Masters World Championships
2007 Skier's Edge U.S. Masters Team
Back Row: Sally White, Rick Slabinski, Joel Solly, Haldor Reinholt, Greg Sarkis, Bill Skinner,
Chris Katzenberger, Bob Skinner, Willy Scroggins, Steve Lindemer, Victor Roy, Knut Olberg,
Erik Klemme, Erik Kadzejs, Dennis Wilhelmsen, Franz Fuchsberger
Front Row: Gaetano Demattei, Toby Chapman, Lisa Densmore, Kerry Brennan,
Heidi Lindemer, Anna Droege, Tim Hill, John Droege, Tyler Milligan
"... Now in their 5th year as the main sponsor, the Skier's Edge Company is committed to Masters racing and the athletes participating in the sport. Their goal is to elevate Masters racing to a new and highly visible level, one never before achieved. They're doing this with the help of the Skier's Edge U.S. Masters Team."
Congratulations 2007 Skier’s Edge Masters Team!
Big Sky, MT USA - Team Results:
16 Gold Medals • 21 Silver Medals • 8 Bronze Medals
GS - 1st & 2nd Overall fastest men’s times
GS - 1st & 3rd Overall fastest women’s times
SL - 1st fastest men’s time
Super G - 1st, 2nd & 3rd Overall fastest men’s times
Super G - 1st & 3rd Overall fastest women’s times
DH - 1st & 2nd Overall fastest men’s times
DH - 2nd Overall fastest women’s time
Class Combined Champions (SL, GS, SG)
8 Gold Medals • 4 Silver Medals • 2 Bronze Medals
Abetone, Italy- Legs of steel is what it took for U.S. competitors to race in this year’s Masters World Championships in Abetone, Italy. Expectations were high following an excellent showing at the previous 2006 Masters World’s in Alpe d’Huez, France. However, the nine team members that competed had just raced at the Masters National Championships two days before. Although the team was without its world champions from previous years, they still made an impact.
Still sore and tired after 19 hours of travel and no time to prepare for the races, the team walked away with 11 medals. The Skier’s Edge U.S. Masters World’s team consisted of Sally White, Kerry Brennan, Steve Lindemer, Tyler Milligan, Erik Kadzejs, Tim Hill, Dennis Wilhelmsen, Richard Slabinski, Bill Skinner, and Knut Olberg.
Arriving in their signature black Skier’s Edge uniforms, the team stood out among all the other racers. To top it off, Bill Skinner had the honor of racing with bib number one! He earned this honor by having the top FIS points to date. Three Skier’s Edge team members, Bill Skinner, Dennis Wilhelmsen and Knut Olberg would be competing for the greatest honor – The 2007 FIS Masters World Cup Crystal Globe.
Day 1 – Arrived in Milan and set out on a four and a half hour bus ride down to Abetone. After passing four hours of green hillsides the racers commented that they would be running the GS through the vineyards and the Slalom on the streets of Florence. Our first glimpse of snow was just 20 minutes from ourdestination. We finally arrived durring the biggest snow storm of the season.
Day 2 – Race conditions were less than ideal with over 20” of new snow and the snow
continued to fall throughout the day. Group A men raced Giant Slalom and the Group C women raced Slalom. The US racers were fatigued and were facing the world’s toughest competitors. Most of the US racers placed in the top ten. Sally White skied the strongest winning a silver medal.
Day 3 – Conditions were much improved from the previous day. All groups raced the Super G and the Skier’s Edge team had several top five finishes. Sally White again came away with a silver and Knut Olberg won the first US gold. The Skier’s Edge team hosted a cocktail party for all the racing teams. All of the competitors got to show off their racing skills on the Skier’s Edge World Cup Plyometric Power™ machine. It was a fun event and over 500 people left with Skier’s Edge hats.
Day 4 – Skier’s Edge hats everywhere – even on the podium. Group A men raced Slalom with Tim Hill winning bronze and others with top five finishes. Knut Olberg’s success continued with a silver medal in Group B GS.
Day 5 - Group C women raced Giant Slalom and the Group B men raced Slalom. Sally White added another silver to her medal haul while Kerry Brennan placed in the top five in GS. Knut continued to blow away the competition and won his second silver medal.
Day 6 - All groups raced a FIS Masters Cup Giant Slalom on the last day of races in Abetone. The Skier’s Edge team was ready to race and the results proved it. Kerry Brennan took her first silver of the week. Sally White surely would have added to her count but released from her binding during her run. Group A men faced a course with some tricky sections - over 25% of the field did not finish the course. Tim Hill took the gold with Tyler Milligan following right behind with a silver. Knut Olberg added a final silver to the team’s count and Dennis Wilhelmsen placed in the top five.
Abetone, Italy - Team Results:
2 Gold Medals • 8 Silver Medals • 1 Bronze Medal
Three 2007 FIS Masters World Cup Crystal Globes a First time in history
• Dennis Wilhelmsen -
1st place Globe
2007 Class 4 FIS Masters World Cup Overall
• Bill Skinner - 2nd place Globe
2007 Class 5 FIS Masters World Cup Overall
• Knut Olberg - 2nd place Globe
2007 Class 7 FIS Masters World Cup Overall
For the third year in a row, the Skier’s Edge U.S. Masters team proved themselves against the world’s best Masters racers. It was a great learning experience for the entire team. We now know what we need to do to prepare for the 2008 World Championships in Austria. We’re bringing home our enthusiasm to make next year even better.
What makes a Skier's Edge U.S. Masters Team racer? Anyone can become a member of the team. The requirements are simple. Each athlete is selected based on how well respected they are throughout the racing community, their current ranking in their respective Masters class, and their ability to act as an ambassador on behalf of the Skier's Edge Company in the National and International racing communities.
To learn more about the Skier's Edge U.S. Masters Team, how to join the team and information about the Skier's Edge machines used by the world's best ski teams, you can contact them at 800.225.9669 ext. 494.
