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Sport magazine 281
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Issue 281 | November 9 2012
the winterSportS iSSue
2012-13 Your guide to the new
season: where to go and the gear to take with you
“A SHARP, BRUTAL AND COMPELLING EXPERIENCE”THE GUARDIAN
“THE BEST CALL OF DUTY MULTIPLAYER TO DATE”VG247
“THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE
AND THRILLING CALL OF DUTY YET”
THE SUN
“A CULT SMASH”NUTS
Radar
05 Dirty washing in public See the pictures that have cleaned up at the World Press Photo 2012 exhibition
07 Ski like Bond With Oakley’s high-tech Airwave Goggles. But without the Union Jack parachute 08 Save Real Oviedo... ... from liquidation. More Juan Matas depend on it, probably o this coming weekFeatures
17 Winter wonderland We bring you the perfect pistes on which to ski and snowboard till spring, with help from MadDogSki 38 Pam Thorburn The British ski-cross champion talks exclusively about her Olympic medal hopes for 2014
54 Chris Robshaw We speak to England’s leading man ahead of his side’s run of autumn internationals
57 Steven Finn The England fast bowler has Tendulkar, Kohli and the rest of India’s batsmen in his sights
Extra Time
70 Grooming We tell you where to go for a stylish Movember: Gillette’s The Best a Mo Can Get barbers
72 Heather Weir It only took a move from Glasgow to Staffordshire for this model WAG to show up on our radar
74 Gadgets Achieve Quagmire-style lighting with the Philips Hue. Giggity 76 Entertainment We pick up Call of Duty Black Ops II – and an arsenal of futuristic weaponry, to boot
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issuE 281, novEmbER 9 2012
| November 9 2012 | 03
ow’s this for a Daz Doorstep
Challenge? Mrs Crowley cannot have
been a happy woman when her son
Conor (pictured, with the ball) came home
caked head to toe in cloying Irish mud.
Still, this soaked scene from an All-Ireland
League rugby union game makes for a
cracking photo – so good, in fact, that it was
one of the winners in the sports category at
the 2012 World Press Photo awards.
Radar p08 – Virat Kohli : the numbers that have England worried
p07 – Power up to the Truckasaurus in F1 Race Stars
p10 – Olympian autobiographies: it must be nearly Christmas
H
Laundry night
| November 9 2012 | 05
Taken by photographer Ray McManus, it’s one of more than
100,000 entries for the prestigious contest across a number of
categories. This shot picked up second prize in the singles category,
which must have made standing by the side of the pitch in the driving
February rain almost worth it for McManus.
A selection of snaps, both sporting and otherwise, is on display this
week at Royal Festival Hall on London’s South Bank. It’s totally free,
so you have nothing to lose – certainly, it’s a very cheap date.
World Press Photo 2012, Royal Festival Hall, November 9-27.
Visit southbankcentre.co.uk for more information
Shadows run amok at the World Aquatics
Championships in China, in another
prize-winning shot from the awards.
Think Peter Pan, but with more Speedos
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*Call Of Duty: Black Ops II available from participating hmv stores, including Oxford Circus (150 Oxford Street) from 00.01am on Tuesday 13 November.
Title, price and offer subject to availability, while stocks last.**‘Pay nothing’ offer refers to zero payment when the trade in value of the two selected
hmv most wanted titles is deducted from the retail price of the game Call Of Duty: Black Ops II on XBOX 360 or PS3. Offer ends 22 November.
See in-store or at hmv.com for full terms and conditions of our trade-in games offers. †Zombie Strategy guide subject to availability while stocks last. © 2012 Activision Publishing, Inc. ACTIVISION and CALL OF DUTY are registered trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.
when you trade in any two of
our most wanted titles**
paynothing
offi cial midnight launch at Oxford StreetMonday 12 November*
£42.99 or
for details see in-store or atavailable on XBOX 360, PS3
+ get a free exclusive mini Zombies Strategy Guide†
doors open at 10pm• goody bags & give-aways
• live demos & gameplay previews�
• signing by Treyarch developers
• game available from midnight
# BlackOps2
Sci-fi skiing
Radar
The 21st track
e can’t tell you how many times
we’ve yawned our way through F1
snoozefests just longing for a banana
skin, sinkhole or tactical missile strike to liven
up the action a bit. Fortunately, Codemasters
have delivered exactly that in F1 Race Stars,
a Mario Kart-inspired cartoon racer that will
have Bernie Ecclestone reaching for his
notebook. The game owes a lot to the
moustachioed Italian polymath, as we all do, in
terms of visual style and the power-up system
– which includes things such as calling in the
Safety Car to hold up other drivers, or calling
rain to hover over the leader.
Eleven tracks have been lovingly recreated,
with the addition of loop-the-loops, jumps and
giant robotic dinosaurs – as you can see in the
exclusive screen shot below (middle), based
on next weekend’s race in Austin, Texas.
So, a friendly warning to Vettel and co –
best keep the racing lively, or next year you
might have Truckasaurus to contend with.
F1 Race Stars, out Friday November 16
on Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii U, £30
W
f you’re one of those ludicrous
people who exists only in action films
and energy drink adverts, you can
now check your messages on the slopes with
Oakley’s high-tech Airwave Goggles.
A clever heads-up display built into the
lenses means that information floats in front
of your eyes – and, thanks to Bluetooth and
GPS, there’s a wealth of it at your disposal.
The goggles tell you your speed and jump
statistics; and, if you pair them with the
official iPhone app, you can control your music
and read text messages. It’s a spy-worthy bit
of kit, although we worry it might be quite
distracting. We don’t mean to go all Q on you,
007, but keep an eye out for trees, won’t you?
Oakley Airwave Goggles, £500,
store.apple.com/uk
I
GPS, Bluetooth, laser guided missiles
Taking acid on race day proved to be a bad idea
| November 9 2012 | 07
08 | November 9 2012 |
Radar
Rescue mission
Virat Kohli by numbers
e turned 24 this
week, but what do
the numbers tell us
about India’s most dangerous
young batsman before he
faces England next week?
H
e dread to think of the amount
of brainpower that talented
engineers and scientists expend
on the task of propelling a tiny ball
accurately towards a hole. On the plus side,
it means there’s always new gear for
golfers to goggle at, and the best of it is
showcased at the London Golf Show 2012.
And if that’s not enough, the first 500
people to turn up with a copy of Sport get
in for free! What are you waiting for? Run!
London Golf Show 2012, November 9-11,
Earls Court. Visit londongolfshow.com
panish striker Michu has scored six goals already
for Swansea this season, and cost canny Michael
Laudrup just £2m. And it’ll take only slightly more
than that to save the club that spawned him, Juan Mata
and Santi Cazorla from liquidation.
Yes, it’s all gone a bit tits up at Real Oviedo. Languishing
in the third tier of Spanish football, the club – formed in
1926 – have another eight days to raise the €2.5m they
need to stave off the liquidator. One hashtag later
(#SOSRealOviedo) and a campaign to save the much-loved
club (which still has 15,000 season-ticket holders) is well
under way. Fans and well-wishers can buy shares in the
team from just €10.75 until November 17, and foreign
fans who get involved get free entry to games if they’re
ever in Oviedo. So if you’re a Swansea, Chelsea or Arsenal
fan enthralled by the performances of your Spanish star,
then get your wallet out. It’s the least you could do.
More information – in English – at bit.ly/U3rHr6
W
S
Par for the Court
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3,000Became fastest Indian batsman to 3,000 ODI
runs in February 2012, taking 75 innings.
Graeme Gooch is England’s quickest, in 76
62.6Kohli’s Test batting
average so far in 2012
(501 runs in five Tests)
19Captained India as they won
the Under-19 World Cup in
Malaysia 2008, beating
South Africa in the final557Kohli was the second highest
run-scorer in the 2011 IPL,
behind only his Bangalore
teammate Chris Gayle 36.78Test batting average against
pace bowlers (as opposed
to 57.50 against spin) in his
10 Test matches so far
$15MEstimated net worth
of Kohli, who has
deals with Fastrack,
PepsiCo, TVS and
‘Flying Machines’
(search us)
112Highest score against
England, in an ODI in
Delhi in October 2011.
Next week will be his
first Test against them
Edge-to-edge blockbusters.
Edge-to-edge performance.
Edge-to-edge speed.
Games and applications are downloadable in Google Play for an additional cost. MOTOROLA and the Stylized M Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Motorola Trademark Holdings, LLC. Intel Inside and the Intel Inside logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. ©2012 Motorola Mobility LLC. All rights reserved.
Say hello to the full-screen phone.Introducing the powerful
Motorola RAZRTM i with Intel Inside®.
Medal memoirs
10 | November 9 2012 |
Radar
High rollers
an you turn £100,000 into a cool £1m
in just 10 days? Almost certainly not.
Because if you could, you definitely
wouldn’t be sitting here reading this. If you’d like
to have a bash, though, check out BetDash.com,
a new site from bookmakers Paddy Power that
gives you a virtual £100k and 10 days of sports
betting to turn it into £1m.
You can play for free, or stick some money
in the pot and win five times your stake if you
manage to make it to £1m. There are innovations
borrowed from the world of gaming, too, with
leaderboards and groups so you can challenge
your mates and unlock bonuses. It’s a refreshing
take on sports betting, and definitely worth
checking out.
C
t’s stocking-filler season, so the Olympic cash-ins are
hitting the shelves with roughly the same frequency as
medals hit British necks during the actual Games. This
week, in particular, seems to be the Super Saturday of Olympic
autobiographies, with the inspirational stories of Bradley Wiggins,
Jessica Ennis and Sebastian Coe adding to Chris Hoy’s ode to
Bran Flakes, an updated version of which came out last month.
These books offer a fascinating insight into the lives of the
people whose successes shaped our sporting summer, and a
chance to look back fondly. Just one question remains: where did
they all find the time to sit down and write these weighty tomes
themselves? It’s taken us 45 minutes just to write this. All out now
I
BetDash.com gives you a virtual £100k and 10 days to try and gamble it into a million. To our readers in
the City - be a bit more careful this time, alright?
12 | November 9 2012 |
Radar Editor’s letter
Editor-in-chief
Simon Caney
@simoncaney
Sport magazine
Part of UTV Media plc
18 Hatfields, London SE1 8DJ
Telephone: 020 7959 7800
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Email: firstname.lastname@
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Editorial
Editor-in-chief: Simon Caney (7951)
Deputy editor: Tony Hodson (7954)
Associate editor: Nick Harper (7897)
Art editor: John Mahood (7860)
Deputy art editor: William Jack (7861)
Digital designer: Chris Firth (7624)
Subeditor: Graham Willgoss (7431)
Senior writers: Sarah Shephard (7958),
Alex Reid (7915)
Staff writers: Mark Coughlan (7901),
Amit Katwala (7914)
Picture editor: Julian Wait (7961)
Production manager: Tara Dixon (7963)
Contributors: David Lawrenson, Hannah
Engelkamp, Mark Richardson, Stevie
Lewis, Doug Rankine
Commercial
Agency Sales Director: Iain Duffy (7991)
Business Director: Kevin O’Byrne (7832)
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Managing Director: Adam Bullock
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Colour reproduction: Rival Colour Ltd
Printed by: Wyndeham Group Ltd
© UTV Media plc 2012
UTV Media plc takes no responsibility for
the content of advertisements placed in
Sport magazine
£1 where sold
Hearty thanks this week to: Alasdair
Wallace, Jack Daniels, Michelle Blair
Don’t forget: Help keep public transport clean and tidy for everyone by taking your copy of Sport away with you when you leave the bus or train.
LAUNCH OFTHE YEAR
2008
Total Average Distribution: 305,676 Jan-Jun 2012
www.sport-magazine.co.uk
@sportmaguk
facebook.com/sportmagazine
G olfers have a responsibility to their sponsors,” said HSBC’s Giles Morgan last week. “Without the sponsors there isn’t professional golf. I speak
on behalf of the industry.”Morgan, global head of sponsorship at
the bank, may need Rory McIlroy and Tiger
Woods more than they need him. They didn’t
play in last week’s WGC-HSBC Champions
event in China – and Morgan, while speaking
in conciliatory tones, was clearly furious.
“We are delighted to have 13 of the
world’s top 20 here, but of course we’re
disappointed not to have the two top
players in the world,” he added. “Both have
sent me apologies, but this is an event
which should be regarded by all players,
as it is by the tours and the media, as one
of the top events in the world.”
Now, McIlroy and Woods are perfectly
at liberty to decide when and where they
want to play. But, almost rubbing salt
in the wound, they had been in China
only the previous week for a pointless
two-man exhibition match before then
flying off.
And those two don’t exactly need the
money: Woods is on his way to becoming a
billionaire, while McIlroy, if reports are to
be believed, has this week signed a £160m
sponsorship deal himself. So perhaps they
don’t care whether the likes of HSBC fund
tournaments or not. They should, because
Morgan makes a valid point. The whole
sport would disappear into the ether were
it not for the sponsors – who, when they
invest a sum such as HSBC did last week,
can reasonably expect the best players to
at least turn up.
