What I think a lot of people are forgetting is that skiing is always evolving and changing. If we were to revisit this issue 10 or 20 years from now, we'll look at racers as totally old school and whack or maybe we'll look at park and pipe is totally "non-legit"
We're at a super unique period right now because we're witnessing the tail end of a transformation between racers into park and pipe riders. I hate the use freeskiers because it's fucking bullshit and doesn't describe shit. We got out park and pipe guys, big mountain, on-piste biatches, and racers and everything in between. But back to my point., the transformation we have here is that most of us started racing then switched over, and compared to those who didn't race and switched over, we, the racers, are more fundamentally sound skiers. With that being said, fundamentals can be the foundation to solid skiing but there is also an additional ability to perform that's needed. This foundation of skill allows one to attain that ability much faster than those without the racing background.
This isn't to say that racers are better park and pipe, big mountain or whatever skiers. But this does say that a person with a ski racing background has an advantage to becoming a better overall skier. With time though, we'll notice that each niche of skiing will excel with skiers who have only mastered that type of skiing. The park rats, are always gonna be best in the park, the on-piste guys will always lay a nice carve and the big mountain fellas are gonna have some ski lines, but the racers are gonna have most crossover ability of them all. What's happening now, also, is that racing is dying breed and until the racer community realizes that racing is expensive and you gotta pay to play, it's gonna be a rude awakening for them all when their kids turn in the slaloms for a pair of twin tips.
I myself grew up racing and now stick with park and pipe and big mountain.