Mount St. Anne Speed Series

Last week was the Mount St. Anne Nor-Am speed series in Quebec. Out of the 6 days we were there, we had 5 days of sunshine with no clouds. Quebec gets a really bad rep in the ski racing world because they never seem to have good weather, and are never able to get races off. This year was great! The downhill a little bit tricky. The trail was very narrow, therefore difficult to set big sweeping downhill turns. It ended up being more like a super-g, but nonetheless we got going pretty fast. I never really had a good run out of the two race days, with a best finish of 20th. It was a bit disappointing to not get as many Nor-Am points as last year in DH, but I do have a few downhills left this season to turn it around. I was excited for the two super-g's that followed the downhills, as super-g has been my best event this season. The first day I got bib 5, and was ready to send it. I skied extremely well on the top 2/3 of of the course, but I lost a few tenths down on the bottom flats with a mistake on a roll. I ended up 14th, which wasn't great, but not terrible. The next day I got bib 2, but unfortunately, the Quebec weather rolled in and the race got cancelled. It was unfortunate the race got cancelled, but with it being cancelled, I had the super-g spot for World Juniors locked up. 

This year World Junior Championships will be in Jasna, Slovakia. Iv'e never been to Slovakia, so I hope it brings some new adventures! I will be racing in all 5 events (SL, GS, SG, DH, and Super-Combined), and hopefully the team event too (which is 2 guys and 2 girls). My goal is to get a podium in any event, but if I walk away with a top 10 I won't be disappointed at all! 

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!