At least Ian Poulter’s great victory
meant they weren’t missed. But McIlroy
and Woods might want to rethink their
schedules next year.
Can’t help but feel sorry for Craig Levein, fired as boss of Scotland this week.While a manager has to take responsibility for results, he can work only with the players at his disposal – and Levein didn’t have rich pickings. It’s depressing to see what has happened to Scottish football. They firmly believed they were going to win the World Cup in 1978, but now the country that gave us Denis Law and Kenny Dalglish can’t win a raffle. Shame.
A big 18 months or so for English cricket
starts on Thursday, when the Test series
against India gets under way. It is going
to be unbelievably tough. Who will
establish themselves as Alastair Cook’s
opening partner? Will Kevin Pietersen be
fully reintegrated into the side? Will
Jonny Bairstow or Samit Patel cement
the number six spot? Lots of questions,
in a very tough environment, and all with
two Ashes series on the horizon...
Show me the money It’s sometimes a dirty word, but sport needs sponsors and their filthy lucre
Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand
Ma
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P/G
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A rich man’s world: for McIlroy and Woods, it’s
practically a family motto
Reader comments of the week
@simoncaney good work
defending the number of
women in the power list.
Reality is reality. No point
pretending.
@Manda_SW
@simoncaney put rugby
referees into football and
see what happens when a
player swears. Yellow
card, no nonsense.
Introduce the sin bin?
@CharlieRiggall
@simoncaney just read
your comment in Sport
about refs. Damn right.
Tired of seeing refs
tolerate dissent. Send em
off then they’ll learn.
@vexedcyclist
Good article in
@sportmaguk today about
how twitter & sport have
become inextricably
linked & what this means
for fans.Good work
@robindthomas
A cracking @Sportmaguk
today! Not only a
wonderful piece with
@HitmanHatton, but also
a quality @dembabafoot
feature. I doff my hat, guys.
@NickHartwell1
Free iPad app available on Newsstand
Cover of the Year
14 | November 9 2012 |
Frozen in time
| 15
Enter sandmanAfter being stripped of his seven Tour de
France titles and banned from ever cycling
on solid ground again by the UCI, here we see
Lance Armstrong reduced still further to the
status of a clown. He knows full well you can’t
cycle on shifting sand. But what choice does
he have? Because not even he would believe
he can cycle on water. In reality, because
we know you’re wondering, this is actually
Belgium’s Tom Meeusen making a dog’s dick
of it in the Superprestige in Zonhoven duri...
no, you’re right. Let’s just turn the page. Da
vid
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| November 9 2012 | 17
Winter Sports 2012
SlopeS and gloryNovember is here again, and that can mean only one thing – it’s time for our annual winter sports special. Just the 18 pages for you in 2012, as we pick out the British athletes to keep an eye on ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics, speak to national ski-cross champion Pam Thorburn, feature all the latest winter sports gear and identify some of the best-value ski gadgets out there.
First up, though, is our round-up of ski
and snowsport destinations – and this
year we’re concentrating on the big ones:
the giant areas and favourite resorts
that have long had a place in the hearts
of the British skier. Every summer, these
big old dogs get busy innovating and
renovating in time to bark all about their
new tricks from the mountaintops by the
time winter rolls around. So read on as
Hannah Engelkamp of MadDogSki.com
runs through the best of the new
innovations from all the old favourites,
from cow fighting to cowboy racing, ski
lift wifi to international exchanges, and
raging apres to silent discos... >Da
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18 | November 9 2012 |
Winter Sports 2012 The Destinations
Old favourite
Seven thousand feet up in the Colorado Rocky
Mountains is Steamboat, a resort beloved of
Brits and turning 50 this season. On January 12
1963, the resort officially opened, boasting a
double chairlift and a single warming house.
They made $13.75 that day.
These days, particularly after the $30m
investment in recent years, the resort is
somewhat more established – and in the
interim it has trademarked its notably fluffy
snow, calling it Champagne Powder.
Steamboat is an old cowboy town, and many
of their tourist-tempting ideas stem from this
heritage. This year marks a century of their
winter carnival, which was started to convince
the locals that skiing – initially used to get about
for work – could be fun too. Expect ski-joring
(being towed down the street on your skis by a
cowboy on a horse), the high school marching
band on skis (America’s only example), and more
than 100 professional rodeo riders charging
down the mountain in the Cowboy Downhill. Most
of them don’t ski and haven’t yet learned to stop...
New trick
Steamboat also does pretty well for Winter
Olympians – it produces more than any other
town in the United States (79 so far, since
you ask). One of these is Billy Kidd, a slalom
silver-medallist from the 1964 Innsbruck
Games and 70 years old in April. He skis in his
stetson and gives free ski lessons to visitors.
If skiing cowboys isn’t enough, and you want
a double culture shock, here’s a new idea: go on
a 10-day holiday with Ski Safari, who give you
three days as a stopover in Reykjavik, Iceland.
NASA predicts that 2012 has the brightest
Northern Lights in 50 years, and Iceland in
winter is a particularly likely place to spot
them. Fly from London, Manchester or Glasgow
to Denver, via Reykjavik, for less than flying
direct, with a soak in the geothermal spas and
a Northern Lights tour included. Prices start
at £1,345 per person.
SteambOat, USaWild West meets Northern Lights
Need to know
Size 2,965 acres* of pisteAltitude
2,103m-3,224mGood for...
Friendly American hospitalityWebsite
steamboat.com
*American resorts measure
their piste in square rather
than linear area – so acres
rather than kilometres, as
with European destinations
| 19
Old favourite
La Plagne and Les Arcs are neighbouring
resorts that have long enjoyed a steady stream
of British guests. Both are a mixture of old
farming hamlets and 1960s purpose-built
ski villages, providing a choice of charm or
convenience depending on your priorities.
In 2003 the two resorts were joined by the
huge, double-decker Vanoise Express lift, which
takes just four minutes to span the 2km gap.
The new 400km linked area was branded as
Paradiski. Ten years old this year, it is the
world’s newest massive ski area.
Both resorts had a lot to offer on their own.
Les Arcs is great for snowboarding, embracing
the nascent sport early on in the 1980s,
while more recently it has become the home
of speed-riding: skiing and flying downhill with
a fabric parachute-like wing. La Plagne is good
for intermediates and has a great snowpark
– but, if you like covering a lot of distance,
Paradiski is a must.
New trick
This year, Paradiski has made the decisive and
impressive step of powering its entire lift
system, the ski area and hotels, plus a large
percentage of the villages, with renewable
energy. They are also reminding UK skiers that
there are two train stations – Aime la Plagne
(for La Plagne) and Bourg St Maurice (for Les
Arcs) – each a mere eight hours from London
(though depending on services, Aime la Plagne
may be nearer 10). Doing that journey by
train rather than flying reduces your carbon
emissions from 98kg to 11kg, and will provide
you with some luxurious picnic-eating,
Scrabble-playing and view-gazing time too.
Paradiski is also making changes to the local
environment, reducing the visual effects of
a mega resort. They have removed 124 lift
towers since the year 2000, are burying power
lines, reforesting, and using wood and stone
for new buildings, ensuring they blend into
the landscape. >
Paradiski, FraNceNew and renewable
Need to know
Size 425km of pisteAltitude 1,200m-3,250mGood for... Skiing somewhere different every day Website
en.paradiski.com
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20 | November 9 2012 |
Winter Sports 2012 The Destinations
Old favourite
The highest resort in the great big Three
Valleys area, and with 99 per cent of the ski
area sited at over 2,000m, Val Thorens is an
experience every skier should have at least
once in their lives.
Way above the treeline, it’s an alpine outpost
that really feels like it’s at the top of the
continent. You notice the altitude: toiletries
burst, pens leak, it takes ages to boil eggs and
it’s a huge effort to simply walk up a few stairs.
But it’s all worth it – the snow stays good up
here for weeks after everywhere else, and it
takes no time to ski over to the Meribel Valley
next door, or the Courchevel Valley beyond that.
And on the other side is the inaccurately named
Three Valleys’ fourth valley, which is generally
quieter than the rest.
As you’d expect from an area of this size,
there is a bit of everything. You can cruise the
whole Three Valleys on gentle blue runs, seek
out some heart-stopping black runs, find
power, moguls, couloirs, parks, whatever
floats your fatties. And peppered all over are
rustic mountain restaurants with fine food
and vin chaud.
We recommend you take a steer from
maddogski.com, though: there are also a fair
number of rip-off joints charging €15 for a
cup-a-soup, especially towards Courchevel.
New tricks
Ever decided against updating your status from
the chairlift, Instagramming that breathtaking
view, or Googling to check if that’s a chamois or
a mouflon you can see on the ridge? Well now
you can do it all – this year Val Thorens has free
wifi on another three lifts, to add to the 15 ski
lift stations already hooked up.
And the place has a lot for visitors to tweet
about, too. There’s the Ski Cross World Cup
(which it will host for the first time from
December 17), ski and snowboard test
weekends that are open to all, a snowsports
festival and a huge blow-out for New Year.
And that’s just month one. >
Val ThOreNs, FraNceOn top of the world
Need to know
Size 600km of pisteAltitude 1,300m-3,230mGood for...Good cheesy dinner, good cheesy après, world-class mountainsWebsites les3vallees.com, valthorens.com
WIN!A week’s trip for two to Val Thorens with MadDogSki.com
Stay on the top of the world in a ski-in, ski-out studio for two, with free liftpass and ski hire, flights and transfers and MadDogSki goodie bag. For more info and to enter, just head to maddogski.com/win-a-ski-holidayThanks to valthorens.com and
skisolutions.com
Hemis.fr/SuperS
tock
HELLY HANSEN CATWALK
Scandinavian Design is the cornerstone in all Helly Hansen gear. The optimal
combination of purposeful design, protection and style. This is why professional
athletes, patrollers and discerning enthusiasts choose Helly Hansen.
CONFIDENT WHEN IT MATTERS
Aurelien Ducroz
World Champion Freeride Skier
Lofoten, Norway
22 | November 9 2012 |
Winter Sports 2012 The Destinations
Old favourite
Avoriaz is one of the 12 resorts that make
up the huge Portes du Soleil area – a high-up,
purpose-built village on the French side of
the Alps. Perched above the clouds on
dramatic cliffs, the architecture is entirely
wood-shingled, the village is car-free (pretty
much road-free, in fact), and horse-drawn
sleighs carry your luggage to your hotel. Pistes
run through the village with bars and hotels
dotted about. Imagine a village of Tolkien-esque,
cliff-dwelling, party-going demi-gods with skis
for feet, and this is where they would live.
The surrounding terrain includes plenty of
great beginner pistes, as well as a patrolled
off-piste valley, a world-class snowpark and
long pistes that drop you down to Morzine,
the old farming town at the foot of those
dramatic cliffs.
The Portes du Soleil is on a mission to get
everyone on snow. The encouraging ‘You can
ski’ package for adult beginners offers half-day
ski lessons, lift pass and ski hire for €269 for six
days or €169 for three (www.esf-morzine.com),
and chalet company Rudechalets are offering a
free snowboard instructor and snowboard hire
for select weeks. Most entertainingly, the
Portes du Soleil has developed a sort of baby
scooter with a handle – so any child of
standing-up age can get a taste for the pistes.
New trick
Avoriaz is about to open the doors of Aquariaz,
a brand new indoor jungle world. They have
shipped in 1,500 tropical trees and plants from
Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Indonesia, through
which a ‘fun river’ winds, and landscaped pools
contain all sorts of day-off fun. There’s a pool
with a climbing wall above it, a water playhouse,
an outdoor hot pool with views of the valley, and
a 10m halfpipe you can take at speed in a dinghy.
The water is heated by an eco-friendly biomass
boiler, and entry is just €8 for adults, less
for kids. And, unlike in most French pools,
swimmers are allowed to wear shorts –
great for Brits wanting to avoid Speedos. >
AvOriAz, FrANceTolkien to the tropics
Need to know
Size 650km of pisteAltitude
1,000m-2,400mGood for...
Ski-in, ski-out immersion in ski-world, mixed groupsWebsites
avoriaz.com, en.portesdusoleil.com
Hemis.fr/SuperS
tock
F1
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20
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US
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24 | November 9 2012 |
Old favouriteThe resort of Megève was developed in the
1920s by the Baroness Noémie de Rothschild,
who had fallen out of love with St Moritz in
Switzerland. Considering its genesis, it’s hardly
surprising that it has always been a regular
haunt for the rich and famous – it has even
had a starring role itself as the resort in the
beginning of Charade, where Audrey Hepburn’s
Regina Lampert meets Cary Grant’s Peter
Joshua. As well as the film stars, Michelin stars
have been liberally sprinkled around town –
there’s some mighty fine eating to be done here,
in the 80-plus restaurants that pack the
picturesque medieval streets.
If you’ve not heard of Megève, however, it
may be because they like it that way. There are
no giant hotels, and the clientele have been
largely French – and, more specifically, Parisian.
But don’t let this put you off – the people of
Megève are friendly, and skiers who find this
opulent mountain town more often than not
become fans for life.
