just 0.37 of a second. This is a

downhill course on which Bode has never won.

So close yesterday. Three of the old men of the sport on the podium

on Friday, Miller and Cuche. Off the road jump. Miller lands a

little sloppily. Didn't look to be in complete control of his destiny

there. Noise levels building in the

village. Miller goes for the line! 6th position today.

Bode Miller looked like he was trying too hard, particularly on

the top part of the course. That big right-hander, just got sitting

back on the skis and the next turn did that left-hander, so lost time

at the top and didn't have the same speed at the gliding section.

Jan Hudec for Canada. Team-mate Eric Guay currently in second

position. Had the lead for a while. Hudec with one World Cup win to his

name, but it's been a while. Not a bad start here.

Suffered with a couple of injuries in the last two or three seasons.

30 years of age now. One of the veterans from the Canadian squad.

He is getting bounced around. That's a -- he had to twist his

upper body at the exit. Hudec with a huge flight there. 25, 30 metres.

And on the flat, look at it now. Hudec switched it from red to green.

This would be a surprise, a pleasant surprise for the Canadian

team. Hudec is getting quicker all the time. He now leads Baumann by

nearly half a second. Good control off that jump.

It's getting better and better for Hudec. Half a second up. Not as

quick as some across the snow tpwu doesn't -- but it doesn't matter.

He is skiing for the lead in the Chamonix downhill. Surely it's his!

He's done it. Half a second quicker. He doesn't know it yet, he's

dismissed it, he doesn't think it was good enough. Now he knows. So

that was a big surprise, and a big, big lead. It's very, very cold,

it's almost Canadian temperatures and perhaps that helped them.

They've two on the podium now. Number 50, Ben Thomsen for Canada.

He's had a little wait and he will have listened to the course reports

delivered by the two-way Radios, from Guay and the current leader,

Hudec. Thomson had a really good run on Friday, he finished in 11th.

He is wearing number 50 again today. Look at this, just over a second

off the pace. There is space in the top five for thoplsen. Fifth it is.

Great run from the young Canadian, three of them. Thomsen starting

number 50, just placed fifth. It gets better and better for Canada.

So, Hudec becomes the first Canadian winner in Chamonix since

Ken Reid in 78 with Baumann of Austria in second and.

TJ Baldwin was also in action this weekend. The 21-year-old from

Norfolk finished in 55th position in his third ever World Cup

downhill. It's been a while since there's

been to Canadians on the podium. don't race enough to know when the

last time was, you will have to ask Eric. I do know, another French

resort. Do you think the cold helped because it's bitterly cold

this morning. Norm threu maybe would have helped but it's been

warm in Canada all year, we were as shocked at this as all the

Europeans were. Last time I saw you you were playing drums in a bar,

are you going to get behind the set tonight? He was there last night.

was playing drums last night. I don't know if I should say that on

TV, I wasn't drinking so it's OK. For next week we head east to Sochi

in Russia as the men men test out the new downhill course built for

the 2014 winter Olympics. That's at 5.15pm next Sunday. Straight after

today's show you can see the exciting climax to the men's

supercombined from Chamonix on the red button.

Britain's Elysee Christie won her first world speed skating title

with victory in the 1,000 metre race in Russia yesterday. Her win

in Moscow was her third podium of the season.

Shelley Rudman's form continues, the Briton finished third on

Thursday evening in the latest World Cup round in Canada.

Lindsay Vaughan continues to dominate alpine skiing, the

American notched up her 50th World Cup win yesterday and now has a

comfortable lead in both the That's the end of a classic

downhill race in Chamonix and the party is just getting started.

Earlier, the atmosphere was more rirified.

-- rarified. We skied towards one of the highest

monasteries in the Alps where the monks have been res rescuing the

waifs and strays. In the middle of winter, avalanches

are prevalent so we were going to Above the clouds at the top of

Europe stands a steadfast figure, with the devil chained beneath, he

is the barrier to all eveles. It is the statue of the patron saint of

skiers, snowboarders and mountain goers, the protectors of the Alps.

-- protector of the Alps. The great Saint Bernard's pass, the

ancient route through the Alps which man has strived to conquer

since time began. Connecting Switzerland to Italy to form the

most direct route to Rome from the north, the pathway has been used

for thousands of years, whether to reach the home of the church or to

march on the great city. But the pass has always been

fraught with danger. Riddled with bandits, and always prone to sudden

bursts of anger from elements, the roar of the storm or the deadly

rumble of an avalanche. It has rumble of an avalanche. It has

claimed a long list of victims. The death toll on the mountain

inspired Saint Bernard to build a monastery on the top of the pass.

