Schladming - Slalom Ski Sunday

Welcome to Ski Sunday.

This small down dates back to the.

It was built around farming in the

surrounding hills, Schladming.

With

a population of 7,000 friendly

locals

Hello.

This rustic town is

filled with Austrian charm. But once

a year, when the sun goes down, it

all changes.

Welcome to the mayhem.

The noise levels are deafening.

Flawless.

Puts his foot to the floor

and races away, blazing a really

smart trail here.

Turning it on

again tonight. Lightning fast

finish.

Welcome to Ski Sunday and a

very lively Schladming for a race

like no other. It's the night

slalom.

The Planai piste is

intimidating enough,

but throw in the floodlights,

the flares and the 50,000 fans here

for a party, and it truly

is an assault on the senses.

But the fans aren't just

here for the party.

They're here to watch their hero,

Marcel Hirscher.

They'll expect nothing

less than victory.

But last weekend proved the Austrian

is beatable.

149:46. He toes it by.97 of a

second. Chrysanthemum Stouffer son

takes the win here.

It's all set up for a great race.

Later in the programme,

we'll be hearing from the dominant

force in women's slalom,

Michaela Shiffrin.

The American is not just content

with ruling in the technical events,

she's now ruffling feathers

in the speed disciplines.

And we've got a behind-the-scenes

report from the GB Park and Pipe

Squad's training camp in Motolino,

Italy.

It's their base for the winter,

and home for their secret weapon

as they prepare

for the Olympics next month.

Bag's so soft. You can literally

send whatever you want. It's like a

giant bouncy castle for adults.

Three days on it so far. Learnt six

new tricks personally. I know

everybody else has learnt about the

same. It's, honestly, game-changer

I'm starting to get really excited.

First, the racing from Schladming.

He's been astrongishing form.

Despite that, he's closing in on the

record for the most World Cup

victories by an Austrian. He's

making a strong claim to be regarded

as the greatest of all time.

Graham's been doing his best to put

what the Austrian's doing in

context.

context. Marcel hump is one win away

from becoming the most successful

Austrian racer of all time. He's

still a way off I thinker stepMark's

record of 86 but is nailed down to

win seven overall crystal globes

this year. That gives argument to

him being the greatest ski racer of

all time. You didn't hear that.

COMMENTATOR:

A debut win in giant

slam Lom for Marcel harsh he will.

He is the man of the moment.

Hirscher is home.

Is he the best

male skier of all time?

Yeah, for

me, six overall titles. Barely

trained in the summer and he still

kicks my ass, if I'm allowed to say

that.

COMMENTATOR:

Hirscher still in

front. On a mission here.

What makes

Hirscher so special?

His talent and

his motivation. He has power and

self-confidence and, altogether,

that's it. What makes Marcel

Hirscher great.

COMMENTATOR:

He's going for the lead

in Val d'Isere. He's got it. This

could be World Cup win number 52 on

the greatest of all time. Hirscher

wins in Abel Boden.

He's the

complete skier, the most perfect

skier. Because, the level in every

sport is increasing with every year.

So, I think, yeah, I don't know if

he's the greatest but I think he's

the completest skier of all time.

He

it's hard to compare the ski racers.

Her men Maier did downhill and

Marcel's doing slalom. I'd say, for

the moment, he's the greatest. But,

of all time, hard to compare one of

the greatest of all time.

Hirscher

is in incredible form. It is almost

more impressive when you consider

he's coming back from that broken

leg in August. Do you think it

counts as one of the greatest

comebacks in skiing?

Perhaps in any

sport. He was well off the pace in

his first race. The next few weeks

he worked so hard. He's got to a

level where he's virtually

unbeatable in the technical

disciplines.

Virtually but Chris

toff Seb got the better of him in

Kitzbuhel last weekend. Has he found

his stride?

Chris Stouffer accept

found his form slowly. He missed out

by a few hundredses to quicher in

Zagreb. Kicked the advertising

hoardings. But Chris toff accept got

his first win last week.