The terrain is in the big-league, too. Megève’s
own four areas join up with five other resorts,
making a vast 445km area known as the Espace
Evasion Mont Blanc. If that’s not enough for you,
the many resorts of the Chamonix Valley are
close at hand – and this whole Alpine feast is
a mere hour’s drive from Geneva.
New tricksBy now you’ve probably got the picture –
Megève doesn’t bother doing battle with the
other resorts. There are no annual barrages of
deals, world firsts, pop concerts or gimmicks,
and this new-season news just underlines the
sort of place it is: this year, the ski areas that lie
on either side of town are going to be joined up...
by horse. New caleches (as they call sleighs in
these parts) carrying 12 skiers and included in
the lift pass, will be filling in the 10-minute gap
between lift stations in style. See Megève
specialists Stanford Skiing (stanfordskiing.
co.uk) for family-owned, reasonably priced
catered chalet holidays. >
Winter Sports 2012 The Destinations
Megève, FraNceThe grand dame of skiing, now with horses
Need to know Size 445km of pisteAltitude
1,113m-2,350mGood for... Groups with non-skiers, gourmandsWebsite
megeve.com
Je
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Le
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ou
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t/S
up
erS
toc
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Titles and prices subject to availability while stocks last. Prices may vary online.
26 | November 9 2012 |
Winter Sports 2012 The Destinations
Old favourite
Before 1925, Verbier was a Swiss mountain
village of farmers and blessed cheese-makers,
until a group of keen mountaineers hiked up
15km from Sembrancher for the sole purpose
of skiing back down again. Twenty years
passed, in which the locals messed about on
skis (when the farming and cheese-making
allowed), and then in 1946 the first lift system
was installed. Ski tourism boomed in the
1960s, as it did all over the Alps – and in
the mid-1970s the Savoleyres gondola was
introduced and the Four Valleys area created,
linking Verbier with five other resorts and
making a respectable 410km of varied piste.
The skiing is renowned for being challenging,
with numerous itinerary runs (unpisted slopes
within the ski area), and some famous off-piste
– the Rock Garden, Col des Mines, Mont Gele
and the back of Mont Fort.
‘Verbs’ has a reputation for being frequented
by toffs – a lot of the bars and restaurants
are seriously swanky, and the nickname
‘St Tropez on snow’ has stuck. But there are
cosy corners and down-to-earth bars, and
the nightlife is legendary. You might find
yourself bumping and grinding alongside
Verbs fans Sarah Ferguson, Sir Richard
Branson, James Blunt or even Prince Harry.
What a line-up.
New trick
What’s better than one posh resort? Two posh
resorts, naturally. Buy a Four Valleys season-
pass, and get three days free in Vail resorts
– that’s Vail itself and seven other resorts,
including Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and
Heavenly. If you happen to be saving up for a Vail
Epic Pass, the deal is reciprocated – you get
three free days in Verbs. It’s the first time a
transatlantic deal like this has been struck –
and once the Yanks arrive there will be a
striking new eco igloo awaiting them in Col des
Gentianes. It’s taken the whole summer to build,
and is a stunning dome of exposed alderwood
beams, warmed by eco-friendly pellet heating. >
Verbier, SwitzerlaNdA load of posh and a ticket to Vail
Need to know
Size 410km of pisteAltitude
1,080m-3,330mGood for...
Hard skiing, hard partying, what-whatWebsites
4vallees.ch, verbier.ch
Ja
ck
Af
fle
ck
28 | November 9 2012 |
Winter Sports 2012 The Destinations
Old favourite
Sitting high in a hanging valley right by the
Italian border, Tignes shares space with
smart, chocolate-box Val d’Isère – but it
has long been the poor relation of the pair,
with eyesore 1960s tower blocks and a
party-all-night atmosphere.
Tignes is no spring chicken, though. Over
half a century it has built up a loyal fanbase,
establishing itself as a forward-thinking resort
– not to mention snowsure thanks to its high
altitude. It has also embraced freestyle
snowboarding and skiing, hosting the European
X Games in winter and running training sessions
on the Grande Motte glacier in summer.
In the meantime, Tignes has put a great
deal of effort into beautifying its five villages,
and plenty of visitors don’t care anyway.
The ski-in, ski-out accommodation, superb
snow record, long season, fun nightlife and
relative affordability make up for it – as do
the fantastic views in all other directions.
New trick
Tignes has been laying on great parties for a
long time, and this New Year’s Eve will be the
15th year of their open-air, 2,100m nightclub-
on-snow, the Fire Mix Party. The mountains will
ring to Parisian DJ Martin Solveig, as he works
the 20,000-strong audience into a frenzy on the
highest dance floor in Europe. It is, however,
also a year of firsts for Tignes – not least of
which is European Snow Pride: a week-long
gay festival in March, featuring clubbing,
cabaret, a giant pool party and a wilderness
camp in a Mongolian yurt with barbecue
and toboggan ride back to the resort.
Organisers amusingly refer to their hosts
as “the audacity-driven resort of Tignes”.
There’s also a 3D cinema screen in the
Tignes cinema this year, and the Silence
on Danse winter tour is bringing its silent
headphones disco and DJs to town – which
might be a welcome relief to the poor old
neighbourhood ibex. >
TigNes, FraNceHigh altitude, audacious partying
Need to know
Size 300km of pisteAltitude
1,550m-3,450mGood for...
Variety of slopes and energy in resortWebsites
espacekilly.com, tignes.net
Rapsodia/S
uperS
tock
30 | November 9 2012 |
Winter Sports 2012 The Destinations
Old favourite
Graubünden, the number-one holiday canton in
Switzerland, is home to big-name resorts such
as Davos, Klosters, Engadin, Arosa, St Moritz
and Laax. It all began, so they say, in 1864, when
St Moritz hotelier Johannes Badrutt laid down
a challenge to four British summertime guests.
Come back in winter, he said, and if you don’t like
it I’ll pay for your return journeys. If they did like
it, they were welcome to stay as long as they
wanted. They stayed until Easter, and the British
love of the Swiss winter mountains was born.
The sunny resort of Laax hasn’t rested on its
laurels, though. It lacks a cosy village centre and
is mostly made up of apartment blocks, but that
doesn’t matter – Laax draws snow-lovers who
are happy to let the mountain do the talking.
And it’s a real crowd-pleaser. Laax has
long been a supporter of freestyle skiing and
snowboarding, with a great mountaintop park
with features for all abilities, and the chilled-out
Café NoName keeping everyone fed and
entertained in the meantime. It’s no mistake
that the Brits – the British Ski and Snowboard
Championships – were held here annually for
as long as anyone can remember, although
they are moving to Tignes for 2013.
The resort is so good for freestyle that it’s
often overlooked for its other strengths –
a wide hillside of broad pistes perfect for the
beginner moving up a level, or intermediates
who want to push their speed. And if the
nothing-special village does bother you,
nearby Flims has a much more traditional feel.
New tricks
How about a first ski lift designed by Porsche?
After 80 years of making cars, something has
inspired Porsche to turn their hands to ski lifts.
Unsurprisingly, the new six-seater lift looks
comfortable, has nice lines and goes faster.
It also has solar-powered heated seats, which
is pretty neat. MadDogSki tried out a Porsche
sledge a few years ago, which was all form and
no function. This is a significant step forward. >
Laax, SwitzerLaNdSun, freestyle and a Porsche ski lift
Need to know
Size 220km of pisteAltitude
1,100m-3,020mGood for...
Mixed groups and freestylersWebsite
laax.com
SuperS
tock/A
lamy
Wherever.
Music.Whenever.
The Bluetooth®
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32 | November 9 2012 |
Winter Sports 2012 The Destinations
Kitzbühel kicked off proceedings in 1893, when
local hero Franz Reisch brought a pair of skis
back from Norway to see how they’d fare at
home. They took off, and skiing became a staple
of the brightly-painted medieval town. Vibrant
après-ski rubs up against glamorous boutiques,
while gourmet restaurants sit alongside the
butcher’s shop – which has tables in the corner
for a meaty snack. All bases covered, then – but
did you know that Kitzbühel is just one part of the
terrain on offer if you buy yourself an AllStarCard?
The AllStarCard brings together 1,081km of
piste over countless resorts we don’t have room
to list. It has been pointed out that 1,081km is
about the distance from the Kitz Alps back to
London (as the crow flies), which rather puts it
in perspective. The area is lower than anything
else in our list, but there’s a magic microclimate
going on thanks, they say, to high precipitation
in the northwest orographic barrier. More than
4,000 snow cannons fill in the gaps.
The resorts aren’t all linked by lift, but for the
keen explorer this unique association of a whole
range should appeal. Try the TransKITZalp Tour,
a ski route that runs from one edge of the area
to the other, taking in 50km of pistes and 10
resorts. It can be done in a day if you take the
bus back; but for a really memorable trip, take
your toothbrush and stay the night at the Thurn
Pass, before skiing back the following day.
New trickThe SkiWelt, at 279km the largest joined-up
area in the Kitz Alps, have set up a challenge
this season. Using the code on your lift pass, the
Skiline system can count how many kilometres
you have skied, how many lifts you have used
and how many vertical metres you’ve ticked off.
In Scheffau, meanwhile, there’s a Ski Movie
route on which a camera pans alongside
you, filming your graceful descent down the
piste and over the finish line, to the slightly
embarrassing sound of pre-recorded applause.
There’s also a timed speed run that flashes your
time up on a screen, and on-piste wifi hotspots
so you can monitor your Skiline stats. >
The KiTzbühel Alps, AusTriAMassive on the piste
Need to knowSize 1,081km of pisteAltitude
620m-1,902mGood for...
Exploring a whole mountain rangeWebsites
kitzalps.com, allstarcard.at
Westend61/SuperS
tock
34 | November 9 2012 |
Winter Sports 2012 The Destinations
Old favourite
Saas-Fee, across the peaks to the east of
Zermatt, will steal your heart. It’s as Swiss as
they come, but without the fur-lined attitude of
its neighbour. Wide-open pistes at a snowsure
altitude and a fast and efficient lift system make
skiing superb for all abilities: beginners will enjoy
learning in a spectacular setting rather than in
boring valley floors; intermediates can charge
around the 140km of piste, and wide steeps off
the top of Allalin; and experts can find great black
runs, piste-side powder and ski touring routes.
The resort likes superlatives – take the
highest mountain underground railway to
the highest rotating restaurant, or check
out the world’s biggest ice grotto carved into
the glacier. It’s just as lively in summer, too; the
extensive glacier opens in July after a few
weeks off after the winter season.
Go on a ski trip in summer or autumn for
added Saas-Fee benefits, like the ballsy
marmots that whistle like an old shepherd to
scare you off – or bonkers village events such
as mass yodelling, or cow fighting followed by
a ceremony in which the winning cow is
crowned Queen of Cows. Obviously.
New tricks
Get the train to Switzerland – the holiday starts
in St Pancras and feels luxuriously fitting of the
resort’s 19th-century tourist heritage. And this
season the journey is made even easier as a
new train route cuts out the nuisance transfer
in Paris. From December, you can get a Saturday
Eurostar to Lille instead, where a platform
change is followed by a train that runs through
all the valley stations. Leave London at 7am and
you’ll be in resort in time for a pre-dinner kir
royale. You can book now at raileurope.co.uk.
One more trick – with a bit of one-upmanship,
Saas-Fee are offering wifi hotspots of your
very own. You can rent a Swisscom Pocket
Connect hotspot and connect to it with up to
five devices. Then, when your holiday is done,
just stick it back in its pack and into a postbox.
SaaS-Fee, SwitzerlaNdCharm, buzz, and reachable by train
Need to know
Size 140km of pisteAltitude
1,800m-3,500mGood for...
Practical Swiss charm mixed with off-the-wall funWebsite
saas-fee.ch
For more information
on these resorts and
many others, check
out maddogski.com,
an independent and
opinionated website
full of useful tips
and tools to help you
track down and then
make the most of
your ski holiday
ag
e f
oto
sto
ck
/R
ob
ert
Ha
rdin
g
Skis fl y free.
And with a 23kg luggage allowance as standard,so does your wardrobe.
It really does stack up tofl y British Airways fromLondon City Airport toZurich, Geneva, Chamberyand more.
Book now at ba.com/londoncityski
To Fly. To Serve.
Winter Sports 2012 The Brits
Winter babies
Jenny Jones32, snowboard slopestyle
“People in snowboarding
enjoy watching the X Games
as much as they would the
Olympics, although if
slopestyle came into the
Olympics then great,”
Jenny Jones told this very
magazine two years ago.
“But if not then I’m not
going to cry my eyes out
or anything.”
Nine months later, Jones
may well have been weeping
tears of joy at the news that
her beloved slopestyle had
been confirmed as an
Olympic sport for 2014. The
two-time Winter X Games
gold-medallist will be 33 by
the time Sochi rolls around,
and has a history of knee
trouble, but she has openly
talked of her desire to
compete for Team GB on an
Olympic stage. A new World
Cup season begins in the
States in January – assuming
she has returned from her
latest injury in time to make
it, expect Jones to mean
some serious business.
lizzy yarnold24, skeleton
With 2010 Olympic champion
Amy Williams now retired,
the 24-year-old Yarnold is
the British skeleton racer
most likely to step on to her
shiny tray and keep the gold
here in Blighty in 2014.
