Cooperation with Peter Riedel GmbH is viewed very positively by the ÖSV

RASCHAU/RAMSAU AM DACHSTEIN, March 27, 2014 – The winter sports season 2013/14 is in the past, the Olympic and World Cup winners have been crowned – the time begins to draw up the balance sheets.
In particular, one project from Peter Riedel's company has attracted international ski-jumping circles' interest in the last eight months. As part of the partnership started in the previous year between the Saxon company and the Austrian Ski Federation (ÖSV), a test track was installed in Ramsau am Dachstein, which soon received the name 'Speed Race.'

'We approached this venture pragmatically,' says Toni Giger, head of the Development, Research and Innovation department at the ÖSV. 'The goal was to become faster in the approach to the ski jumping hills, and our athletes, both the Nordic skiers and the ski jumpers, achieved this. From this perspective the project has paid off; the cooperation can only be rated positively.'

The test facility in Ramsau was installed in the summer of 2013 with the aim, among others, of creating the same conditions on the approach as the Austrian athletes would encounter at the Sochi Olympic Winter Games. 'It was a demanding effort, in which Peter Riedel gave us great support,' says Giger. 'The construction of the entire facility was very elaborate, but the stated goal was to have it ready for use before the winter.' Riedel adds: 'This allowed additional insights for the season's pinnacle. In Ramsau, the ÖSV team laid the foundation for a successful Olympic campaign under optimal conditions. Silver in the team event for the ski jumpers and bronze in the team competition for the Nordic combined is something to be proud of!'
Tests were conducted in numerous respects. On one hand, the athletes were able to work on their approach position on perfect track conditions and find the best possible aerodynamic posture; on the other hand, various materials, such as the ski boot structures or wax, were tested and optimized.

'I am very pleased that in the first year of our partnership with the ÖSV we could realise such a prestigious project,' says Peter Riedel. 'We are used to seeing the sport's superstars on our tracks in competition. That Schlierenzauer, Morgenstern and others also train on a Riedel test track fills us with joy and pride. Our efforts are publicly acknowledged – in Trondheim, as part of the World Cup, the ÖSV team led by head coach Alex Pointner formally thanked us.'
That the 'Speed Race' in Ramsau am Dachstein did not go unnoticed was obvious. 'When there is a ski jump runway but the table is missing, it naturally arouses curiosity; you ask questions,' says Toni Giger. 'We could, and wanted to, not keep the test track a secret from the start. If the ÖSV had intended that, it would have been necessary to install the training stretch where there is no hill – with all related financial and training drawbacks, for example: installing a separate ascent aid, lack of a regular ski jump training facility.'

Thus Giger and Riedel look contentedly back on the first year of a partnership that will intensify in the coming seasons. 'The next step in Ramsau is the commissioning of the summer track,' says Giger, 'and the Riedel company has the opportunity to test innovations in their development in Ramsau with ÖSV support. It remains certainly interesting.'

Meanwhile, testing and more testing continues in Ramsau. A few days ago the jumpers rode at 20 degrees Celsius on a perfectly prepared ice track; currently temperatures have cooled a bit again. 'We have proven several times that our tracks hold; everything from minus to plus 30 degrees Celsius is no problem,' says Peter Riedel with pride. He looks forward to further cooperation with the ÖSV: 'It is an honor to cooperate with such a professional winter sports association!'