Finding

form just before the games. We have

to talk about Dave. I asked you

whether you were disappointed with

his results this season. You were

still really positive. Since then,

12th in Adelboden. A did not finish

in Wengen. Ninth in Kitzbuhel. How

do you feel looking at those

results?

He's established himself as

a top ten skier. He's technically

improved but also taking more risks.

That's why we've seen a couple of

DNFs. But, on the positive side,

he's one runs. Won the first in

Levi, the opener, and second in

Kitzbuhel last weekend.

All he has

to do is put those together

together. What about the rest of

field? Who will push?

It has to be

the younger brother of the Olympic

champion Mario Matt. He beat

Hirscher into silver in Sochi four

years ago. Mario's retired but

Michael's appeared on the scene and

is in great form. Would have been on

the podium in Kitzbuhel had it not

been a schoolboy error going the

wrong way into a flush. He'll want

to correct that in Schladming.

The

Austrians won't care who's on top of

the podium, they just want a home

winner. Chris toff Seb has been

known to spoil the party. Schladming

is over two runs. Only the fastest

30 get to race again. Here's the

best of the action from Run 1.

Schladming comes to life on race

night. It is cold and clear. The ice

is shimmering under floodlights.

Conditions are perfect for what is

always a special night in the

Austrian sporting calendar.

Henrik

Chris toff accept finished on the

podium in all his slalom races this

season. He had his first victory of

the season on Sunday afternoon.

Aggressive.

the season on Sunday afternoon.

Aggressive. Charging at the top few

turns. He's got the early green over

Manfred. The 23-year-old Norwegian.

15 World Cup slalom wins to his name

now.

now. Skiing beautifully, Henrik.

Really easy and relaxed over his

skis. Really tight on the turns.

Taking a risk. And flowing from edge

to edge. Now he's got the

acceleration. Opening up a decent

lead over Manfred. Stretching his

advantage through just about every

turn.

turn. Chris Stouffer Seb looked in

total control.

total control.

Staff an owe Gross

next. 11th on Sunday in Kitzbuhel.

7th in Wengen, consistency's kept

him in the top group of seven who

draw those first seven starting

numbers.

numbers. Gross with number 3 today.

.37 off the pace of Chris toff

accept. Just missed the medals in

Sochi. Fourth last time around. He

will be heading to Pyeongchang

hoping to improve upon that and win

a medal in the Olympic slalom. His

only discipline.

only discipline. Gross can't match

the pace. He's gone second. There's

his dad Ferdinand. Got a new jacket,

Ferdinand. Used to wear this scruffy

old jacket. It was filthy. Glad they

found him a new one. The World Cup

leader, Marcel Hirscher. One of the

greatest of all time. Hirscher looks

smooth at the start. Really relaxed

over his skis. Slightly back-seated

but that's the Marcel Hirscher

trademark style. Really low over

those slalom skis. Making light work

of this Schladming course so far.

The Olympic silver medallist from

four years ago in Sochi. .19 in

front. One of the greatest Austrian

sportsmen of all time, Marcel

Hirscher. 28 years old. Still got

potentially four or five years at

the very top ahead of him. Broke his

leg in August, would you believe?

Here he is skiing for the lead in

Schladming. Two tenths. That's what

they came to see.

they came to see. Elvis is in the

house! Let's see what Ryding,

produce. Dave Ryding from Great

Britain. Had improving results over

the years in Schladming. On this

course, he's finished 28th, 16th and

10th in the last three visits to the

Planai. Heading in the right

direction. He's quicker compared to

Hirscher than most have been at the

first inter immediate. Within four

tenths of our leader. Just over a

second now. Can't afford any

mistakes. On to the steep now.

Riding, skiing a good clean line.

Tidy turns. That from the

31-year-old who, remember, didn't

train on snow until he was 12 years

old. 1.3. Keeping himself in touch.

Top eight still possible here for

Ryding. That would give himself a

serious chance heading into the

second run. 11th in the end. 2.02.

Riding finished run 1 in 12th and is

unlikely to challenge for the win.

British fans can take heart from

Daniel Uule's sport. He continued

his great form to finish sixth. The

Austrians were well represented with

four racers in the top ten.