That may sound harsh on
two-time European
champion and former
Olympic silver-medallist
Shelley Rudman, who also
happens to be the reigning
World Cup holder. But
Yarnold outperformed her
more renowned teammate
to win a bronze medal
at this year’s World
Championships at Lake
Placid – and, perhaps more
ominously, ran (or slid) away
with the national trials in
Germany only last week.
“I am on top form going
into the World Cup,” said the
former heptathlete after
her routing of Rudman and
the rest on the Winterberg
track. “It will be extremely
tough, but I can’t wait to
test myself.”
James woods20, ski slopestyle
If Jones is the grand old
lady carrying Team GB’s
freestyle hopes to Sochi on
a snowboard, then Woods
– or ‘Woodsy’, as he likes to
be known – is the cheeky
little chappy doing exactly
the same on skis.
The 20-year-old from
Sheffield announced his
arrival on the international
freestyle scene with a
bronze medal at the 2011
Winter X Games Europe in
Tignes, but went way better
when destroying the
opposition to win a World
Cup event in Ushuaia,
Argentina in September.
“I went to Argentina with a
goal,” he told the BBC in the
wake of his victory, which
helped secure him a whole
bunch of points in his bid to
qualify for Sochi. “I really
wanted to prove to myself
and the country that I’m
here, and that I mean
business.” The only male
athlete on our list is
definitely one to follow.
zoe GillinGs27, snowboard-cross
The only athlete on this page
with Olympic experience,
Gillings finished 15th in
the first ever women’s
snowboard-cross event in
Turin six years ago. She rose
seven places into eighth in
Vancouver, and would happily
take a similar improvement
in Sochi in 2014 – when she
will still only be 28.
The Isle of Man boarder
begins the new year in fine
form, too. After missing
much of 2010 with injury,
Gillings returned to her best
in 2011-12, contesting no
fewer than five of the eight
finals at which she took aim
across seven World Cup
competitions and the Winter
X Games in Alpen.
She ended her campaign
ranked sixth in the world,
and in March was named as
one of a select group of elite
athletes set to receive
podium funding in the
build-up to Sochi. With that
support, a medal is by no
means out of the question.
pam thorburn26, ski-cross
Began skiing in Schladming,
Austria, at the age of three,
and was good enough to win
the Scottish Championships
aged nine – it seemed
nothing could stop
Thorburn’s prodigious
rise. But then, having failed
to make selection for the
2010 Winter Olympics in
Vancouver as an alpine skier,
she made the big decision
to switch codes and try
her hand at the arguably
more exciting discipline
of ski-cross.
It has seemingly paid off,
with her becoming the
British ski-cross champion
in only her third race;
there is still a long way to
go before the Scot achieves
her dream of competing at
the Olympics, but she is up
for the fight.
“I love the whole head-to-
head competition,” she told
Sport in an interview you
can read in full over the
page. “That really spurs
me on.” > Ju
lia
n F
inn
ey
/Ge
tty
Im
ag
es
, AP
Ph
oto
/T
he
Ca
na
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Into
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Ric
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With less than 18 months to go before the start of the 2014 Winter Olympics in sochi, we pick out five british athletes to keep an eye on as they bid to book their tickets to the russian coast
| November 9 2012 | 37
38 | November 9 2012 |
Winter Sports 2012 Pam Thorburn
Trying something new can be daunting, particularly when it involves chucking yourself down a mountain. Just ask fledgling ski-crosser (and new British champion) Pam Thorburn...
New beginnings
Most people would take setting off
the metal detectors at the airport
because of the extent of the
injuries they’d suffered as
a sign that it’s time for a change of career.
But instead of swapping snow for safety,
26-year-old alpine skier Pam Thorburn
decided to venture into an even more
bone-threatening world: ski-cross.
The wintry cousin of BMX racing, ski-cross
sees competitors launch themselves from a
start gate and tear side by side down a course
featuring jumps, rollers and other obstacles.
Thorburn, Britain’s number two alpine skier
before she made the switch, is now British
ski-cross champion. And, she tells Sport, she
has her eyes set on success in the Russian
city of Sochi and the 2014 Winter Olympics.
So why did you decide to make
the switch to ski-cross?
“I had a bit of a heartbreak after the last
Olympics, with not being selected [for the
alpine skiing team], so that was quite a big
disappointment. After that, I did another
season on the World Cup tour and got a real
injury to my knee, so I decided I really wanted
a change. I saw ski-cross and I wasn’t really
sure if I was going to be any good at it or not,
but I tried it and I loved it. I love the whole
head-to-head competition – that really
spurs me on.”
It’s fair to say you’ve adapted pretty well...
“I’m British champion this year – I can’t say
British number one, because I haven’t done
enough races. When I started in March, there
were not very many races left in the season.
I became national champion in my third ever
race – so that was quite good for me!”
How much has your previous experience
helped you?
“There’s a lot of things that are very similar,
and the alpine skiing background really helps
in the turns. The biggest surprise I’ve found
is the features – all the jumps and rollers.
They’re very new to me, and they make such
a difference for the actual race. There’s a lot
“I became national champion in my third ever race, so that was quite good“
| 39Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand
of time to be lost and gained with those, so
that’s probably the biggest thing I’m working
on learning.”
Do you get much chance to train? Ski-cross
tracks must be quite hard to come by...
“The thing is, it’s tough for a ski resort to
build a ski-cross track because the public
can’t really use one that we can train on – the
jumps are so big and it’s really like a full-on
hardcore track. All the teams will go to the
same three or four resorts that have a track.
Other than that, when you can’t train on
an actual track you just have to train on the
features like the rollers, and I do a lot of
skiing in the parks on the big jumps. It’s tough
– I only did my first training on an actual
course last week, and that was like the first
time we had it [outside of competition].”
Presumably it’s the same for everyone?
“Yeah, but the big teams can kind of manage
that better than I can – it’s very expensive to
train on a track, but they can be based on one
all year round. So, for that side of things, it’s
a little different. I’m on a team of one right
now – it’s me travelling with my coach, and
ski-cross is obviously a sport where you’re
racing against other people, so having
training partners to push you and ski beside
you is a big difference. It’s hard to simulate
that race effect when you’re by yourself.”
The Olympics is the target – have you
got a plan in place for qualification?
“That’s the goal this season. We have quite
a lot of World Cup races, which are all for
qualification this year. I have a plan. I’m not
going to go in all guns blazing right at the
very start of the season, because I think that
would be stupid when I’m still kind of learning.
Everything seems to be going the right way
now, and it’s amazing each time I get on snow
how much better things get and how much
more my confidence rises.”
Amit Katwala @amitkatwala
For sponsorship opportunities with Pamela, contact
[email protected] or visit pamelathorburn.com
40 | November 9 2012 |
Winter Sports 2012 The Gear
Winter wonderland
Dakine’s first clothing collection is exclusive to Snow+Rock in the UK.
Dakine Clutch Jacket £400 and Pant £340
A glorious season of snow awaits all
ski and snowboard fans, but there’s no
point in hitting this year’s slopes in last
year’s gear. So we’ve partnered with
Snow+Rock, the UK’s leading snowsports retailer, to bring you a round-up
of all this season’s newest and coolest winter sports kit. And we’re out of
the gates with the very best in skiwear...
WIN
| 41
Hot productsRecon Mod Live £320A futuristic ‘James Bond’ type system that displays
stats on a screen inside your goggle lens. View text
messages, speed and altitude. Launched in Snow+Rock
last season, this season it’s now compatible
with iPhones and
available in more
goggles – including
the exclusive Oakley
Airwave (£500).
Salomon X Max Ski Boots, from £330The next step in custom boot- fitting.
Their custom mouldable shell is now 360
degrees, and the boots incorporate Twin
Frame and Max pivot technologies that
work in harmony to offer an amazing
on-snow experience. Salomon have just
opened their first UK Brand Stores in
Snow+Rock Croydon and Snow+Rock
Chill Factore, where you can now find
the largest range in the country.
To celebrate the launch, they’re
offering a pair of their Max boots
to one lucky reader. So, for
your chance to win, head to
sport-magazine.co.uk/
competitions, answer the simple
question and let us know your
boot size. Happy skiing!
Eider Tamos Jacket £400Fernuy Pant £200Smith I/O Goggle £159.99Salomon BBR 10 Skis £575
Kjus Men’s Formula Jacket £750 and Formula Pant £370
Kjus Women’s Helium Jacket £940 and Revolution Pant £470
42 | November 9 2012 |
Winter Sports 2012 The Gear
Hot productsOrtovox Zoom £199.99 A new avalanche transceiver
with digital 3 Smart Antenna.
Norrona Lofoten Gore-Tex Pro Shell Jacket £460Norrona Lofoten Gore-Tex Pro Shell Pant £400
Arc’teryx Women’s Sentinel Jacket £440 and Pant £350Atomic Millennium Skis £525
K2 Pilchuck Kit £159.99 Complete with
shovel and probe.
Black Diamond Compactor Poles £99.99Every snowboarder’s
friend! Folding poles for
backcountry hiking.
Backcountry skiing
Salomon Guardian Binding £319.99A new innovation that combines
the brand’s renowned downhill
performance with hike & ride
technology. The Guardian has a hike/
ride switch to easily convert to
climbing mode even with standard
Alpine boots, but the main difference
is the lower-profile chassis and wide
footprint, making it ideal for wider
skis on which power transfers
and control are important.
FlightsAccommodation
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outlets. All prices and offers are available for new bookings only and are subject to availability and change. Offer ends 30 November 2012. Payment by credit card will incur a 2.5% fee. All the flights and flight-inclusive holidays
in this advert are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. When you pay you will be supplied with an ATOL Certificate. Please ask for it and check to ensure that everything you booked is listed on it . Please see our booking
conditions for further information about financial protection and the ATOL Certificate visit www.atol.org.uk/ATOLCertificate.
The UK’s number 1 for ski holidays
Calls cost 10p per minute at all times from BT landlines. Other operator networks may vary.
For expert tips and our freshest prices
0871 231 5615 crystalski.co.uk/sport See us in-store
Soldeu Kitzbühel Mayrhofen Les Arcs La Tania Val Thorens Tignes Cervinia Borovets and more
Winter Sports 2012 The Gear
44 | November 9 2012 |
Thirty Two Shakedown Jacket £160Thirty Two Blahzay Pant £170Anon Helix Goggles £54.99RIDE Buckwild Snowboard £400
Hot productsVolcom CrossStone Jacket £170 Core snowboard
clothing brand
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Anon M1 Goggles £179.99 This exciting goggle innovation
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Snowboarding
Burton Women’s Delirium Jacket £170 Burton Women’s Fly Pant £160 Burton Lipstick Snowboard £395 Anon Haven Goggle £99.99K2 Emphasis Helmet £84.99
ContactSnow+Rock: www.snowandrock.com 0845 100 1000London and Southeast stores include: Covent Garden, Harrods, Kensington High Street, Kings Road, Monument, Victoria (The North Face)/Brighton, Chertsey, Croydon, Hemel Hempstead, Port Solent, Romford
46 | November 9 2012 |
Winter wizardryBrave the elements with our pick of the best ski gadgets
under £100 to take with you to the slopes this season
Oregon Scientific ATC3K Action CamClip it to your helmet, tape
your skiing prowess and
bore family members. This
shockproof cam can tape
up to two hours of action
– although if it takes you
that long to get down, it’s
probably not something
you want to share...
£50 | oregon
scientific.com
Skullcandy CassetteIf you’re desperate
for some musical
accompaniment while
you tear up the piste
and don’t want to risk
your safety by carrying
a boombox on one
shoulder, these are
perfect. The earpieces
are detachable, so you
can slip them into your
ski helmet or beanie.
£50 | skullcandy.com
hi-Fun Bluetooth GlovesTalk to the hand. Quite
literally – these gloves
connect to your phone
via Bluetooth and have
a microphone and
speaker built into the
thumb and little finger
so you can answer calls
without taking your
phone out. Looking
totally insane is a small
price to pay for such
convenience.
£50 | firebox.com
Heated GlovesThese could prove pretty handy if you find yourself with frozen
fingers on the slopes. Thanks to an inbuilt heating element, they’ll
heat up your extremities to a toasty 33 degrees. Your move, frostbite.
£30 | firebox.com
Talus ColdAvengerDarth Vader probably
doesn’t ski much, given
that he destroyed most
of the resorts on Hoth,
but if he did he’d keep
his face warm with the
ColdAvenger range.
It mixes cold air coming in
with the warm air you’ve
breathed out, to keep
things comfortable.
Range from £60 |
langtoninfo.co.uk
Advertising Feature
Chilling outIt’s that time of year again,
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If you are heading out you want
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48 | November 9 2012 |
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The El Norte is a heavy-duty weather
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A sumptuously warm
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| 49
Starter for 10
1Claude Makelele iS no More
Not in the physical sense – the former Chelsea
midfielder is fit and well, as far as we know – but
the ’Makelele role’ he made famous continues to wane.
