Tag: No-Sponsored

For many people, the idea of a holiday is the chance to relax and unwind, to get away from the stresses of everyday normal life, and take a good few days to rest. This could involve a beach holiday to somewhere like the Carribean or the South Pacific, Bora Bora or Maldives, which offer glorious sunshine, and picturesque views.. For others, it could be a city break, to explore the culture of somewhere like Rome, Barcelona or Paris. Then there are also people who like to be active, and will choose a walking holiday, maybe on the Amalfi Coast in Italy, or in the Peak District in England.

Of course, to some people, this type of holiday sounds boring, and would much rather be spending time on the slopes, snowboarding or skiing. A ski holiday is incredibly popular, especially in parts of Europe near the Alps or Scandinavia, and also in the US in places like Aspen or Big Sky. Given the love of all things winter sports in America, it is no surprise that people there enjoy skiing.

While for many people skiing is simply a leisurely pursuit, it is of course a competitive sport in its own right, dating all the way back to the early 1800s. It was also part of the first-ever Winter Olympics in 1924, and since that time additional skiing events, such as the downhill and sprint races have also been included, meaning it is one of the most popular winter sports happening today.

Ever wanted to know who are 5 of the greatest skiers of all time? Let’s delve into a few of these star names, looking at their backgrounds and achievements in the sport.

Stemark top of the all time standings

To be a great skier, it helps to be born or live in a nation which has a proximity to real mountains, so that you have ample opportunities to train and practice as frequently as possible. That is why on the list of all time greatest skiers, many come from the likes of Sweden, Austria and Norway, whilst nations like the Netherlands, Egypt and Australia aren’t really represented as much.

The number one position in the list of great skiers goes to Ingemar Stenmark, who is from Josejo in Sweden. Born in 1956, he grew up in Tanaby, which is close to the border of Norway. Stenmark began practicing skiing at a very young age, and by the time he was 8 he had already won his first national tournament.

He made his debut in the World Cup in 1973 when he was just 17. While he didn’t achieve any great success that year, over time he won 86 World Cup events, 40 of them in the slalom competitions, and 46 in the giant slaloms. He also has an impressive record in the Olympics, winning bronze in the giant slalom in 1976, before going on to win gold in both the slalom and the giant slalom in 1984. Put simply, he is the greatest skier of all time.

 

Who else rounds out the top 5?

If we are going purely by achievements in the World Cup, World Championships and the Olympics, the next most successful skier would be the Austrian Marcel Hirscher. He competed in 10 seasons (2010-2019) in which time he won 67 races. The majority of these came in the giant slalom (31) and the slalom (32) but he also picked up 1 race win in the super giant slalom. He also picked up gold medals in the 2013, 2015 and 2017 World Championships, and won 2 gold medals in the 2018 Winter Olympics.

In 3rd place is another Austrian, Hermann Maier. He competed between the years of 1997 and 2009, and won 54 individual races. He was prolific in both the super giant slalom (24 race wins) and the giant slalom (15) but also won 15 downhill races too. He won 2 gold medals in the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, and 3 golds in the World Championships.

Behind Maier in 4th place is the only Italian in the top 10, Albertom Tomba. In his 12 seasons he earned 50 race wins, in both the giant slalom and slalom. Tomba has 3 Olympic golds, from the 1988 and 1992 games, and 2 gold medals from the 1996 Sierra Nevada World Championships.

Then in 5th place we have Marc Girardelli of Luxembourg. He won races across 5 different events, including downhill and combined events. He never won a gold medal at the Winter Olympics, with 2 silvers from the 92 games, but did win 4 gold medals across 4 different World Championships.

 

More top skiing on the way

As the Winter Olympics in China is only now a few months away, skiing fans will soon have a chance to enjoy a whole range of skiing competitions, where the world’s best skiers will fight it out to try and win gold, silver and bronze medals. There are six skiing events for both the men and women in next year’s games; downhill, slalom, giant slalom, super-G, combined and mixed team parallel. With all these going on, you won’t be able to move from top skiing action at the Beijing Winter Olympics next February.

The action doesn’t stop there, as there are plenty of other top events in the winter games, such as figure skating, the bobsleigh, curling and, of course, ice hockey. If you like the NHL, and regularly search for NHL betting picks, you should take a look at  try therx.com as a great handicapping tool and do not miss out on the best deals on ice hockey, as well as a range of other top sports.

Long gone are the days of needing actual snow to go skiing. Yup, that’s right, you can actually ski year-round with or without snow. However, there are some pretty basic things you will need to know before you can go skiing whether you want snow or not. Any budding skier will want to make sure they have all the right ski equipment and know some of the basics they will need to try once on the slopes. The first thing you will need to do, of course, is find somewhere to go skiing and thanks to sites like Google, this is now easier than ever.

Once you know where you want to go skiing, you will need to get some basic gear. A lot of places rent out ski boots and skis, so if it is your first time, this may be the way to go before spending any of your hard-earned money on it. Putting your boots on properly can be a little tricky if you’ve never done it before. You’ll want to make sure all the buckles are undone and when you start sliding your foot in, you will want to pull the tongue of the boot towards your toes and hopefully, your foot will slide right in. Once you think it is in, give your heel a couple of taps on the ground to ensure that it is in fact all the way in. From here you will want to start tightening up your buckles. You will want to start from the one on your toes, then move to the angle and end with the one around your shin. Once you’ve done this, don’t think the fun is all over, you still need to go for a walk in them and get used to them. They can be quite stiff at first, but you will get used to them with time.

Now that you’re up and about, it’s time to get your skis and learn how to carry them. The easiest way to do this is to put them together with the bottoms of the skis touching and then overlap the brakes. Once you have done this, you can now put them over one of your shoulders and hold them with one hand. You can then use your free hand to grab your polls and make your way to the slop or the lift. As you will have noticed, everything is going to take a bit of getting used to and may even feel a bit awkward at first.

Do you know what is easy though? Betting on your favorite NHL team thanks to the best free NHL picks. Whether you like snow or ice, we can all use a bit of extra money coming in from some easy bets. While skiing will definitely take some getting used to, knowing when to bet on your favorite NHL team has never been easier!

Now that we have our boots on, our skis in hand and a couple of friendly bets placed on the table, it is time to hit the slopes! Once on the slope, you’re going to have to put the skis on and again, this is easier said than done the first time around. You will want to grab your poles, one in each hand to help balance yourself for this one. Once you have your balance, you will want to stick the toe of your boot under the toe piece of the binding on the boot. Once you have done this, make sure your heel is lined up with the back of the binding and push it down hard until it clicks into place. Once you have the first one on, you can repeat for the second ski. Just remember to keep your poles firmly planted into the ground so you don’t go sliding down the slope unintentionally.

Hopefully, you are on flat ground once you have your skis on as now you will want to get used to moving around with them on. There are two fairly easy ways to do so. The first is to stick your poles into the ground and use them to push yourself forward a bit and this may be the easier of the two options to get started. The other option is to try and walk in them, this is normally easiest done by moving sideways but with a bit of practice, you can get used to walking forward in them as well.

Lastly, you will want to know how to stop and may want to practice it on the bunny slopes or even flat ground after giving yourself a little bit of a push. The number one way to stop is the snowplow method. This is done by pointing your toes in so your skis make the shape of a piece of pizza. Once you have mastered this, it is now time to ski down the slope a bit. Just remember to remain calm and don’t expect to be a pro at it right away, start slowly and give yourself a bit of time to work up to becoming a more advanced skier!