Christian Hirsch bull lies nine.

Michael Matt might even be a touch

disappointed with fifth. Just ahead

in fourth is man fathered of Italy

who took vans of skiing in bib one

in an error-free run. The Planai

claimed remarkably few victims in

run 1. But the icy steep refused to

be beaten climbing back up to finish

the course 17 seconds behind

Hirscher. The 39-year-old is the

oldest racer in the World Cup. This

had all the hallmarks of a farewell

run in Schladming. Hirscher leads

by.2 of a second. Dave riding,

what's the best he can do from a

position of joint 12th in the second

run?

If he has a storming second run

he could move right up the field.

Maybe not on to the podium. That's

too far to go. Anywhere between

fourth and eighth is a great result.

This is crucial. The ranging points

he gets here will determine his

start position in Pyeongchang. If he

can get into the top seven, he'll

start early in the Olympic Games.

There's a lot righting on this?

Sorry! Looking at Hirscher, 0.2 of a

second ahead s this his race to

lose?

No, Kristoffersen loves this.

It is a two-horse race between those

two. The Italians and Matt are too

far back. Racing for third.

Kristoffersen will come out hard.

He's won here. His favourite hill.

Up against Hirscher. It will be

nail-biting stuff.

A long way for

both Hirscher and Kristoffersen. The

races drop in reverse order. Meat

Chilton is your commentator for the

conclusion of night slalom.

COMMENTATOR:

Nothing gained, nothing

lost for the 31-year-old. Ryding's

COMMENTATOR:

Nothing gained, nothing

lost for the 31-year-old. Ryding's

recent results, he set the quickest

one of the second leg, and still he

maintains that lead of the second

leg, and still he maintains that

lead-off 0.3 five. Seventh in

Zagreb, fourth on New Year's Day in

Oslo. Ryding approaching the end. Is

he still in front? Now he is behind,

0.33 behind. He can finish with a

flourish. Dave Ryding, we have seen

it before, if he can blast is way to

the final few turns, he might get

them.

He is fifth. Riding doing well,

generating speed and acceleration,

but not able to get the same

acceleration at the top, and Time

slipped away. A couple of little

mistakes and he is in fifth.

COMMENTATOR:

Andre Myhrer, eighth

after the first run. Seven World Cup

slalom wins to his name. None so far

this season. Skiing the top half

well. He starts after the time out,

meaning the course is in better

shape than it was in the previous

run when the race went down. Myhrer

has a massive advantage of 1.0

three. The lead is for him to take

if he can stay on his feet. Through

the steepest part of the Planai now.

A couple of steaks from Andre

Myhrer, his lead has been whittled

down to under half a second, but

enough, potentially, to steal the

lead away from Clement Noel for

France. Has he done it? He has.

Myhrer is first for Sweden.

Next ago is Manuel Feller, the

Austrian has carved out a reputation

in the World Cup for his wild and

occasionally reckless style. His

ability to recover from tricky

situations is no accident. He works

hard on his balance, training on

slack lines. Can he find the

equilibria and between risk and

reward to take victory tonight.

He is seventh after the first run.

He has so much support here tonight.

The youngsters, particularly, relate

to Manny Feller. What a start he

has. At this rate, if Feller stays

on his feet, Myhrer's league will be

short lived. Next, intermediate. Not

much now, 9 hundredths of a second

and a few mistakes coming into Manny

Feller's run. Scruffy, you can see

he is nervous. Look at the scenes

surrounding him in Schladming

tonight.

tonight. He is 0.23 behind. They are

roaring him through every turn. Some

turns are desperate. Has Feller done

enough? Third

enough? Third stop Myhrer stays in

top spot.

Daniel Yule, six after the first

run, 18 hundredths of a second over

Andre Myhrer.

Look at this, Daniel Yule is rocking

the top turns, beautiful skiing for

the 24-year-old from Switzerland,

full of Scottish heritage. 1:15.90

three.

three. 19 hundredths of a second.

Into the famously steep midsection

of the Planai. Yule keeps carving.