Having a minimum of one midfield spoiler who sits in
front of the defence and wins back possession was
de rigueur for the Premier League’s top teams for a
time. But Manchester United have shown no desire to
replace Owen Hargreaves or the long-absent Darren
Fletcher, continuing to play cultured, deep-lying
playmakers such as Michael Carrick, Tom Cleverley or
a withdrawn Paul Scholes in front of the back four.
Manchester City, regularly accused of being
conservative last season, have offloaded destroyer-in-
chief Nigel De Jong, while Chelsea’s supposed enforcer
John Obi Mikel seems to have licence to get forward
this season. Tottenham have also, in the absence of
Scott Parker, regularly played the skilful Moussa
Dembélé as their deepest-lying midfielder. This shift
in midfield balance may offer less protection for
defences – but it’s making for some goal-filled clashes
between the Prem’s big guns.
2fergie’S fantaSy payS off
With Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez,
Danny Welbeck and a plethora of attacking
midfielders on Manchester United’s books, some were
surprised that Sir Alex Ferguson chose to invest the
biggest chunk of his summer transfer budget in
another striker (and an injury-prone, 29-year-old one
at that). But Fergie has shown what all good Football
Manager competitors have long known: when a ‘worldy’
(one of the world’s best players) becomes available,
you sign him up without hesitation.
Robin van Persie has thrived with eight crucial goals
in 10 Premier League games for his new club, already
looking £24m very well spent. Arsenal, who took a
two-for-one approach of signing two inferior, if
younger, players in Olivier Giroud and Lucas
Podolski, have inevitably missed the focal point
that the Dutchman gave their attack.
3 Mark HugHeS’ pantS are on fire
“This club will never be in this situation again
while I’m with the club,” said Mark Hughes in
the aftermath of QPR’s relegation scrap last season.
Unfortunately, Rangers’ performances so far this
season – which have garnered the team just four points
from 10 games – have made Hughes’ promise thus far
fraudulent. He has a world-class goalkeeper in Julio
Cesar (right), but the Brazil international appears
unnerved by the level of defending – and we use the
term loosely – in front of him. Disorganisation in attack
and defence, plus too many players on champagne
money giving lemonade performances, are QPR’s
problems. And those are faults for which the gaffer
often takes the rap. Hughes is in serious trouble.
4CHelSea’S tHree aMigoS
leave HoleS
Adding the talents of Eden Hazard and Oscar
to a squad already containing Juan Mata seemed like a
surplus of attacking flair. However thanks to Roberto
di Matteo’s big, brass cojones, the trio have regularly
started matches together – and each has shone.
It’s the reason why Chelsea have been so thrilling to
watch – but behind them, problems are emerging.
Fitting all three into the same team means Chelsea can
be vulnerable – especially on the flanks, where cover
in front of Branislav Ivanovic and Ashley Cole has been
lacking. In learning how to attack in a new way, it seems
Chelsea have forgotten how to defend. The balance
may have to shift as their push for the title goes on. >
| November 9 2012 | 51
With the first 10 rounds of Premier
League games gone, we reveal
10 crucial things we’ve learned
from the 2012-13 season so far
Mik
e H
ew
itt/
Ge
tty
Ima
ge
s
Premier League
5Luis suarez is irresistibLe
He’s not clinical enough. He scores special
goals. He moans at the ref. He’s denied
legitimate penalties. He runs past defenders. He dives
over their challenges. He chucks himself around
in celebration. Last season’s ban for racial abuse
disgraced Luis Suarez and overshadowed everything
he did on the pitch, but this year we’ve just been able to
concentrate on watching him play – and he’s been pure
box office. Keep your Widow Twanky or your Christopher
Biggins, the Premier League has a great panto villain.
Good or bad, we can’t take our eyes off Suarez.
6sunderLand need a PLan b
Martin O’Neill’s strategy in signing Steven
Fletcher made sense: keep the powerful
Scotland striker busy via a steady supply of crosses
from the flanks. However, while Fletcher scored five
early goals, his supply lines have dried up due to James
McClean’s and Adam Johnson’s unimpressive form on
the wings. Neither has been able to regularly get into
crossing positions. With a meagre six league goals this
season, the Black Cats need an alternative attacking
plan – fast. A return to form for the mercurial Stephane
Sessegnon, at times so brilliant last season but so far
disappointing this time, cannot come quickly enough.
7saints on course for 104
A quarter of the way through their Premier
League games and Southampton had conceded
a whopping 26 goals in nine games. Keep up this rate
and they’ll have let in 104 goals by the end of the season
– easily breaking the 38-game Premier League record
held by hapless Derby, a team who finished bottom with
11 points in 2007-08. Even they conceded only 89.
8big sam is Premier cLass
West Ham were the third best team in the
Championship last season. They also lost three
matches and drew one against the other promoted
sides, Reading and Southampton. Yet now the trio are in
the Premier League, the boot is on the other foot – and
it’s Big Sam who’s doing the kicking (probably up to
a big man in what he likely calls ‘the mixer’).
Allardyce is easy to pigeonhole as a caricature; a
burly, route-one gaffer who stays up late pleasuring
himself over ProZone stats and occasionally prank-
calling Arsene Wenger. All of that may be true, but
he’s an extremely adept Premier League manager.
He performed wonders at Bolton, did a decent job at
Blackburn and now that he’s hauled West Ham up, they
look the most organised and capable of the promoted
teams. The Hammers have shown enough to suggest
they’ll finish this season safely clear of the relegation
struggle – and they have their manager to thank.
9 La Liga saLe is on
We all know that British players are
overpriced, but what this season has further
illustrated is the comparative bargains that are to be
had from La Liga. Santi Cazorla looks Arsenal’s best
player and, at £16.5m, the Spanish international cost
less than Liverpool paid for Stewart Downing or Jordan
Henderson in 2011. Meanwhile, midfielder Michu has
netted six goals in 10 games and cost Swansea just
£2m – less than a fifth of the price that West Ham
paid for Matt Jarvis this summer. With his Swansea
teammate Chico Flores and Wigan’s Ivan Ramis also
settling in well, it’s likely that Radamel Falcao won’t
be the only La Liga star Premier League clubs will
be eyeing up in the January sales.
10footbaLL takes the
faLL for racism
So it turns out that everyone in football is
(allegedly) a whopping racist: players, fans, officials,
T-shirts (we should probably throw a couple more
‘allegedlys’ in there to cover ourselves, because clearly
that isn’t quite true). Of course, it’s actually a serious
– and seriously depressing – matter that accusations of
racism have reared their head with startling regularity
in 2012. However, piously blaming the amorphous
concept of ‘football’ doesn’t entirely make sense.
Obviously the Premier League, FA, fans and clubs
need to examine what’s happened and do much
more to fight discrimination in all
forms. However, kicking a ball around
a pitch – or going to watch people do
this – doesn’t make you a racist.
Football is the country’s national
game. As such, it’s a mirror that
reflects undercurrents of feeling
that are already present in society.
Football doesn’t create them,
it’s just a high-pressure
channel through which
ignorant or ugly
feelings that are
already present
reveal themselves.
And, frankly,
that’s a far more
horrific thought
than the game
itself somehow
being entirely
at fault.
“keeP your WidoW tWanky or your christoPher biggins. the Premier League has a great Panto viLLain”
52 | November 9 2012 |
Cliv
e B
run
sk
ill/G
ett
y Im
ag
es
, Ia
n K
ing
ton
/AF
P/G
ett
y Im
ag
es
Your children enjoy the winter,we enjoy the brake.
www.continental-tyres.co.uk
Winter tyres from Continental.
When braking counts.
Awarded Best Winter Tyre at the 2012 Auto Express Product Awards
Chris Robshaw
“we’re facing some of the best teams in the world in the coming weeks – what better way to prove how far we’ve come?”
54 | November 9 2012 |
| 55
“we probably played it a bit safe at times in the six nations – hopefully we can now be a bit more creative”
england kick off their autumn series of fixtures against a physical fiji side tomorrow. for captain chris robshaw, the next four weeks look set to represent his toughest test to date in international rugby
Forwardthinking
to clumsily paraphrase Harold Wilson, a year is a long time in international rugby. Just ask Chris Robshaw. This time a
mere 12 months ago, the Harlequins
man watched from afar as English rugby
stumbled through a post-World Cup crisis,
with players falling over themselves to
announce their retirement and a coach whose
grip on the job seemed to have slipped.
Fast-forward 12 months, however, and the
shiny new shirt England will sport when they
take to the field against Fiji tomorrow is not
the only difference down Twickenham way.
Head coach Stuart Lancaster has rebuilt the
national team, reinjecting a sense of pride and
passion along the way – and Chris Robshaw is
the man at the centre of his plans.
Having been picked by Lancaster to front
his revolution, Robshaw led England to within
a blade of grass of Six Nations glory before
returning to his club side Harlequins to inspire
them to their first ever Premiership title.
He then travelled to South Africa to captain
England against the two-time world
champions. Not a bad year, then – but
Robshaw has never been one to rest on his
laurels. With World Cup pools to be drawn in
December, victories are the priority over the
next four weeks – and the inspirational flanker
is ready to lead from the front once more.
how has your year with england been?uu “Busy! It’s been a great experience, and
there are obviously a lot of highs and a lot we
need to learn from. The good thing is we’re
a young team, and we can look back and say
we’ve all played a season of international
rugby. We can take that experience forward to
face the big four southern-hemisphere sides
now – that’s exciting in its own right.“
how do you think the team handled playing in south africa?uu “I think a lot of us hadn’t played in that
kind of atmosphere before – in particular at
Ellis Park. The atmosphere was incredible and
it probably blew us away a bit in the first
15-20 minutes, when we gave South Africa
a lead. Once they led, they closed it out well,
and that intensity and professionalism
is something we can learn from. It was
something we hadn’t experienced before,
and it’s about taking all these little things
and hopefully bringing them into our own
game. We know we’re going to have to learn
quickly, because we’ll need four different
gameplans in the next four weekends –
all these sides bring different threats.“
happy with the outcome of the tour?uu “It was good to finish with a draw, but
we obviously went there to win a tour and
we didn’t manage that. There are a huge
amount of positives to take from it, which
we can. Hopefully we can get a bit of
revenge with our home crowd behind us.“
in the second test in south africa, the backs seemed to start being a bit more creative. is that something we can look forward to from this side?uu “We probably played it a bit safe at
times in the Six Nations, because we were
such a new team and it takes a bit of time
for combinations to work. We’ve been
together longer now, and we know each
other’s games, so hopefully we can be
more creative. It takes time to learn whether
certain players step before contact, look
to offload or run hard. It’s these little things
that we were slowly starting to learn come
the end of the summer – so hopefully we
will take it on another step in the next
few weeks.“
how big are these four games?uu “Massive. I’m sure everyone knows that
these games count towards the rankings
for the World Cup – and the pools are
drawn in December, so these aren’t just
meaningless games. Victory or defeat will
mean a harder or an easier pool come 2015,
so it’s a huge challenge. Besides all that, we
want to be perceived as a good national side,
and we’re facing some of the best teams in
the world in the next few weeks. What better
way to prove how far we’ve come?“
and the world cup is on english soil, of course. how important does that make home games between now and 2015?uu “Yeah, of course it’s important. But we
want to win our home games anyway. We’ve
made no secret about where we want to
be by the World Cup and what we want to
achieve, and the honeymoon period is over.
It’s just about results now – we need to go
out there and start achieving them.“
have you set a target for the autumn internationals, then?uu “I know it sounds like a cliché, but it
literally is about taking each game as a
separate challenge, because the four sides
we’re facing are so different. It’s about
breaking the opposition down and being a
bit more scientific to find their weaknesses,
learn how to defend, and work out a gameplan
to defeat some of the best sides in the world.
You want to win every game as a player, of
course you do, but it’s all about an end goal –
and we’re building to the World Cup.“
obviously the world cup is still three years away, but how exciting is it to be part of this young squad right now?uu “Yeah, it’s massive being involved in
rugby right now. Just look at the lift the
Olympics and the Paralympics gave everyone
recently – and the next major sporting event
in England is the Rugby World Cup, so to be
able to be part of something like that is huge.
We want to get youngsters playing more
as well, and make it something big for the
next generation.“
and, of course, it’s the lions tour next year. is that something on your mind? uu “Every player wants to play for the Lions,
so of course it’s at the back of our minds that
it’s a Lions year. But that’s still over half a
season away, and there’s a lot of rugby yet to
play. There’s so much going on at the moment
that you can’t think about that. We just all have
to focus on our game and keep playing well.“
Mark Coughlan @coffers83
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gameInjury looks set to rule Steven Finn out of next week’s first Test against India, but England’s giant paceman is still looking to make his mark – both on this tour and in a big year of cricket to come
Waiting
| November 9 2012 | 57
Steven Finn
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Seventeen months ago, against Sri Lanka at Lord’s, the then 22-year-old Steven Finn became the youngest English
cricketer in history to take 50 Test
wickets. It was a record he inherited from
the greatest of all his predecessors,
Sir Ian Botham, and rounded off a perfect
six-month period in which he had contributed
in no small measure to England’s historic
Ashes win in Australia. This, it seemed, was
a young cricketer going places – and fast.
