For the perfect track

“Reini” makes the race track as smooth as glass

Reinhard Eder (l) and his team of sliders are present at every women's training session and race and are in high spirits.(Bild: JHK)

To ensure that the conditions for the ski aces at the World Championships are perfect, 120 skiers are slipping the courses. Reinhard Eder from Hinterglemm leads the sliding team in the women's races.

Slopes as hard as pimples - when the ski aces are racing for medals, the race track has to be as smooth as glass, icy hard and absolutely perfect. The sharp edges, the high speed, the immense pressure - all this makes the artificial snow slope porous over time. A lot of staff are needed to ensure that every driver has the best possible conditions. A team is assigned to keep the slopes clean and free of foreign material.

Reinhard Eder, slider boss(Bild: JHK)

A total of 120 sliders are deployed for the women's races alone. There are even more for the men. Coordinating this horde is not easy. Reinhard Eder from Hinterglemm is the manager of the so-called "slide crew".

He explains what needs to be done: "Leaving the slope clean - that's our core task. The first skier has to know where the ideal line of the racers is, the second has to offset the tracks of the first skier and the third has to remove the tracks of the second skier. This should result in a clean picture at the back."

But attention is required! If the slope breaks, you have to slide differently. You need a sure instinct on skis.

The skiers have been trained since the beginning. The "Slide Crew Women" is 120 strong and has to be perfectly coordinated.(Bild: Pail Sepp)

There are even professional sliders in the World Cup
The day for the sliders starts at 7 am. "In other conditions, it would be much earlier," says Eder, "but the favorable weather makes it very humane this year." At the first meeting of the core team, they have to slide once after the inspection. Eder explains: "The rest of the sliders have to wait for us. Then the teams of three are formed in such a way that one slides ahead and two always have to slide with them, so that the racing conditions for the runners are as equal as possible.

The sliders enjoy the work. The really steep parts of the course also require the best technique from the helpers.(Bild: JHK)

The teams of sliders are international. "We even have a Canadian who flew over especially for two weeks for the World Championships. There are real professional sliders who make a living from it and compete in the World Cup." Is Eder a professional himself? "No, I've been sliding for ten years, but only here in Saalbach at the races and last year at the World Cup final. That was totally cool!" Incidentally, the first big event for the sliders is today in the women's Super-G.