Is there enough speed to pull it

back in front? There is. 0.20 nine.

Andre Myhrer watching carefully.

Daniel Yule takes a risk or two,

over the final few turns. Can he be

1:45.69, he does by five hundredths

of a second. Yule leads in

Schladming.

Daniel Yule has come into a rich

vein of form in time for the Olympic

Games. Really smooth, really clean

on his edges, and a lot of power in

the last part of the course.

Mic, the 24-year-old has had one

World Cup win in his career. -- Mike

Matt. Goodness me! No! His race ends

per maturely.

The Austrian crowd silenced in the

finish area as Michael Matt goes up.

Only one more Austrian left, which

is Marcel Hirscher. They are

expecting a win from him.

Manfred Moelgg is a sporting

all-rounder, he loves riding his

bike, playing golf and football.

Unfortunately for him and his

countrymen, the only chance Italy

have of a World Cup win this season

is on the ski slopes. Can he score

in the slalom tonight?

Four to go in Schladming. Manfred

Moelgg is next.

Moelgg is next. 25 years old. Daniel

Yule is the new leader after the

first run. Mole through the flats at

0.2 three. Skiing more than anybody

in the second run. He knows the

Planai course intimately. He is

holding it together, still just in

the green for Manfred Moelgg, who

has three World Cup slalom wins to

his name, but nothing for a while,

no fewer than 20 times on World Cup

podiums over the years. 0.12, into

the red zone for Manfred Moelgg, the

Italians still with Stefano Gross to

come. Can Manfred Moelgg steal the

lead away from Daniel Yule? He's

missed it. He's third. Yule spill

leaves for Switzerland.

Stefano Gross from Italy, third

after the first run. Half a second,

his advantage, more than half a

second his advantage over Daniel

Yule. The 31-year-old Italian gets

them sideways. He has done it again.

This is a shaky start for Stefano

Gross. His lead has been halved as a

result of the early mistakes, two in

quick succession. He is trying to

make up for it now, pushing hard as

the course becomes steeper. Still

green, 0.15, over the finish area as

Stefano Gross struggles with the

ruts that are forming. He is getting

jumped around. Parts of the middle

of this course looked like a mogul

field here. Stefano Gross in the red

zone, two tenths. Struggling for

balance, struggling for speed.

balance, struggling for speed. Gross

is only fifth. Yule leads the way.

He will finish on the podium, Daniel

Yule.

In the start up is Henrik

Kristoffersen. After a slow start to

the season, no -- the Norwegian is

hitting form. Unsurprisingly, he is

a self-confessed speed addict, and

off the piste, he loves riding dirt

bikes. Can he opened the throttle in

Schladming and leave the others

trailing in his dust tonight?

Racer number 29 out of 30 for the

second leg, it is Henrik

Kristoffersen with a massive

advantage, more than a second over

Daniel Yule. He leads and watches at

the base of the mountain.

Kristoffersen is on his way and

picking up more time through every

turn. A masterclass so far from

Henrik Kristoffersen. He aims to

take this race to the Austrians and

put the pressure on Marcel Hirscher,

who will be the last to ski.

Kristoffersen is just getting

quicker, and quicker. One and a half

seconds almost in front. A few

snowballs coming in from spectators

on the side of the course, aimed to

distract Henrik Kristoffersen. It's

not working. He still has 1.43

seconds over Daniel Yule.

Kristoffersen has won three times in

Schladming, and he leaves tonight by

a massive 1.74 seconds.

He's unhappy about the snowballs

that were thrown, and you can

understand. That was awful

behaviour. That is a brilliant run

from Henrik Kristoffersen.

He is so good at getting his skis

into a rut and skiing a slightly

longer route with his feet, but they

move so quickly, and he has such

great hip angles that he can get his

centre of mass going as straight as

possible down the hill, while his

feet move so quickly from one side

to the other. It is going to be hard

for here should to beat, but if

anyone can do it, Marcel Hirscher

can.