Yet, with England set to begin one of the
toughest series in Test cricket – away in India
– next Thursday, Finn’s involvement looks set
to be restricted to an all-too familiar role of
recent times: watching from the sidelines.
A thigh strain picked up in the first warm-up
game of the current tour has robbed the
Middlesex man of a likely starting place
alongside Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad
in the England pace attack – but the fact is
that, since that Sri Lanka game in early June
2011, Finn has featured in only four of 16
Test matches for his country.
“I made my international debut in Test
cricket and was almost pigeonholed as a
Test cricketer for the first 12 months of
my career,“ reflects Finn in an interview
with Sport. “Now I’ve developed my
limited-overs skills and variations, and
become a better bowler in one-day and
Twenty20 cricket without nailing down that
Test spot. Obviously that’s something that is
high on my agenda of things to do, because
Test cricket is what you want to be playing.
I mean, I love playing Twenty20 and one-day
cricket, but playing Test cricket for your
country is on a whole different level.“
False economy
Standing 6ft 7ins, Finn offers a brand of
pace and bounce no one else in the current
England squad can match, and would seem
to be ideally set up for Test cricket.
His recently developed habit of flicking
the stumps on his way through his bowling
action infuriates some, but it is his economy
rate that many identify as the reason he is
yet to become an England Test regular.
“I suppose when I started, I was a little bit
expensive,“ he admits. “But I still managed to
take wickets, which is probably what kept
me in the team. I mean, my economy rate in
Tests [3.66] isn’t terrible – but it’s not great
either. I set myself very high standards,
and it’s probably not up to scratch by those
standards. But I’ve proved in the past 18
months, when I’ve played limited-overs
cricket for England, that my economy rate
has been as good as anyone’s. I think I go at
4.67 runs an over in one-day internationals,
and my T20 rate is okay as well [he’s right –
it’s 6.70] – and there’s no reason why
I can’t transfer that into Test cricket.
“The criticism of my knack of leaking runs
hasn’t been unfair, but I was young at the
time and I’d back myself now to be able to
hold an end up and not give away as many
runs. I feel like I’ve learned and developed a
lot over the last 18 months – hopefully, if I
get a chance in the Test team in India, I can
show people and prove them wrong.“
Finn is an affable character whose
laid-back demeanour and penchant for
drifting into chats about his beloved Football
Manager make it easy to miss the ambition
that burns within. Ask him whether he
would like to take the new ball for England,
however, and it soon becomes clear.
“The guys who have opened the bowling
for the past two or three years have been
exceptional,“ he says. “Broady and Jimmy
have both been brilliant, so I think it would be
hard for me to knock either of them off their
perch. I’m not saying it’s not something I’m
aspiring to, though, because I’ve enjoyed
taking the new ball in one-day and T20
cricket – and it’s something I’ve done for
Middlesex since I was 18 or 19 years old. >
“It would be nice to say I was the last person to take Tendulkar’s wicket in Tests – definitely something to tell the grandkids, but that’s a long way off yet”
The mighty Finn: dismissing Jacques
Kallis in the third Test against South Africa
at Lord’s in August, and (right) taking on
the West Indies at Edgbaston in June
Steven Finn
58 | November 9 2012 |
It’s something I’m accustomed to and really
enjoy, but I just have to make sure I’m fit and
ready for whatever the team needs me to do.“
ConTrollEd AggrEssIonRecovering from the aforementioned thigh
strain is number one on that particular list,
because a fit and firing Finn could prove
quite the handful for a transitional Indian
batting line-up.
“I’ve always enjoyed bowling on subcontinent
pitches because you need a different set of
skills – and I think that suits me,“ he says.
“You need to be able to reverse-swing the ball,
your changes of angles on the crease are
important, and having that bit of pace also
helps on those sorts of wickets.
“There’s definitely room for aggression,
too. We saw that India struggled with the
short ball when they came over to England
last summer, and just because the wickets
are slower there’s no reason why you can’t
still use it. Aggression is a very big part
of how we bowl as a unit – not words or
sledging, but in the way you bowl the ball and
your body language. That’s why I used to love
watching Glenn McGrath so much.“
Finn is not the first England bowler to call
out the Australian great as his hero – Stuart
Broad did so in an interview ahead of the
recent World Twenty20 – but he also reserves
special mention for a current teammate.
“I’ve been lucky enough to share a lot of
time with Jimmy [Anderson] in the dressing
room, and he’s a great person to speak to,“
he reveals. “I think he sees a bit of me in him
when he was younger, but he’s been there,
done it and experienced exactly what I have in
the early part of my career. I’m lucky to have
people like him around me to help me through
tougher times.“
A nEw brEEdIf Finn is the coming man in England’s bowling
attack, then the 24-year-old Virat Kohli is his
equivalent in the Indian batting line-up. It’s no
surprise to discover that the two are already
well acquainted. “Kohli is an exceptional player
and he always has been,“ smiles Finn. “We’ve
been playing against each other since we
were 17, and even then it was obvious that he
was an excellent batsman. He already has a
very good record in Test cricket, and an even
better one in one-dayers – but he’s not
invincible, and we have a very good track record
when it comes to getting the big men out.“
On which note, how does Finn feel about
the prospect of bowling at the great Sachin
Tendulkar in what many are suggesting could
be the little master’s final Test series?
“There’s been talk of that, but we’ll see how
it goes,“ he says. “The bloke averages 55 in
Test cricket and obviously still loves the game;
it’d be a shame to see him on the downward
slope, but you can’t play the man – you have to
play only the batsman in front of you, no matter
what his name is. It would be nice to say I was
the last person to take Sachin Tendulkar’s
wicket in Tests – definitely something to tell the
grandkids, but that’s a long way off yet.“
In the more immediate future, Finn admits
more than a passing interest in playing in the
IPL – but only if his schedule allows. “Playing
for England is something I’ve dreamed about
since I was a kid, and that’s my number-one
priority,“ he affirms. “The IPL is exciting and
would be a great tournament to play in, but
only when the time is right. I’d never do
anything to compromise my chances when it
comes to playing for England – especially in
the next 12 months, when he have a tour to
New Zealand, a Champions Trophy and huge
back-to-back Ashes series.
“I feel as though I’ve had a good year and
made strides from where I was last year, but
I’m still a long way from where I want to be.
I want to be a regular in the Test side for all
those big games – hopefully I can sit here this
time next year having achieved that.“
Tony Hodson @tonyhodson1
Steven Finn is an ambassador for Graham watches
– see graham-london.com. Turn to page 62 for our
match preview of England’s first Test against India
In 68 innings as an
international bowler
(31 Test, 24 ODI,
13 T20), Finn has
ended wicketless
in only nine09G
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The Final of Urban Golf’s search for London’s Best Golfer was played out
over a brutal set-up on Pebble
Beach. Evil pin positions and slick
greens asked plenty of questions of
the competitors’ putting strokes, and with
such a prize up for grabs it was hardly
surprising that there were a few
‘questionable’ shots.
John Willcox provided the most compelling
evidence that the greens were on the quick
side: when two putts would have qualified him
for the last six, he was still wielding the flat
stick five blows later... needless to say, the
putter was given the ‘treatment’.
The 24 players making the final were
quickly whittled down to firstly 12, then six
and finally the three who played out a six-hole
final for all the glory and bragging rights that
accompany the title of London’s Best Golfer.
The first to secure his place in the final was
Tony Moss, who is widely recognised as
one of the finest players in the indoor game.
Silky-swinging scratch handicapper Sam
Maloney came into the final with serene
progress followed by Liam Gallagher, who
until now had a round of 70 in a club medal
at Royal North Devon in 2004 as his finest
achievement to date.
The third hole of the final (the 9th at Pebble
Beach) proved to be decisive as all three
players missed the green, leaving the
opportunity for any one of them to get up and
down and take advantage. It was a clumsy
chip by Maloney, which caught a slope and
sped across the green and down a cliff, that
proved to be the big moment – and resulted in
a triple-bogey seven as Gallagher moved into
a two-stroke lead.
On the final tee, Gallagher enjoyed a huge
slice of luck. His drive went left and perilously
close to the ocean, somehow ricocheting off
the rocks and back into play! As all three
players negotiated the final hole in steady
fashion, the stage was set for Liam to
two-putt for glory. As he did so, he held back
the tears and punched the air in delight, in the
process securing his place in the history
books as London’s Best Golfer 2012.
Liam managed to gather himself and
silence the galleries who had enjoyed more
than their share of Asahi Beer on offer in the
evening, to deliver words of praise to his
fellow competitors and the sponsors,
stopping short at thanking the greenkeeper.
Thankfully, for many of those who didn’t
make the grade with their playing ability, we
also had a draw to reveal London’s Luckiest
Golfer. This turned out to be a near hysterical
Matt Penn, who may also win the title of
London’s Least Trusting Golfer as he took
much convincing that it wasn’t a prank call!
Congratulations to both Liam and Matt, who
will each be taking a friend on the dream trip
provided by Pebble Beach Resorts (return
flights, accommodation at the Lodge at
Spanish Bay, rounds of golf at Pebble Beach,
Spanish Bay and Spyglass). Like us, you will be
very jealous indeed and making a concerted
effort to either play better or be luckier next
year.... we’ve cornered the horseshoe market,
so you’ll have to try something else!
| 59
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WONDERBALL!
www.urbangolf.co.uk
Swing when you’re winning: victor Liam Gallagher
Liam Gallagher is crowned London’s Best Golfer...
584,100Pounds won by Phil Taylor this year. Some may say he’s
not the player he was, but nobody has won more in 2012
De
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7 DaysNOV 9-NOV 15
HIGHLIGHTS
» Cricket: India v England – 1st Test » p62
» Boxing: Klitschko v Wach » p62
» Football: Premier League Preview» p64
» Rugby Union: England v Fiji » p66
» Football: Lazio v Roma » p67OUR PICK OF THE ACTION FROM THE SPORTING WEEK AHEAD
60 | November 9 2012 |
SATURDAY DARTS | WILLIAM HILL GRAND SLAM OF DARTS | WOLVERHAMPTON CIVIC HALL | SKY SPORTS 1 7PM
The Power remains onLike most tournaments on the PDC schedule,
the William Hill Grand Slam of Darts has
become an annual benefit for Phil ‘The Power’
Taylor. Five times it has been contested, and
four times Taylor has walked away with the
crown. The shock came in 2010, when he was
defeated by moustachioed maestro Steve
‘The Bronzed Adonis’ Beaton in the last eight.
The Grand Slam is one of the rare events
on the PDC calendar when players from its
rival, the British Darts Organisation, are
invited. Taylor has shown, though, that he is
happy to annihilate anyone who comes up
against him, wherever they’re from.
And as ever, he will start this tournament
as a warm favourite. He has four wins to his
name this year, although for what feels like
the first time since darts was invented, he
has contested just as many tournaments
where he has not emerged as champion. That
might give a sliver of hope to his opponents
– but, in truth, the averages don’t lie: now 52,
Taylor has still played some of the best darts
of his life in 2012 and remains the man to beat.
Four men have emerged as the chasing
pack. Reigning world champion Adrian
‘Jackpot’ Lewis, brilliant Dutch youngster
Michael van Gerwen, James Wade and the
Australian Simon Whitlock, who won this
year’s European Championship.
Of those, van Gerwen is perhaps the man
most likely, having scooped the PDC World
Grand Prix last month and followed that with
victory at the Players Championship last
weekend. He’s in form, then. Whether that’s
enough to see off the perennial Power
remains quite another thing altogether.
November 9th-11th at Earls Court
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7 Days
SATURDAY BOXING | WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO v MARIUSZ WACH | O2 WORLD ARENA, HAMBURG | ESPN 10PM
Just weeks after his trainer of almost a decade, the legendary Emanuel
Steward, passed away, Wladimir
Klitschko (58-3, 50 KOs) is putting
his world heavyweight titles on
the line against Polish-born giant
Mariusz Wach (27-0, 15 KOs).
After 16 fights unbeaten with
Steward in his corner, Klitschko was
understandably rocked by the sad
news. “I will miss our time together,”
he said. “The long talks about boxing,
the world and life itself. Most of all,
I will miss our friendship.”
Fulfilling Steward’s role at
ringside on Saturday will be
30-year-old American heavyweight
Johnathon Banks, who’s more used
to trading blows with the world
champ than directing them. One of
Klitschko’s sparring partners, Banks
is preparing for his own fight on
November 17 against Seth Mitchell in
Atlantic City. He is, however, well
versed in Steward’s ways, having
come up through the ranks at the
trainer’s own Kronk Gym in Detroit.
It’s Klitschko’s first return to
Hamburg since he dethroned
David Haye there in 2011, but in
Wach he faces an entirely different
physical prospect. “He is extremely
dangerous because his size and his
range is greater than mine,” said
Klitschko of his 6ft 7½ins challenger.
