Alpine Skiing...

Who are the Best of the Best ?
I'll tell you in two words: "The Austrians"
Let me give you a few facts and some statistics:
This year's competition was finalized yesterday with the last races of the 2014/2015 Season:
In the Men's final Slalom yesterday, in Meribel, France, the Austrian ace, Marcel Hirscher completed the course 0.83  seconds faster than the second placed Italian, Giuliano Razzoli.
Also in Meribel, amongst the women's world's best in Giant Slalom, the Austrian champion Anna Fenninger, distanced her Austrian teammate Eva-Maria Brem by 0.38 seconds.
Needless to state that other countries also have top performers, men and women, who won many a race...  Let me just mention Kjetl Jansrud of Norway, Alexis Pinterault, of France, Stefano Gross of Italy and amongst the women: Tina Maze of Slovenia, Lindsey Vonn and Michaela Shiffrin (both USA).
and I could go on and on with names of male and female competitors for a long long list, all of whom gave us enthusiastic "couch potatoes" so many hours of exciting TV watching.

Just for clarification: Each of the first 15 finishers in a race gets a certain number of points which finally decide his or her placing in the total roster.

In order to determine the placing of competing countries, all these points are added together and it is this number which establishes each country's position in the race for glory.

This is also, what so clearly tells of Austria's supremacy in the world of Skiing.

Country:                                         Total World Cup points

1.) AUSTRIA                                       11,617
2.) ITALY                                               6,145
3.) SWITZERLAND                               5,362     
4.) USA                                                    5,069                                              
There are, of course, many more countries which could be added to this list, but the above are the Leaders.

So therefore: Congratulations to the Austrian Ski-team and congratulation to all those individuals, men and women, who hurl themselves down a sometimes 80 degree decline at speeds of up to 130 km per hour. ( I hardly ever go this fast in my car along the Autobahn - 401 -)

Bertstravels
doffs his hat to them all.