'Recipe for success': striving for consistency on the Alpine skiing World Cup tour

You don't need to dig deep into the archives of Alpine skiing history to find athletes who have seemingly come out of nowhere to record unexpected triumphs in the biggest races the sport has to offer.

Just last season, James Crawford (CAN, men's super-G) and Jasmine Flury (SUI, women's downhill) were among several skiers who claimed surprising gold medals at the world championships without having previously won in that discipline at World Cup level.

Those skiers and plenty of others have shown that on their day, they can compete with — and even defeat — the very best in the world.

What turns an ultra-talented skier into an all-time great is not an occasional gold medal performance, however, but rather the ability to compete for podiums and victories in every race, season after season, on the World Cup tour.

In a sport which tests athletes against their biggest rivals on a weekly basis, consistency — and the never-ending search for it — is the Holy Grail of Alpine skiing. And for those who manage to find it, the prize is sporting immortality.

The Goldilocks mindset: the mental approach to racing and winning

As Alpine skiers move through the ranks from junior races all the way to the World Cup and beyond, the lights get brighter and the stakes get higher.

That increase in scrutiny and television coverage can affect the mental approach of younger skiers, according to one of the veteran stars of the women's tour, two-time downhill world champion Ilka Stuhec (SLO).

"But once you get used to it, you kind of figure out it's the same thing," said Stuhec, 33. "The race is the race. You need to ski as fast as possible no matter the surroundings."

Stuhec, who has won 11 World Cup races in addition to her two world championships triumphs, believes finding the right mental balance — the Goldilocks mindset — is the biggest factor in approaching big races.

"The main thing is that you train your mental preparation so that at the start gate you are exactly where you want to be — not too excited, not too relaxed, but in the perfect state of mind to show your best," she said.

At major events such as the world championships and Olympic Games, being able to block out the outside noise — what Stuhec calls "the circus" — is easier for some athletes than others.

Swiss speed specialist Flury is able to treat each race equally, an approach that worked wonders in Meribel last February as she claimed the world championship downhill gold despite having previously reached only two podiums in over 100 World Cup races.

"I'm a professional and my goal is to win," said Flury, 30. "Or at least, being able to say to myself after the race, that I did my best, whether that's at the Swiss Championships, at an FIS World Cup race, at the world championships or at the Olympic Games — I try not to make any difference for myself."

Flury's mindset is one that Stuhec tries to adopt by convincing herself that major events are "just a normal race", but Crawford, on the other hand, thrives on the big stage when dropping that pretence altogether and embracing the moment instead.

"I think for me stress and pressure and stuff like that, it tends to elevate my skiing and make me better," said Crawford, whose stunning super-G win at the 2023 world championships was emblematic of his ability to rise to the occasion.

"In those scenarios, when there's only one opportunity, I'm able to get my mental state into a good place and perform the way that I need to."

Those performances have resulted in five top-five finishes from 14 races at Olympic and world championship level for the 24-year-old, including two medals.

But with only seven top-five finishes in 84 World Cup races entering this season, the question facing Crawford is this: how can he transfer his successful big-race form and mentality to the weekly grind of the regular season?

The 'Kilde vibe': how to win races and have fun doing it

Entering this season, Flury is ready to move on from her world championships victory while simultaneously applying the lessons she learned from it as she seeks more regular success on the World Cup tour.

"The (world) title is in the books," she said. "No one can take the world championship title away from me.

"I am optimistic that I have learned a lot from my almost perfect run that I showed in Meribel. I proved that I can do it: I can be the fastest woman on Alpine skis."

The challenge now for Flury is to keep showing that form week after week, something that has eluded both her and Crawford so far in their World Cup careers.

For his part, Crawford showed signs of figuring out the World Cup puzzle last season as he made three podiums in downhill, although he also finished outside the top 25 on four other occasions.

"Over the years, I have been trying to figure out what makes me good on those certain days, and I feel like I've gotten to a place where I've been able to refine that," the Canadian said.

"And as I get older, I hope I can continue to (do that), and this year is definitely another building block off of last year. So hopefully I can channel that feeling every single time I push out of a start gate moving forward."

That feeling Crawford seeks might best be defined as the 'Kilde vibe', the attitude that has propelled Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR) to the upper echelon of the sport in recent years.