Staring through the clear goggle

lenses, focusing on the gates. If he

wins tonight, he will go level with

Hermann Meyer on 54. Equal second in

the all-time standings. Marcel

Hirscher way for Austria. Two tenths

of a second his lead over Henrik

Kristoffersen, who waits at the

finish line. He put down a storming

second run. Here show has collect 12

hundredths between the start and

intermediate number one. Here share

is flying. No snowballs to distract

Marcel Hirscher. He is 17 hundredths

in front. From here on in, Henrik

Kristoffersen found another gear.

Marcel Hirscher finds a mistake, but

he can recover from the worst

situations and go on to win these

World Cup races. He will need some

of that now. 0.20 eight. Here sure

is in front of Kristoffersen come

and onto the final pitch.

Astonishing scenes in Schladming as

Marcel Hirscher wins again!

Austria's 500th World Cup victory!

And that's what it means to the

Austrian fans. Marcel Hirscher

equals Hermann Meyer's record. What

Kristoffersen does with feeling,

Marceau here should does with power,

skiing with a stiffer ski. Jamming

on the pressure and absolutely

generating so much speed. That was a

perfect run from Marcel Hirscher.

No one in Schladming will forget and

other historic night for Marcel

Hirscher, who takes his 54th World

Cup win. Henrik Kristoffersen

finishes second with Daniel Yule

making the podium for the second

World Cup race in a row. Britain's

Dave Ryding finished in 12.

It was a decent second run at the

top, but the wheels came off and I

struggled to the bottom, but I had

two Olivers, ninth and 12th, so

something to build on at least.

Two podiums in a row.

Unbelievable,

and to do it in Schladming, the

Temple of slalom, it is a dream

country.

Maybe the first one was for

Switzerland, this one was for Great

Britain.

The second run of yours,

such intensity and aggression.

I was

19 hundredths behind Marcel. It was

a good run, for sure. Pushing it to

even a new level, or he is pushing

it to a new level. It is really

cool.

What a way to equal Hermann

Meyer's record, is that something

that interests you?

If you reach the

steps, then I am very interested in

this. Before the steps, it is just

talking. But if you are able to

manage it, and if you reach this, it

is something very, very special.

Marcel Hirscher makes it six wins

out of eight races and slalom the

season.

And equals Herman Maier's record

for Austrian World Cup wins.

Believe it or not, Michaela Shiffrin

is even more dominant

on the women's tour

in the technical races.

So much so that she's looking

beyond slalom and GS

and is challenging herself in speed.

Chemmy Alcott has

been talking to her.

Most athletes aim to peak for the

Olympics, but this season, it feels

like every weekend, you have been on

top form, how do you sustain that

performance?

Right out of the gate!

Top question, we are ready to go!

She wins by a mile!

Brilliant skiing

by Mikaela Shiffrin!

Shiffrin in a

different league!

The champion of

the world!

I have been working

towards this my entire career, two

summers ago I started to switch

things up and did a bit more heavy

strength work outs to prepare.

In speed. It's a really good

combination to prepare for tech, but

also speed when you have to

withstand those forces.

The old

school of thought was for speed you

need muscle density and be heavy,

and for tech you need to be agile.

It helps with speed to have more

density, but the biggest thing for

speed is to master the hill, and the

sections of a turn where you can

gain speed. If you look at Lindsey

Vonn when she is really on her game

and she makes a single turn and

slingshot out of it, that's what I'm

talking about. You are not just

biding down the hill, you are making

speed. The only way to do that is to

have strength, but also to

understand how the forces work.

She has won.

You Fawked about Lindsey being in

the same team as her. Does she give

you tips even though are you a

threat to her on downhill now?

I

don't feel like it's my place to ask

her. We're team-mates but

competitors. I'm trying to respect

that boundary. If someone were to

come ask me, how do I win a slalom

race? I'd be like, excuse me, figure

it out yourself!

COMMENTATOR: Shriffrin wins the

Olympic slalom title at 18. Looking

forward to the Olympics, the big

one, the way the programme is, you

could come back as the most

decorated winter female Olympian in

an Olympics ever?

I could. I could

also come back with nothing. There

are a lot of possibilities there.

