Alpine Skiing Essentials - Super Combined
Last Updated: Friday, December 4, 2009 | 12:35 PM ET
CBC Sports
Paul Stutz of Canada skies during the Men's Super Combined event held on the Face de Bellevarde course in Val d'Isere, France in February. (Clive Mason/Getty Images) The ultimate test of a ski racer's versatility, the super-combined consists of two disciplines: a downhill followed on slalom run. Skiers with the three fastest combined times of the two runs will reach the podium.
The competition takes the place of the combined event, a discipline requiring skiers to endure one downhill and two slalom runs.
The combined had been part of the Olympic calendar from 1998 right through to the 2006 Torino Games.
Courses and race order
Severe weather conditions and other scheduling conflicts may change the order of the disciplines. Fans can expect to see shorter courses than the ones they've become accustom to during the downhill and slalom events.
Skiers who complete the first run are allowed to take part in the second, in spite of their initial position. A bib draw decides the order of the skiers for the first run. The athletes with the 30 fastest times begin the second in reverse — 30 to 1 — order. The remaining field — 31 and higher — then finish their second run.
It won't take long for competitors to see how they performed at the conclusion of their second run as a big screen will be on display for all to see. As past events have proven, the Olympic champion may win despite not posting the fastest times in either the downhill or slalom.
