This second episode of Inside Racing takes us to the Italian resort of Sestrières for a new test session for skis and equipment.

Sestrières was the venue for the alpine skiing competitions in the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics and has a varied selection of spectacular slopes. Our teams and athletes are skiing on the Sises, the arena for the Giant Slalom contests. Join them for the ride!

8.00 am
Our skiers arrive at the bottom of the slope. There is a briefing and exchanges with the teams.

After a few explanations of the equipment, new products and a quick warm-up, it’s time to set off!

9.00 am
The tests start with a series of runs for our athletes, who ski down the slope around ten times trying out different skis or settings.

Between each round, a quick debriefing takes place at the bottom of the slope to check the athlete’s impressions of the test equipment.

As in Tignes, the same skis are used several times and each round is timed to provide insights into the products’ performance.

Of course, the comparisons are of times recorded by the same skier rather than between athletes. 

11.30 am
End of the tests for all our skiers. With repeated chairlift trips and a high number of skiers, mornings are long and debriefings are held in the afternoon.

Afternoon:
Afternoons in Sestrières revolve around discussions with the race department, the Rossignol Research and Development department and the ski and boot technicians, who take painstaking care to provide their athletes with the best possible equipment.

For some athletes, this is also an opportunity for a stretching session at the hotel or for a run in the fresh air.

Evening:
It’s not long until the end of the season and everyone is relaxed. The entire team enjoys these rare moments together during a World Cup winter.

The diverse spectrum of athletes present at a test like this one in Sestrières is an ideal chance for our teams to draw on the experience of skiers such as Federica Brignone and Petra Vlhova, and to benefit from fresh perspectives on equipment development from young skiers.

Each year, we need to reinvent, progress, advance. This is a challenge for the athletes, coaches, technicians and R&D, but it is also the beauty of alpine skiing at competition level.

CALLING ALL HEROES