RASCHAU/Ramsau 26.08.2014 - The familiar mats are still hard to imagine not being on the ski jumping hills of the world. No matter where you travel in Europe, so far the mats offered the best technology to safely and without accidents descend the slope and the run-out even in summer.
According to the development results of Peter Riedel GmbH, the mats will futurely belong to the past. The company, based in Raschau in Saxony, is currently testing a special carpet on the Speedrace in Ramsau under high-performance sports conditions. With the help of Austrian top athletes, Peter Riedel GmbH is currently testing and optimizing the summer use of the carpets at the test facility in Ramsau, which had been sought in Central Europe for a long time.
“After trying regional products, I now import these carpets from abroad. In Japan, for example, this version has been in use for years. The versions we sourced regionally in recent years and used across large parts of Europe were burdened with various risks due to poor quality and did not meet our standards. The most important thing in all development zeal remains the claim that the jumpers come down the slope optimally and, above all, without accidents,” says managing director Peter Riedel.
The highly developed special carpets ensure optimal take-off conditions and at the same time minimize the risk of falls – something that has not always been the case in the past. “As with any development, we have paid tuition,” Riedel notes. After a long testing phase, the Saxon company has now reached the point where they know what the surface can do and what its possible applications are: “The carpets were successfully in use at our K4 hill for over two years, and I can imagine that in the future they will not only play a role in ski jumping but could also be used in alpine or cross-country skiing.”