Right now, I'm really excited with

how my season has gone. How

successful it's already Ben and the

mindset I have. With my team, we've

been focussed on every race. On

point. When I get to the start gate

I know what I need to do. If I'm

anywhere near full capacity, excited

aggressive, I'll execute that. It's

a really cool place to be.

At the ESPN X games in Aspen, Izzy

Atkinson took a brilliant silver in

a ski slope tile and raising hopes

for further success at the Winter

Olympics. Her team-mate, James woods

won bronze in the ski big air and

rides in the slope-style final later

tonight. In telly mark skiing,

Jasmine Taylor's had an excellent

few days. She's taken two wins and

three Poked podiums in Vermont, USA.

What is it like to get a death

threat?

I do believe that person is

genuinely threatening your life.

As

a parent, you find that really

difficult to deal with.

People want

to see the redemption. For me, it is

not about that.

Is there room there

for an Olympic one?

The only colour

I really want is gold.

Trust in what

you know not what you feel.

The fearless are here. The Winter

Olympics starts 9th February across

the BBC.

The Winter Olympics

are very nearly upon us.

And Team GB's hopes

are higher than ever.

So too is the value of winning

a precious medal, both to morale

and future funding in the sport.

And this, perhaps, explains a shift

in attitude in the Park and Pipe

Squad, with an emphasis on marginal

gains as well as a hint

of espionage and intelligence.

Jenny Jones has been in Motolino,

Italy, to find out more.

This is a really exciting day for

me. I've come to Motolino to see

something the British team have been

talking about for years but I've

never really known if it would

become a reality. This could be a

real game changer for British

athletes. I'm talking about this...

This is the latest piece of kit in

GB park and pipe's armoury as they

strive to compete with the best

freestyle athletes in the world.

It's a giant air bag which sits on

the landing of a huge kicker here in

the Motolino snow park. It is the

brainchild of GB's head snowboard

coach.

We've had this placed here to

train large kicker tricks on to a

reduced-risk landing. Makes it much

safer to land so you don't see as

much injuries.

How much air time do

you get?

It depends. If you go

really big, you could get close to

2.8 seconds. Maybe nearly 3 seconds.

You might have a problem if you get

three.

We're talking about a big

jump?

Similar to an imOlympic

biggie.

The sheer scale of this

project is mind blowing. The air bag

is made from around 9,000 square

metres of material. When fully

inflated it is 1.5 metres deep. As

23 metres wide, it gives the

athletes scope to try off axis

tricks and spin in all different

directions without any real danger

of missing the landing. And it's a

massive 60 metres long. That means

the British athletes can really send

their tricks, preparing them for the

biggest jumps elite competition can

throw at them. This is a big

operation to make this happen.

Obviously, in your mind, you're

thinking, an air bag, put it down,

blow it up. But there's so many

parts to it. Just as impressive as

the overall concept is the effort it

takes to get the air bag into place

before the athletes can make use of

it Hamish coordinates a big team of

locals and athletes to gradually get

the bag into position. You've Rowan,

Billy, Mattie holding down the an

correspondent. Jack digging away,

all to make this happen. Its so

refreshing to see how passionate the

athletes are about this project and

how they've come together to help

get if up and running. My excitement

levels have gone up. Partly because

of the gap you have to clear and the

idea I might actually get to hit the

air bag. Now, snow blowers going in?

They can go in while these guys pull

the bottom bit.

Once it's all rolled

out and lowered into place by the

piste barbers, it only takes 20

minutes to fully inflate.

Before this morning, we've had worse

days of setting it up. The first

four days were hard. At first, I was

really intimidated. If you look down

there and see, it's just a weird

thing to be jumping on to. You get

used to it after a few day, I was

fine. Now it's normal.

I want to see

you ascend it. Let's see it.

He's off.

How was that? Have you landed every

which way?

It is ridiculous. The

bag's so soft you can send whatever

you want. It's like a giant bouncy

castle, but for adults.

I've had

three days on it so far. Learnt six

new tricks personally. Everybody

else has learnt about the same. It

is, honestly, a game-changer.