Kilde has been a threat on the speed slopes throughout his career, and even won the overall World Cup title in 2019/20, but in the last two years, the 31-year-old has found a new level of consistent success.

Entering this year's campaign, Kilde had claimed 15 of his 21 career World Cup wins in the last two seasons as he transitioned from being merely the prince of Norway's 'attacking Vikings' to becoming the king.

"I think it's just being a part of a team that knows what they're doing over time, and I found the good balance now in the last couple of years," Kilde said in explaining his rise to the top.

"I took advantage of the things that I could do better, and I've been able to work consistently and gain experience," he said. "I think that's taken me to the place I am right now, where I have the feeling of being consistent."

Beyond these practical reasons, the Norwegian star also credits his success to the aforementioned 'Kilde vibe', which he defines as being able to have fun with what he does while still competing fiercely every time he hits the slopes.

"I think the passion for the sport probably is what brings me to the place I am today, and also knowing that I can do this with a smile on my face," he said.

"And I think that's the recipe for success in a lot of things in the world."

Chasing globes: complete focus on the World Cup

This season is the only one in the four-year cycle without a world championships or Olympic Games, which allows skiers to put 100 per cent of their focus on the World Cup without having to pace themselves in the build-up to a major event.

For Kilde and Stuhec, it's an opportunity to build on the consistent success they have already enjoyed on the World Cup tour, which remains the core of Alpine skiing.

Despite having won two medals at both the last world championships and the last Olympic Games, Kilde believes the work that he puts into every season makes the rewards on the World Cup circuit as big as anything in the sport.

"We're pretty privileged to have the World Cup because that means something for all of us," said Kilde, who has won three of the four speed crystal globes in the last two seasons.

"It's as important to win here (on the World Cup) as to win world champs — at least for me it is, because I know being consistent over time, and also working over time, that gives you the victories also over time.

"If you win world champs — okay, that's amazing. But that's not the only thing we have."

While Kilde chases a third straight downhill title this season on the men's side, Stuhec hopes to challenge for the women's speed crown again after she finished second in the downhill standings last season to Italy's Sofia Goggia (ITA).

It was Stuhec's best World Cup downhill season since she won the crystal globe in 2017, having recovered from two ACL operations in the interim.

By finishing in the top five in seven of the nine World Cup downhill races last season, including two victories, Stuhec demonstrated the consistency that is required to compete for the season title — and for the prize that awaits the winner.

"All of the World Cup races during the season are important, but no matter that we don't have a major event, there is still a globe waiting at the end of the season," she said.

Learning from the best: 'a complex puzzle'

When Kilde first emerged on the World Cup scene, he learned the ropes from two legendary teammates on the Norwegian speed team: Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR) and Kjetil Jansrud (NOR), who both reached the pinnacle of the sport at Olympic, world championship and World Cup level.

"In the beginning of my World Cup career I was watching them — how they handled different situations, how they skied, how they also did their tactics, and also handled different people," Kilde said.

"It's just the whole rhythm they had was something I also wanted to build on my own. Without them, I think it would be harder to understand what we actually need to be fast."

With those lessons well learned, Kilde is now the standard-bearer for consistency on the men's tour, along with Swiss star Marco Odermatt (SUI) — something that has not gone unnoticed by Crawford as he attempts to build his own career.

"The way that I look at those guys (Kilde and Odermatt) is when they're skiing at 85 per cent of their best, it's still (potentially) good enough to win, and when they're skiing at 100 per cent, they do win," Crawford said.

"And I think if I can get to a place where the consistency is in a range that I can put down a winning run — not to expect to win every race but put down an effort that could (win), that's the goal and I think if I get closer and closer to that, consistency will come."

While Crawford seems to be on the right track in dealing with the eternal question of how to transfer big-race wins into regular success on tour, Flury admits she doesn't have all the answers yet — but she suspects she knows who might.

"You'd better ask athletes like Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) or Marco Odermatt this question, not me — I would immediately adopt their recipe," Flury laughed.

"Seriously, I believe that everything works 100 per cent for them. The equipment, their mental strength and health, their team and family to name a few important pieces of a complex puzzle. And last but not least: their brilliant technique.

"To me, they are currently the most consistent skiers, that is why they are the ones who win again and again. The rest of us athletes also learn from them — every day."