Of Wach’s 15 knockouts, seven
have come in his past seven fights,
backing up the view that the big man
has finally learned how to make his
size count. One of those was against
Ireland’s Kevin McBride last summer,
in what was arguably Wach’s first
real test – and one he passed with
flying colours. He knocked McBride
out cold in the fourth round with
a straight right.
If Klitschko is mentally right, his
experience should be enough to see
him through. If he’s not, Wach might
just be big enough to take advantage.
Klitschko fighting on
62 | November 9 2012 |
ThURSDAY > CRICKET | INDIA v ENGLAND: 1ST TEST | SARDAR PATEL STADIUM, AHMEDABAD | SKy SPORTS 1 4AM
Cook leads KP reintegrationAlastair Cook does not seem the type to be fazed by a challenge. That’s good,
because he has one on his non-sweaty
hands next week: his first series as
full-time Test captain begins and it’s
away from home, on the subcontinent
pitches where England struggle.
On top of that, England have had
a poor 2012 (three Test wins in 11
matches), plus he also has a new
opening partner – in all likelihood
Nick Compton – to help bed in.
The more headline-grabbing story
of Kevin Pietersen’s ‘reintegration’
is less of a concern. KP has a good
record against India and, keen to
impress his his IPL paymasters –
sorry, we mean keen to impress the
ECB – he’s a good bet to be England’s
top run-scorer. The man most likely
to do the same for India is the
sensational Virat Kohli, who looks
every inch the emerging superstar.
At the top of the order, however, India
are creaking. It’s been more than two
years since either opener, Virender
Sehwag or Gautam Gambhir, scored
a Test century, and they could be
vulnerable to England’s pace attack.
Spin, however, is often key on
slow Indian pitches. How England’s
batsmen handle the turn duo of
Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan
Ojha could decide the series.
Previous experience suggests lots of
attempted sweep shots, a mournful
glance at the umpire, then the trudge
back to the pavilion. We shall see.
62.15Kevin Pietersen’s Test average
against India – his highest against
any nation apart from Bangladesh
A few days after putting their Champions League hopes on the line, Manchester City will look to prove they’re still title contenders at domestic level. Sunday’s visit of Tottenham
comes on the back of disappointing results for
both teams last weekend, with City dropping
two points at West Ham and Spurs suffering
a shock defeat at home to Wigan.
Neither side managed to score a single
goal, either, with two disgruntled strikers
being pulled off far too early for their liking.
Jermain Defoe stormed down the tunnel at
White Hart Lane after being swapped for
Emmanuel Adebayor with the game 57
minutes old, while Roberto Mancini was on the
receiving end of a Mario Balotelli death stare
after he hooked the fiery Italian with 20
minutes left at Upton Park.
Of the two decisions, it was that of Spurs
boss Andre Villas-Boas which was most
baffling – the home crowd greeting Defoe’s
exit with jeers of frustration. Having blasted
City’s best chance to get on the scoresheet
over the bar from all of six yards out,
however, Balotelli’s early exit was perhaps
more easily explained.
City’s goal tally of 18 is some way short of
the 36 they’d notched after the first 10 games
of last season. In a move to remedy that,
Mancini boldly opted for an unfamiliar front
three of Balotelli, Edin Dzeko and Carlos Tevez
at the Boleyn Ground. Considering the result,
it would be no surprise to see him revert to
type on Sunday.
Villas-Boas, on the other hand, is unlikely to
change his tactics and field former City man
Adebayor alongside Defoe. However they line
up, both managers will demand more from
their forwards. A five-goal thriller – like last
year’s 3-2 here – would remedy the drought.
764 | November 9 2012 |
7 Days
Sunday MAN city v totteNhAM | etihAd stAdiuM
sky sports 1 1.30pM
Feeling blue
Sunday chelseA v liverpool
stAMford bridge | sky sports 1 4pM
Out of four meetings between these sides last season, it was Liverpool who fared better, winning three - a tally including both Premier League fixtures. But that was when the likes of Maxi Rodriguez and Andy
Carroll were helping out with the goals. Now, manager Brendan
Rodgers is counting down the days to the opening of the January
transfer window, when he can bring in another pair of goalscoring feet
to add to those of Luis Suarez – which secured a 1-1 draw against
Newcastle last weekend. Goals have also been a concern for Chelsea,
who have failed to keep a clean sheet in their past six games. But with
John Terry available again after his four-match ban, Roberto di Matteo
will hope to draw a line under that statistic on Sunday.
Saturday ArseNAl v fulhAM | eMirAtes stAdiuM | 3pM
Thomas Vermaelen scored at both ends in this fixture last season, but the way this term is going for the Arsenal captain, he’s likely to repeat only half of that on Saturday. The Belgian is not enjoying his best form of late, with
his slip at Old Trafford last weekend clinically punished by Robin van
Persie three minutes into the Gunners’ 2-1 defeat. In Fulham, they face
a side unbeaten in four games and on a high after stealing a point from
Everton last time out, despite having been on the back foot for much of
the game. With Arsenal suffering their worst start to a season under
Arsene Wenger, and seemingly with one of their worst ever players
involved (yes Andre Santos, we’re looking at you), a bad result on
Saturday could leave Arsenal drifting dangerously far from the top four.
Premier League There were goals galore when Man City met Tottenham last season, but just the one would please either team this time
Their goalless
draw with West
Ham last weekend
was the first time in
almost seven months
the champions failed
to score in a game
saturday WIGAN v West brom
dW stAdIum | 3pm
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saturday AstoN vIllA v
mAN utd | vIllA pArK
espN 5.30pm
sunday NeWcAstle v West hAm
st jAmes’ pArK | 3pm
saturday southAmptoN v
sWANseA | st mAry’s | 3pm
The continuing positivity from Saints boss Nigel Adkins is admirable, but also a bit sad. You wonder what he can do to
arrest a run of eight defeats in 10, in
which his side has conceded 28 goals
– equalling the worst ever at this stage
in the Premier League. Still, history is
on their side this weekend: Swansea
haven’t won at Southampton since 1953.
They’ve only played each other eight
times in that period, but still – it all helps.
After a run of three defeats in September, Wigan are now looking at a potential hat- trick of wins, having beaten West
Ham and Spurs on the bounce in the
league. Roberto Martinez will have to
get his tactics right again against West
Brom – fifth in the league and back to
winning ways after two defeats to
late goals with Monday’s win against
Southampton. The Baggies are, thus far,
the surprise package of the season.
What better way to follow the high of your first away win in 14 league games since January than with a visit from Manchester United? We can think of
plenty actually, but at least United
are struggling in front of goal at the
moment – according to their manager,
that is. Sir Alex Ferguson bemoaned his
side’s wastefulness after they scored
just twice against Arsenal to go top of
the table last weekend. Rubbish, eh?
Kevin Nolan and Andy Carroll will look to get one over on their old team on Sunday, when the Hammers go to St James’ Park. Nolan was on the scoresheet for
Newcastle in their past two meetings
with West Ham – most recently scoring
the third in the Magpies’ 5-0 thrashing
of the London club in January 2011.
But that was pre-Big Sam – they’re a
tougher team to beat these days, as last
Saturday’s draw with Man City proved.
| 65
saturday stoKe v qpr
brItANNIA stAdIum | 3pm
There’s not a whole lot of positivity around this one. A combined record of only one league win, and with both sides having hit the back of the net just eight
times each so far this season, reflects
the fact the Potters have drawn the
majority of their games, and QPR are
clearly struggling. Tony Pulis’ side is yet
to lose at home, though, so he will be
confident of at least a point. QPR’s wait
for a first victory is surely set to go on.
Man Utd 10 8 0 2 26 14 24
Chelsea 10 7 2 1 22 10 23
Man City 10 6 4 0 18 9 22
Everton 10 4 5 1 19 13 17
West Brom 10 5 2 3 15 11 17
Tottenham 10 5 2 3 17 14 17
Arsenal 10 4 3 3 15 8 15
Fulham 10 4 3 3 21 16 15
West Ham 10 4 3 3 13 11 15
Newcastle 10 3 5 2 12 14 14
Swansea 10 3 3 4 15 14 12
Liverpool 10 2 5 3 13 15 11
Wigan 10 3 2 5 11 16 11
Norwich 10 2 4 4 8 18 10
Stoke 10 1 6 3 8 10 9
Sunderland 9 1 6 2 6 9 9
Aston Villa 10 2 3 5 8 14 9
Reading 9 0 5 4 12 18 5
QPR 10 0 4 6 8 19 4
Southampton 10 1 1 8 14 28 4
P W D L F A Pts
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Premier League table
Liverpool have fired
in more shots off
target than any
other team in the
Premier League88
saturday evertoN v suNderlANd
GoodIsoN pArK | 3pm
David Moyes was furious with his side for dropping two points at Fulham last weekend, which doesn’t bode well for
Sunderland’s chances on Saturday. The
Mackems were beaten at home by Aston
Villa last time out, leaving them with
just one win in their past 17 matches.
They’ve also registered an average of
one shot on target per game in their
past three – suggesting things aren’t
about to get much better, either.
saturday reAdING v NorWIch
mAdejsKI stAdIum | 3pm
Having picked up seven points from their past three league games, Norwich are piling the pressure on the likes of Reading, who are still without a league win this
season. Brian McDermott’s side won a
hard-earned point at QPR last weekend,
but are desperately in need of the boost
a first win would give them. Last time
they met at the Madejski, this game
ended 3-3, with a penalty and sending
off; so don’t dismiss this as dull just yet.
66 | November 9 2012 |
SUNDAY RUGBY LEAGUE | AUTUMN INTERNATIONAL: ENGLAND v FRANCE | CITY OF SALFORD STADIUM | BBC TwO 5PM
Da
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SAtUrDAY RUGBY UNION | qBE AUTUMN INTERNATIONALS: ENGLAND v FIjI | TwICkENhAM | SkY SPORTS 1 2.30PM
International rugby is back, and with
the southern hemisphere’s finest in
action across the home nations over
the next four weeks, attention turns
to the IRB rankings. That’s because
the world Cup pools for 2015 are
being drawn on December 3, just
two days after the final international
of 2012, and everyone will of course
be desperate to be seeded as high
as possible to avoid potential pitfalls
– otherwise known as the All Blacks.
First up at Twickenham are the
hard-hitting Fijians. Captain Chris
Robshaw has indicated (in our
interview on pages 54-55) that the
honeymoon period is over for Stuart
Lancaster, and England’s record of
two wins and a draw from the past
15 against their upcoming quartet
of opponents speaks for itself.
The test for Lancaster, then, is to
coax his side to the next level. Danny
Care and Toby Flood (pictured) find
themselves leading from pivotal
positions – they will be key to England
discovering a balanced gameplan
between expansive bums-out-of-
seats rugby and the pragmatism
that brings results. Injuries mean it
will be fascinating to see whether
Lancaster gives the likes of Tom
Youngs, joe Launchbury and Freddie
Burns a chance. Two wins from four
would be nice; three would be great.
Elsewhere tomorrow, an
injury-ravaged Ireland need a big
performance against South Africa
(BBC Two 5.30pm) – particularly
because they play only one more
Test this month and sit seventh in
the IRB rankings – while wales start
their autumn at home to Argentina
(BBC One 2.30pm). Then, on Sunday,
the Scots welcome the All Blacks to
Murrayfield (BBC One 2.30pm).
Scotland actually have the best
record against the Tri Nations sides
since the 2007 world Cup, having
won three and lost three. On the flip
side, they’ve lost by an average of 32
points in their previous five games
against the All Blacks. It could be a
long afternoon north of the border.
If last week’s clash between these two is anything to go by, this should be a walk in the park for
England. France proved stiffer opposition than
the Welsh a week earlier, but the 44-6 scoreline
suggests they will have to improve massively if
they are to trouble an impressive England side.
Three tries from centre Kallum Watkins (left)
suggest he will be a starter when the World Cup
kicks off in 12 months, and young props Lee
Mossop and Chris Hill announced their arrivals
on the international stage with performances
strong enough to challenge the old guard.
France were disrupted early on in the game
when full-back Cyril Stacul ended up in hospital
after a high tackle from Gareth Ellis. They also
lost back-row forward Gregory Mounis to injury
in the second half – leaving both players as
serious doubts for this Sunday’s meeting.
Skipper Olivier Elima was magnificent in
fronting a losing cause at Hull, putting in some
huge hits and carrying the ball with real purpose.
If France are to have any chance at all, he will need
his teammates to follow his example in Salford.
Every point counts
No sweat for England
7 Days
Christmas may still be 46 days away,
but on Wednesday Sweden will
be pulling the gift-wrap off their
brand new national stadium, the
nauseatingly named Friends Arena,
to welcome England in the inaugural
game, an international friendly.
Appropriately, given the name of
the venue, the two countries have
been well acquainted in the past few
years – most recently at Euro 2012,
when a 3-2 England victory was
secured by Danny Welbeck’s
Old friends
sensational backheel pirouette
(above). With England’s next
competitive fixture not until March
(against San Marino, so we use the
word ‘competitive’ loosely), it gives
Roy Hodgson an opportunity to
experiment. Welbeck is prime among
the candidates for inclusion; and if
Jack Wilshere continues to settle
back into the Arsenal side without any
setbacks, we could see him in
an England shirt for the first time
since June 2011.