It is open to all travellers no matter what creed or social

standing. Throughout the sen treerks sen -- centuries. The monks

perform an incredible heroics to rescue travellers. Saint Bernard

was credited with stamping out the evil dangers on the trail and the

route was named in his Honour. The monks who ran the monastery,

scoured the mountains to save avalanche victims along with their

trusted packs of dogs, bred at the monastery and named after their

founding father. They are bred purely for

recreational purposes, these Swiss icons live on in the town at the

foot of the mountain. Fooding time! -- feeding time!

Oh, look at that. How old is the Oh, look at that. How old is the

breed? The breed is over 125 years old, but dogs are more than 350

years ago. Where did the first dogs come from?

The ones that were taken up there? The dogs came from farmhouses in

the area, in the valley for example or from the Alps valley and simply

the strongest dogs were taken for the breed.

So it didn't matter type of dog it was, as long as it was strong?

Really any kind of dog would be considered as long as they could

cope with the difficult weather conditions on the pass.

Their role as avalanche dogs are almost obsolete? Yes, now with the

modern rescuing techniques, lighter dogs are used for rescue work.

There are still dogs up a the monastery? In the summer, we take

at least half of our dogs here up to the kennel on the Great St

Bernard Pass and they spend every summer at 2500 meters above sea

level. It seems that the dog had the nose

to sniff out a potential victim! Kiss. Kiss. Kiss.

During the winter, the road to the top of the pass is closed and the

monastery is completely isolated, accessed only on foot. To take a

closer look e we were going to have to negotiate the pass as travellers

had done for centuries using man power. Eddie was on hand to ensure

our safe passage. Today we have to work hard. There

is no place where you don't have problem with avalanche. You can see

here this transmitter to find people on the snow. This one, you

can arrive near to the people near to the snow. You can find where is

the body. It is important to test the tran the trancciver.

As we gained altitude, the weather worsened as a storm blew in, making

the terrain unstable. Well, it is not a particularly long

journey, but it is not particularly pleasant.

If the sun was was shining, it wouldn't be as bad. We are about

half-way up. There is a bit of avalanche danger.

I can see why they built a refuge up here. It would have been

terrible coming through without it. The legendary pass had begun to

show its true colours, after a minor avalanche narrowly missed our

camera crew, Eddie advised us to complete our assent as quickly as

possible. Then, we caught sight of the monastery.

A vision which had welcomed many from pilgrims to conquering armies

for hundreds of years was now our salvation and the warm welcome of

this remarkable structure wasn't a moment too soon.

We are in the oldest part of the hospice.

I can't get my head around it that a building existed at this altitude

almost 1,000 years ago, that seems absolutely unbelievable.

Do you want a taste of cheese? would love a taste of cheese.

It smells strong. But it is really, creamy.

So this door is never locked? Has it ever been locked? It is always

open. Even when Napoleon came through? The vocation of the

hospice is to be open for everybody in every time, in every season,

night or day. I know that the door is never locked, but is it OK if we

close it? You can close it. But like that, no.

Never! LAUGHTER

This is the main door of the church. Oh wow.

That is incredible. Yes.

The section of the hospice was was built in the 15th century.

It is hard to believe we are up a mountain at 2,400 meters.

There are many dangers on the mountain, the bandits, fog, the

snow, the wind, and the avalanche. This is Saint Bernard here.

Yes, you can see him with the devil under the feet. Under Saint Bernard

the ice to heaven. Now we are going to see something

very interesting fort life of the house is the bell. The bell, the

meaning of the bell is here to call people to the prayers. Can I ring

it? Yes. Entering the month as free, you

feel welcome. To this day, people from far and wide are greeted by

the four remaining cannons and the many devoted volunteers. Even in

the 21st century, this place is still as valued as it ever was and

the dangers of the pass are still as apparent. The sealed morgue on

the site of the hospice stands as a monument to those whose journey

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 95 seconds

came to an end many years ago. And so the time had come for us to

continue our expedition. With kit checked, it was time to

It is time to say goodbye to Saint Bernard and his chained up devil.

We have crossed the border into Italy. You can see the hospice

behind us. We got such a warm welcome when we

arrived. There is so much energy energy inside that building and it

is a strong, positive, almost defiant structure, challenging any

of the ravaging storms to try and knock it over.

Well, it needs to be. We had a Today, it is it is beautiful

conditions. We are going to hike up a little bit further and with this

As we descend from the monastery, the views were breath taking.

Knowing that the route we had taken from Switzerland had been the same

as Ceasar's Army. It was a special feeling.

The arduous trek up to the hospice gave us a greater appreciation of

what what they had gone through and I am sure there is no warmer

welcome to be had anywhere in the Alps than that which greeted us a

the house that Saint Bernard built. A truly enlightening experience and

Well, that was one of the most inspiring trips that I have ever

made. There was so much focus on of

skiing, it is easy to forget there are stories to be told and Saint

Bernard is one of the most iconic. We are leaving Chamonix and heading

to Russia who will be hosting the next Games.