PLASCHY Didier (SUI) 02.05.1973 Varen.VS 182cm 90kg SKI: Stokli BOOTS: Nordica BINDING: Atomic 30/Jul/2001/ Retilrd Kranjska Gora 2000 SL / 1st Beaver Creek 2000 SL / 1st Penta Photo World Cup Ranking General 1997/109th, 1998/61st, 1999/29th, 2000/28th, 2001/115th, Special 1999 GS/40th, SL/8th, 2000 SL/8th, World Championships 1999 GS/DNF Olympic Games 1998 Nagano SL/12th, World Cup - 2 w. (2 SL) 1. SL Beaver Creek 2000, Kranjska Gora 2000, 2. SL Kitzbuhel 99, 4. SL Sierra Nevada 99, 5. SL Wengen 99, Bormio 2000, 6. GS Saalbach 98, Switzerland's Didier Plaschy celebrated an unexpected victory in a slalom at Beaver Creek today when he beat some of the best ski racers in the world after two impressive runs. The 26-year-old Plaschy beat, by almost a second, the 1994 Olympic champion Thomas Stangassinger, the best slalom skier in the field and the defending slalom World Cup champion. "I have never skied so fast on the flats in fact, they were so quick that I had a hard time keeping up with them," Plaschy said after the race. Quite a character in his own way, Plaschy has been known for a long time as a very fast slalom skier, but also a very inconsistent one. Last year, he reached his first podium when he came in 2nd at Kitzbuhel, but he didn't finish the World slalom in Vail in February. This summer, Plaschy focused mostly on slalom during the off-season snow training. At the same time, he worked hard with his ski supplier, a modest Swiss company which manufacturers just 25,000 pairs of skis in a year, to produce high performance slalom skis. "I think we have found the best line," he explained after the race. "It's a medium-short model with a length of 1.86m, but a very dynamic one with some side-cutting." This is a great moment in my life and I want to dedicate this success to all the people who helped me a few years ago when I decided to quit ski racing because of poor results. A group of people, mainly vignards, got together and raised some money for me. They enjoyed seeing me race and wanted me to continue competing. Their money and their confidence gave me great momentum. I fought hard afterwards to honor them. My victory is also theirs." Last winter, after a disappointing season start, Plaschy also learned to better handle the pressure and his concentration by reading a book on human behavior. "I was another man after I read this book," he said. "But I kept on improving on my mental attitude during the summer. I was quite confident coming here and I was aiming for a top-3 place. The course was fine, a litle sloppy in the afternoon but the people here did a good job. Now I have to organize a great party with my teammates; we all deserve it I guess. It's been a long time since the Swiss won a slalom ? eight years!" Biorama Basel