Stowe Norams

After Europe, I got to go home and hangout for a few days in Massachusetts. A much needed break! Then it was right back to training up in Stratton, VT with my old team. It was great prep for the Stowe Norams, and I was ready to rip. The first day at Stowe I started bib 25. Start position didn't really matter here, as the snow was solid ice. I was having a good run, but unfortunately I caught an arm inside a panel and exploded. I was unable to finish. The second day I had the same bib and was ready to charge. I had a mistake in the first run to put me in 21st after first run. I was disappointed with the run because I thought I had ruined another great opportunity to score well in GS. My plan for second run was to just send it. I did just that and moved up to 12th place overall and ended 3rd on the run. It was the best finish I have ever had in a Noram GS run. Now I am up in Mount St. Anne, Quebec for some speed. I will fill you in when the series is over!

Wengen European Cup DH

Here is the race run from Wengen, Switzerland. A couple small mistakes caused me to finish outside the top thirty, but i'm happy I made it down in one piece! 

This is the training run from Wengen. There are a few more angles here. Speeds were a little slower on the training run day, but I hit the rolly section much smoother here. 

I started bib 64 and finished 45th. It was a great first experience at European Cup downhill, and I am already stoked to do it again next year!

Zell Am See European Cup GS

Here is a video of my first and second runs from Zell Am See, Austria. Snow was minimal there and it was pretty similar to spring skiing in Vermont. On top of the difficult snow conditions, if was one of the more challenging GS hills I have done this season. I went from Bib 65 to 45 and got my first ever second run in a European Cup! Enjoy.

Some more Europe

So, for the past 2 weeks I have been on a bit of a race grind. A lot of travel, little free time, and very little internet! In the Wengen Europa Cup Downhill, I placed 45^th, Which I was happy with! I had a decent run with a few mistakes, but more important, I started to nail the line better each run down the track. That was the goal.

After Wengen, we went to Folgaria, Italy for 2 GSs. In the first GS race I placed 10^th with a start number of 19. I was also pleased with this result, as moving up in any European FIS race is not an easy thing to do. I was the top Junior and almost scored FIS point result, but not quite. With my junior win, I won a bottle of wine, some cheese, a giant cookie, and a slab of meat (haha classic Italy). For the second day I had bib 17 and was planning on sending it a little harder. Unfortunately, the straight line eventually caught up to me and I had to ski out of the course. It was a cool little resort, with a somewhat gnarly race hill. After Folgaria, we moved down the road to Madonna di Campiglio, Italy.

I knew it was going to be quite the trip when we got to town and the snow banks were towering over the car. When we got up on the hill the first day for the race, there was about 18 inches of fresh snow ontop of a 4 foot base. I started bib 15, and had a good run, coming down in the lead by over 4 tenths of a second. But, since there was a lot of snow, they decided to send slip crews every 20 people. After these slips, the course would get a little faster, because they were getting rid of all the soft crappy snow. Therefore, a bunch of late bibs were able to throw it into the top 10. One of my teammates, Ronnie Berlack was able to take advantage and skied into 1 first place… from BIB 61!!! Impressive. I ended the first run in 5^th place. Second run did not go well, and I got bumped out of the top 10. But it wasn’t the worst of days, as we got to ski one of the coolest mountains I have ever been to with a foot and a half of new snow; and a few of my teammates snagged career best results to make things even a little better! The next day we woke up to another foot of fresh snow. The race got cancelled after inspection, and that meant powder skiing! We were able to get some really deep pow turns in before we hit the road again to Zell am See, Austria for a Europa Cup GS.

The snow conditions were a bit different in Austria, with a snow base of about 10 inches. The snow conditions made for an interesting, bumpy race. I started 65 and ended up 45^th after first run. I had a solid run, but mistakes were inevitable with how rough it was. I finished just .5 out of flip. It was close but I was happy to even get a second run, as they cut the second run to just 60 people for second run. Second run did not go as well, and I finished the race in 47^th. I look forward to my next Europa Cup GS, to make a running for the flip.

Today I raced a Super G in Radstadt, Austria. I was expecting it to be an easyish race with a few fast guys, but I guess that never happens in Austria. A few World Cup guys showed up and I started 16. I had a solid run, once again with a few minor mistakes, but nothing too bad. I finished 8^th, got second for Juniors, and even scored a little FIS point result. My Super G points will now go down to 19.

I now have 4 more days in Europe, then its home to Massachusetts and little Vermont thrown in there. Next up is the infamous Kirchburg GS in Austria. Right now, there isn’t good enough internet to post pictures or videos. When I get back to the US I will post a bunch of my race runs and pictures. 

Some Pictures From the Lauberhorn Downhill

Out of the start

 View from the first turn

Looking down on the Hundschopt

 Looking Up at the Hundschopt

 Looking up from S-Turn

 Top of S-Turn

Left footer of S-Turn 

 Right footer of S-Turn

 Little coffee shack with the Eiger in the background 

Right before the Start

I will take some more pictures tomorrow and post some video when the races are over. So much Fun!

Races Begin in Europe!

After 4 great days of training in Soelden, Austria, we arrived in Wengen, Switzerland yesterday; and  today, I had my first training run down the downhill track! I had a lot of mistakes, which left me way behind the pace, but nonetheless a great time! After Wengen European Cups, I will go back to Austria for a little more training, then its off to Trentino, Italy! In Trentino I will be doing 2 GS's at Madonna di Campiglio, and 1 GS at Fulgaria. I will then be going to Zell Am See, Austria for a European Cup GS. Then I will be making the trek to Val D'Isere, France for 2 SGs and maybe 1 DH (all European Cups)! I am excited for the busy schedule toward the end of the trip and I will keep you all posted. Looks like I will be clocking a few kilometers over the next couple weeks!

Euro Trip 2014 Begins

My last blog was almost 2 weeks ago. Since then I raced in the Vail Nor-Ams and spent some time training at the home hill, Wachusett.

Unfortunately, the Vail Nor-Ams did not go nearly as well as they did last season. On the first day of GS, I was fortunate enough to start in the first 15 and started 9. I had a good first run going, finishing 4^th and 5^th on the first two intervals. But some peely snow down bottom caused me some trouble and finished 55th. My goal for second run was to just have a solid run and ski into the top 30 to score some Nor-Am Cup points. Once again, I had trouble down bottom, which took me out of the course. For the second day, I was bumped out of the top seed, and started 26. It wasn’t a big deal, as the snow surface is usually pretty good in Vail. Once again, I started off well with 3^rd and 5^th on the first two intervals. Unfortunately, I hit a cross rut from the previous day and my skis slapped together. I had a pretty good fall and couldn’t finish the run. It was a crappy, and somewhat unlucky 2 days of ski racing, but as I have said before, that’s just how it is sometimes. At least I know I am skiing well, and the speed is there for the next race.

Over my Christmas break, I was able to get some quality rest, but I also got the chance to ski and train at Wachusett. I skied 2 days of slalom, mostly with the U18s and U16s. After training, I was able to hit the park with my little cousin Liam. I mean, what is a trip to Wachusett without some park laps!? It was a lot of fun skiing at the old hill, and hope to get back there a couple more times this season.

I am now in Solden, Austria training some GS and SG. Next on the race schedule is the Wengen, Switzerland European Cup Downhill!

Here is Bode's winning run from 2007, and the track I will be running next week!