„It’s the fine-tuning that brings victories“

Linus Straßer visits Bihler at Halblech

On the ski slopes, the tiny details can make the difference between winning and losing. With the Bihler torsion and bending machine, Bihler has developed a system that measures each ski in high precision and identifies its material properties. One of the athletes who uses the measured data is Linus Straßer, currently Germany’s most successful slalom racer and one of the world’s top-ranking skiers.

In the world of professional skiing, it is usually the small details that determine the result out on the slope. And, of course, that also applies to the skis themselves. For example, the two skis in a pair may have been constructed in exactly the same way and yet still differ from one another. Important parameters affecting performance include, for example, the ski’s bending tensile strength and torsional stability, that is to say the way the material reacts when subject to load from above or below and how it twists in the direction of travel. And this is the point where Bihler steps in. Because with its “torsion and bending machine” (TBM), it has developed and constructed a unique measuring system that records precisely these parameters. To do this, the system, which is installed in the German Ski Association’s (DSV) Technology Center in Berchtesgaden, uses various components, including NC-controlled Bihler units and the Bihler controller. “The DSV can use the recorded data to build a kind of database of the individual material and behavioral profiles of each individual skier. The data makes it possible to identify perfectly harmonized skis that are absolutely equivalent in technical terms and possess exactly the material characteristics that are decisive out on the slope – and all of this without any test runs on the actual snow,” explain Project Managers Tobias Ostheimer, Head of the Machine Design department a Bihler, and Heinrich Etschmann, Plant Manager at Bihler in Halblech, both of them enthusiastic skiers themselves.

Continuous improvements

Linus Straßer is also well aware of the vital importance of the skis’ properties when competing at the elite level. “Ultimately, the quality of my skis determines what am able to achieve. It is important that they run smoothly but also that they respong immediately to what want them to do,” continues the successful slalom racer. He was only just over two years old when he stood on skis for the first time. At that time, he used to travel regularly with his family to the Alps near Kitzbühl, where he took part in his first ski race at the age of six. By that time, Linus Straßer was already passionate about skiing as a sport and, as he took part in ever more competitions, his career as an exceptional talent in the fields of slalom, parallel slalom and giant slalom continued to blossom. His most recent major successes include podium finishes at the World Cup in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and slalom victories in Kitzbühel and Schladming. The 31-year-old sums up these triumphs in his own characteristic way: “Of course, I’m always happy when I’m able to win a rac However, the victories are only ever a snapshot that represent what it is that is truly important to me, that is say my own development. And that’s something I’m very proud of and from which can draw the confidence and strength need for my upcoming races and my future career.” And that is also something that the Munich-born skier, who lives in Kirchberg in the Kitzbühel Alps with his wife and daughter, pursues in his own very individual way: “Of course, I have my own grand vision – just like any other racer – for example winning Gold at the Olympics. However, it’s much more important to set yourself small goals that you can work towards step-by-step and that help you to improve all the time. It’s mostly about little details, the fine-tuning. With strength training, for example, you can gain that crucial bit of extra fitness, or with optimally adjusted equipment, you can knock vital fractions of a second off your times. This fine-tuning is crucial in elite sport and can make the difference between winning and losing.”

For optimum handling

The Bihler ski measurement system in Berchtesgaden is just one of a total of three Bihler solutions that the DSV uses for its athletes. There is also the so-called profile structure machine. “This system uses an appropriately profiled drum to impart a fine structure to the bottom of the ski. This forms the finish over the applied wax and improves the sliding properties at the contact surface between the snow and the ski,” explains Ostheimer. Bihler also manufactures aluminum plates that the DSV’s athletes use as a linkage between boot and ski. “The plates are structured to possess a certain amount of elasticity coupled with springback properties. They are used, in particular, in the ski cross discipline where, for example, they allow the skier to travel particularly dynamically up out of troughs, making it possible to pick up more speed,” says Etschmann.

 

The World Championships – a real highlight

“I am very grateful for the many different ways in which Bihler supports the DSV and therefore also us skiers,” says Straßer. “This helps us continuously hone our skills and means that we can look forward optimistically to the coming season, which starts at the end of October. One highlight will undoubtedly be the Alpine World Ski Championships in Saalbach Hinterglemm, an event that I’ particularly looking forward to.”