WEDNESDAY FOOTBALL | SwEDEN v ENGLAND | FRIENDS ARENA | ITV1 7.30PM
| 67
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SUNDAY FOOTBALL | Serie A: LAziO v rOmA | STAdiO OLimpicO | eSpN 2pm
FRIDAY
GOLF Singapore
Open: day 2,
Serapong course,
Singapore, Sky Sports 2 5am
TeNNiS ATp World Tour Finals:
day 5, O2 Arena, London,
Sky Sports 1 1.45pm
FOOTBALL championship:
middlesbrough v Sheffield
Wednesday, riverside Stadium,
Sky Sports 1 7.45pm
cricKeT Australia v South Africa:
First Test day 2, Brisbane cricket
Ground, Sky Sports 1 12pm
SATURDAY
FOOTBALL SpL: inverness caledonian
Thistle v Hearts, caledonian Stadium,
eSpN 12pm
FOOTBALL championship:
Leicester v Nottingham Forest,
King power Stadium,
Sky Sports 2 12.45pm
SUNDAY
GOLF Singapore Open: day 4,
Serapong course, Singapore,
Sky Sports 3 3am
mOTOGp Generali Grand prix of
Valencia, circuit of Valencia,
British eurosport 2 2pm
FOOTBALL La Liga: mallorca v
Barcelona, iberostar Stadium,
Sky Sports 4, 4.50pm
NFL New Orleans Saints v Atlanta
Falcons, mercedes-Benz Superdome,
Sky Sports 3 5.30pm
FOOTBALL La Liga: Levante v real
madrid, city of Valencia Stadium,
Sky Sports 4 8.30pm
NFL philadelphia eagles v dallas
cowboys, Lincoln Financial Field,
Sky Sports 3 9.15pm
MONDAY
TeNNiS ATp World Tour Finals: Final, O2
Arena, London, Sky Sports 1 5.30pm
cricKeT Australia v South Africa:
First Test day 5,
Brisbane cricket Ground,
Sky Sports 1 11.30pm
TUESDAY
FOOTBALL international Friendly:
england U21 v Northern ireland U21,
Bloomfield road, eSpN 7pm
NFL Kansas city chiefs v pittsburgh
Steelers, Arrowhead Stadium,
BBc red Button 1.30am
WEDNESDAY
FOOTBALL World cup Qualifier:
Northern ireland v Azerbaijan,
Windsor park, Belfast,
Sky Sports 2 7.45pm
FOOTBALL international Friendly:
republic of ireland v Greece,
Aviva Stadium, dublin,
Sky Sports 3 7.45pm
THURSDAY
GOLF Hong Kong Open: day 1,
Hong Kong Golf club, Sky Sports 2 5am
BEST OF THE REST
Roman candleThe italian capital has been
home to intense rivalries and
cross-city fireworks ever
since romulus killed his
brother remus and named the
city after himself. The Stadio
Olimpico is no exception, and
this year’s derby della capitale
is given extra spark by Lazio
and roma’s proximity in
the Serie A table.
For the past few years
they’ve been separated – roma
have largely occupied the
european places, while the
Biancazzurro have languished
in mid-table. But 11 games in
to the current season and
Lazio are fifth, two points
ahead of their rivals, thanks in
no small part to six goals in 10
games from miroslav Klose.
However, their confidence
will have been shaken by a
shock 4-0 defeat to catania
last weekend – for which Klose
was suspended – and roma
manager zdenek zeman will
relish the chance to leapfrog
his former team, having
managed Lazio from 1994 to
1997. His own mr dependable,
Francesco Totti, is still pulling
the strings at the age of 36:
he’s scored four and set up
three in 10 games this season.
Juventus’ first league defeat
for 50 games last week may
have opened the door at the top
a crack. if either roman club is
going to prise it open further,
a derby-day win is required.
68 | November 9 2012 |
That’s right, the blockbuster franchise is taking its first steps beyond the present in Call of Duty Black Ops II, out November 13 on Xbox 360. That means awesome guns, crazy storylines and multiplayer mayhem
futuristic super-weapons on their makers.
That’s where you come in. So, in an action-
packed campaign mode, can you harness that
power to pull the world back from the brink of
annihilation? Find out in Call of Duty Black Ops II,
out November 13 on Xbox 360.
Multiplayer madness
Of course, that cutting-edge weaponry
transfers across to multiplayer as well – so
although Menendez might have his wily hands
on it in campaign mode, you’ll be the one who
gets to wield the full power of the future when
playing against your friends online. So, in
addition to shotguns, knives and hatchets,
there is a whole host of futuristic weapons
and tools – including shock grenades to stun
enemies, shields to protect you and a device
that lets you see through walls. Hey, it’s the
future – anything is possible.
To help you make the most of all this
variety, Call of Duty Black Ops II introduces
a re-imagined Create-a-Class system for
choosing weapons and add-ons. The ‘pick-10’
allocation system lets players pick any
Adored and famed for its gritty
realism, Call of Duty has captured
the imaginations of gamers
worldwide, with each hotly
anticipated release selling millions
of copies to eager fans. Next week, for the
first time, the series will move beyond the
present, giving players the chance to harness
the power of near-future technology and,
excitingly, advanced robotics as they try to
complete their mission.
Campaign chaos
The campaign features two interconnected
storylines separated by time. Alex Mason,
returning from the first Black Ops, is fighting
battles across the globe in the Cold War era,
in pursuit of an insidious villain named Raul
Menendez. Fast-forward to 2025, Menendez
is still wreaking havoc – havoc that Mason’s
son has to try and prevent. In the future, war
means robots, cyber warfare and unmanned
drones built by global superpowers to defend
their citizens. But they don’t count on the
enemy stealing the keys and turning the
combination of 10 items. Fairly self-
explanatory, we know, but in terms of Call
of Duty games, it’s truly revolutionary.
You’ll even be able to check out what
selections other players have opted for
and copy them to your console if you like
what you see. There are more ways than
ever to enjoy multiplayer – Combat
Training, Party Games and League Play.
Zombie nation
For some reason, a game mode
pitting the player against hordes of
the massed undead proved really
quite popular in Call of Duty Black
Ops II’s ancestors. That mode
is back for the latest version
of the game, too, with more
improvements than you can
shake a dismembered limb at.
For the first time, Zombie
mode gets its own
campaign story,
and the multiplayer
aspect has been
Back to the
Future
| 69
Advertising Feature
improved as well, with an eight-player online
co-op. There are several new modes to add to
Survival mode, in which you have to stay alive
as long as possible. The pick of these is Grief
mode, new to Black Ops, in which two human
teams of four compete to see who will be last
man standing when
faced with
massed hordes
of the undead.
Early bird bonus
Pre-order now and get the
Nuketown 2025 bonus map, plus
access to the Call of Duty Black Ops II Double
XP Launch Weekend. Relive the close-quarters
chaos of this classic map, reimagined in a
depiction of the ‘Model Home of the Future’.
It all adds up to a cracking improvement
to the world biggest shooter – futuristic
weapons, improved multiplayer and flesh-
hungry zombies. What more could you want?
© 2
012
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Call of Duty Black
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OUT NOVEMBER 13 ON XBOX 360
www.callOfdUTy.cOM/BlackOps2
70 | Movember 9 2012 |
Embracing the gentlemanly spirit of the mo this November? You are not alone. Gillette has taken celebrating the
timeless qualities of the gent a step further,
old chap, and opened its The Best a Mo Can
Get Barbers at 10 Newburgh Street, off
London’s Carnaby Street. Open seven days
a week for one month only, it offers free
‘tache touch-ups for Mo Bros’ from the
chairs of a traditional barbers, where you
can enjoy a complementary drink followed
by a luxury shave with a qualified Sweeney
Todder wielding a Gillette Fusion ProGlide
Styler and a hot towel. Downstairs is a bar
and games room (left), where Gillette will
host intimate gigs, DJ sets, whisky tastings
and cocktail nights throughout November.
And all, splendidly, in the name of your
magnificent mo and cancer research.
facebook.com/gilletteuk
Extra time
Touch up your ’tacheGillette has opened a 1940s-style barbers
for Movember, so you can do just that
P76
Call of Duty Black Ops II: beef up
on your Cold War history or gun
down zombies. The choice is yours
Making the most of your time and money
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72 | November 9 2012 |
Brian Hayes/Lipstick Syndication
sou
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Extra time Heather Weir
| 73
74 | November 9 2012 |
Bright ideas
Colour-changing, smartphone-controlled
lightbulbs are all well and good, but
where’s our damn time machine?
Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand
Beats PillA hard pill to swallow, mainly because it’s 20cm long and is actually
a speaker. In fact, it’s the first speaker ever to use NFC technology, so
you can pair similarly equipped devices just by touching them with it.
The battery lasts for seven hours – so even if you did swallow it,
it would keep you entertained right through your wait at A&E.
£170 | store.universal-music.co.uk | Released December 3
Google Nexus 10While Apple tries to muscle in on Google’s seven-inch
tablet territory, the search engine firm has responded
by expanding its offering, in every sense of the word.
The new 10-inch Nexus has the highest-resolution
screen ever seen on a tablet, and is slightly lighter than
the newest iPad – despite being slightly larger. Multiple
user accounts make it a great choice for families.
From £319 | google.com/nexus/10
Denon AH-W150 Sports HeadphonesThe only bad thing about Team GB’s roaring
success is that hearing Chariots of Fire
every 15 minutes kind of lessened its
impact. Fortunately, these wireless
headphones redeem any soundtrack,
thanks to their super sound quality.
£150 | denon-headphones.eu
Philips HueThe biggest thing to happen to interior lighting
since Thomas Edison, the Philips Hue
connects to your home wifi network, so you
can control it with an iPhone app. You can
literally pick any colour you want, and set
timers. Use it to trick would-be burglars
into thinking you’re home, or for
Quagmire-esque mood lighting in
your front room... whatever turns
you on. Next week in gadgets:
a bed that springs out of the wall.
£180 starter pack | apple.com/uk
Trilogy The Weeknd
Whether he’s borrowing lyrics from The Smiths or
sampling the score to A Clockwork Orange, singer
Abel Tesfaye (aka The Weeknd – and we have no idea
where the missing ‘e’ is) takes his shoe-gazing R&B
into surreal directions. This
album – a combination of three
mixtapes – showcases his
plaintive falsetto vocals and
woozy beats. Hit and miss – but
when he gets it right it sounds
originally, unsettlingly brilliant. ST
F/A
FP
/Ge
tty
Ima
ge
s
Call of Duty Black Ops II (PC/PS3/Xbox)Set partly in the year 2025,
developers Treyarch have picked
a smart era for the new Black Ops
game. It’s far enough in the future
that they can introduce enticing
new weaponry (Iron Man-style
wrist-launchers: yes please), but
near enough to the present day that
the game appears grittily realistic.
A terror attack on Los Angeles is
a key storyline, but the game also
features a connected story set in
the 1970s and ‘80s, branch-off
‘Strike Force missions’ and the
most extensive Zombie Mode yet.
Add in a tweaked multiplayer that’s
designed to make it easier for
newcomers – so you don’t spend
your whole time being snipered
by elite schoolkids in Japan – and
this really does seem like the most
ambitious CoD yet. Roll on Tuesday.
Craic Dealer Dara O Briain
Panel show constant and
Tony Soprano henchman
lookalike (his description)
showcases his sharp
stand-up patter in this
live show. Topics such as
TV psychics and gender
differences are hardly
groundbreaking, but the
easygoing O Briain puts
a cerebral spin on them.
Standing in Another Man’s Grave Ian Rankin
The interconnected
disappearance of five
women hauls Inspector
Rebus out of retirement
for his 18th tale. The
case takes him out of
his native Edinburgh and
into the Highlands – but
early, glowing reviews
suggest the author’s old
magic is still present.Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection
Hour after hour of icy blondes, brutal murders
and twist endings in this new boxset of 14 films
from the suspense maestro. Iconic flicks Psycho,
Vertigo and Rear Window are present, but it’s also
a chance to see lesser-known efforts such as
thriller Frenzy, the taut tale of the hunt for a serial
killer in 1970s London. Loaded with screen tests,
alternate endings and other extras, this Monday
release delivers you heaps of early winter chills.
My Brother the Devil
If this urban gang drama was created by one of the
many Guy Ritchie clones churning out such films, it’d
be titled My Bruv the Wrong ‘Un – and we’d give it the
serious swerve, innit. Sally El Hosaini has, however,
directed a powerful study of two Anglo-Egyptian
siblings – one being drawn
into the East End crime
scene just as his older
brother wants to exit it.
A shock twist halfway
through deftly helps this
avoid the usual cliches.
76 | November 9 2012 |
Blu-ray
Duty bound
Guns, gangs and Hitch are all given a
fresh new twist as we examine the
week’s devilishly good new releases
GaME
FIlM
MuSIC DVDBOOK
Extra time Entertainment
“THE MOST AMBITIOUS
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