No two boards are alike. Every edge is ground to exact specifications. The PROFI 4 VARIO RACE offers, right out of the box, the precision and repeatability required by professional race service teams. For snowboard race service specialist Stephan Eisenegger, this proven machine was further customized in a few key details to match his personal workflows, settings, and preferences.

In snowboard racing, a backup board must perform from the very first meter. If a board is damaged during training or competition, there’s often no time for a test or break-in period. The backup must immediately offer the same riding feel, the same structure, and the same setup.

For Stephan Eisenegger, a longtime specialist in professional snowboard race service and owner of TOP RUN 1 in Wald, in the canton of Zurich, absolute consistency is therefore an absolute must. With his new PROFI 4 VARIO RACE, he continues his longstanding collaboration with Reichmann.

Eisenegger has been self-employed for about 20 years and focuses exclusively on preparing snowboards for racing. For many years, he has worked with athletes from all four disciplines of the Swiss national snowboard team. In addition, he prepares boards for international riders and, more recently, for athletes in the para-snowboarding discipline.

According to Eisenegger, he celebrated a total of 60 World Cup victories with the athletes he coached – 50 of them in just three years. Among the well-known athletes whose careers he supported by providing equipment are Olympic halfpipe champion Iouri Podladtchikov and Jan Scherrer, who won bronze in the halfpipe at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. The brothers Philipp and Simon Schoch also relied on his expertise: Philipp Schoch won Olympic gold in 2002 and 2006, while Simon Schoch took silver in 2006.

A replacement board shouldn't feel like a substitute

In freestyle in particular, snowboards are subjected to extreme stress from jumps, landings, and falls. Depending on the athlete and the season, five to ten boards with identical setups may therefore be required. If a competition board is damaged, the athlete often has to switch to a replacement board as early as the next run.

“A replacement board must feel just like the athlete’s previous board. If they start the next run immediately after a defect, there can be no surprises with the equipment,” explains Stephan Eisenegger. “The structure, edges, base, and wax must be tuned so that the rider can trust the board from the very first moment.”

This requirement makes the race service a task that demands exceptional precision. It’s not enough to achieve a similar result across multiple boards. The grind must be reliably reproducible with every pass.

A proven platform, individually tailored

Eisenegger has always worked with Reichmann machines. By switching to the latest generation of the PROFI 4 VARIO RACE, he is now modernizing his technical infrastructure: The new control system allows for even finer adjustment of the grinding parameters and highly precise reproducibility of his racing service programs.

To ensure that Eisenegger can continue the processes he has developed over the years without interruption, his proven structures, grinding values, and programs were transferred to the new machine. In addition, the machine was customized in close consultation with him to meet the specific requirements of his application.

“The PROFI 4 VARIO RACE already meets all the technical requirements for precise and reproducible grinding results,” explains Stefan Reichmann, managing director of Reichmann & Sohn GmbH. “For Stephan Eisenegger, we specifically supplemented this foundation with his experience and personal preferences.”

From the first grind to the fully race‑prepared board

Eisenegger’s work in snowboard cross is particularly comprehensive. Here, he handles the entire preparation process: from trimming and shaping the sidewalls to grinding the base and sharpening the edges, right through to the final waxing.

The initial pre-grinding is crucial. It lays the foundation for all subsequent processing steps and must be done correctly from the start. Subsequent corrections not only take time but can also remove additional material and compromise consistency across multiple competition boards.

Eisenegger determines which base pattern to apply to a board based on the discipline, snow type, humidity, and temperature. He also takes into account the individual requirements and feedback from each athlete. Stone-grinding technology helps him precisely transfer finely tuned base patterns onto the base.

Material confidence as part of athletic performance

For Eisenegger, the fascination of his work lies not solely in titles and medals. It is particularly important to him to accompany the athletes’ development over several years.

“It’s great to see how an athlete continues to develop, overcomes setbacks, and moves forward step by step,” says Eisenegger. “I’ve seen time and again that the right fine-tuning can make a decisive difference. For me, that’s always a great validation of my work.”

With the new PROFI 4 VARIO RACE, Eisenegger combines his proven settings and methods with the capabilities of a modern generation of machines. For a race service where every detail counts – and where everything has to be exactly right again on the next board.

About Reichmann & Sohn GmbH

Reichmann & Sohn GmbH is a family-owned mechanical engineering company based in Weißenhorn near Ulm. Since its founding in 1918, the company has been developing machine solutions centered on its core competencies of grinding and cutting.

Through three independent business divisions, Reichmann offers machines for professional ski and snowboard service, for the automated finishing of castings, and for grinding and polishing applications in industry and trade. Customers worldwide appreciate the combination of robust engineering, high precision, and application-oriented solutions “Made in Germany”.