BORMIO, Italy, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Alpine skiers face an unusual challenge at the men's Winter Olympics slalom in Bormio on Monday: a flatter-than-usual and deceptively tricky slalom course.
The slalom is the closing race of the men's Alpine skiing events and follows Saturday's giant slalom when Lucas Pinheiro Braathen clinched a first gold for Brazil.
The relatively gentle slope at the bottom of the Stelvio piste cuts a stark contrast with the downhill run, which opened the Milano Cortina skiing races and, with a maximum gradient of over 60%, is among the most unforgiving pistes on the circuit.
"It's by far the easiest slope we have, like much easier than any World Cup (run) we ski," said Norway's Atle Lie McGrath, the leader in slalom this season.
"But it doesn't mean it's easy to win on it ... it's a special skill to ski fast when it's flat."
The course is largely unfamiliar to even seasoned competitors as Bormio does not normally host World Cup slaloms.
CHALLENGE TO GENERATE SPEED
Skiers who raced on the piste for the slalom leg of the Games' team combined event said generating speed was a challenge. The total drop on the combined event was 203m - about a fifth of the downhill event.
Switzerland’s Tanguy Nef, who claimed gold in combined alongside downhiller and three-times Olympic winner Franjo von Allmen, rated the slope a three out of 10 for technical difficulty.
"Once you get to the flat, it's really, really flat," said U.S. skier River Radamus.
"The key part of this course is carrying speed from the pitch onto the flats because it sort of sets you up for the whole second half of the course."
France's Paco Rassat, ranked sixth in World Cup for slalom, echoed that assessment.
"It's an easy course but we have to push and ski as fast as possible on the snow," he said. "There's a steep part at the bottom where we have to take ... the speed until the finish line."
Sport manager Omar Galli, responsible for Alpine events at the venue, told Reuters organisers had added some undulations or "rolls" to the slalom course to create extra challenges.
The relative flatness of the slope means the field of medal contenders is potentially more open, although Pinheiro Braathen is tipped to win another Olympic title.
"It's going to be exciting for everyone watching because it brings so many more competitors into play," said Norway's McGrath.
(Reporting by Lisa Jucca in Bormio; Additional reporting by Marleen Kaesebier and Martyn Herman; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