After

seeing how stoked the athletes were

on the hill, I wanted to catch up

with some of them and Hamish away

from the mountain after they'd had

time to reflect on their first few

days with the bag to see just how

much they think it will benefit

much they think it will benefit

them.

days with the bag to see just how

much they think it will benefit

them. When did you first see or hear

about this kind of air bag?

I've

kind of had drawings and designs on

my computer of this style of air bag

and a few others since about 2008/9.

In the end, it only really started

coming into reality the last 18

months when UK Sport were able to

support us with an investment into

buying it. If you want to get to the

top in the sport now you need some

kind of private training environment

to allow you the repetition, reduced

risk and the level that's required

to learn these tricks.

For us, it's

just really great. We don't get as

much time on the snow as other

teams.

Exactly.

We can use that time

better by using it with an air bag.

Totally.

Accelerating our

progression as skiers and

snowboarders.

The Olympics is coming

up. We've all tricks we want to

learn but safely as well. It's a

great opportunity to learn these

tricks in a safe environment and get

a head-start over athletes from

other nations. It's such good fun as

well.

It's certainly make a

difference for those guys competing

in Pyeongchang. This is not a

replacement for our normal programme

and training. It is an additive. We

need to work harder to include that

in our training. We need to spend

more time on snow working even

harder to try to reach our goals.

If

you'd had this facility four years

ago, what difference do you think it

would have made?

I think all the

difference. If we had it four years

ago, well, you have the opportunity

to try anything you wanted. I'm

excited for the kids that are four,

eight, 12 years behind me. There's a

lot of junior team I know when they

get on it, it will be pure madness.

I hope I'm here to see it. It will

be so good.

I've seen how good it looks and

heard from the athletes how much fun

it is.

Now it's time to give it a

go.

Oh, my God, that thing is so fun!

Argh, imagine if I had something

like this when I was competing. I'd

have learnt so many tricks, or tried

to. It's taken them a lot of years

to make this happen, the Behrish

team. I think, all that hard work,

it's definitely worth it. Ed, we've

seen the top GB park and pipe riders

go to less competitions.

The snowboarders didn't go

to Dew Tour in December

because they valued time

on the bag over competition.

Is it a gamble from the team?

No in 2017 they were all regular top

ten finishers. Katie was almost

nailed on on the podium for most of

the events she entered. They could

always plan for this period to be

training rather than competitive.

That means they can pommish up all

of these tricks. I'm pretty

confident the competitive edge

remains.

remains.

It is time for ski social.

We've had the heart warming mixture

of success and failure on snow.

And particularly dear to me, have

been the stunning pictures we've had

in from our viewers in Scotland,

where they've had a good dump

of snow.

It's looking really bonny.

And the Strathearn Snowsport Club

have been proving you don't even

need a resort if the snow falls,

getting their mobile ski tow out

in Comrie for the first time

in 25 years.

We love seeing your pictures,

videos and answering your questions

- even better when they're combined.

Ben has sent in videos of his boys

Ollie and Seb race training

on dryslope and wants to know

if it's possible to emulate

Dave Ryding and progress from skiing

on plastic to the World Cup?

I think most British alpine skiers

will have trained a bit on plastic

when they were growing up. It is

really good for honing that

competitive instinct all the way

through the summer. It is easier now

because the revolution of calming

skis in the year 2,000 mean the

technique is closer on plastic to

snow than it was when we were racing

and just stomping down the courses.

Next week, it's our final

programme of the series

and while the action will continue

with the Winter Olympics,

we want to go out on a good note.

Literally.

Please send in your music

suggestions for our closing montage.

Something to go with the highs,

lows and laughs from this series.

It has to be something that matching

the highs, lows and laughs from our

seven programmes. It pits racer

against racer. In a one-off for Ski

Sunday, its presenter v presenter.

Chemmy's going to be joining

us and taking Gra on.

I'm looking forward to this one.

We'll also be hearing

from the golden girl of the GB

Park and Pipe Squad, Katie Ormerod.

See you then.