What a great weekend of racing just
happened in Altenmarkt, Austria. One of
the most memorable moments for me was standing in the start gate the day of the
downhill race and looking down the hill and seeing all these people lining the course.
Seeing this support makes you want to “step” up you game and put on a good
show. I would have to say that Austria, more than any other place in the world
supports and follows ski racing; the best analogy being, ski racing in Austria
is like hockey in Canada. The finish was
filled with people of all ages, supporting their fellow countrymen, fan club
banners in every free space and people there just to cheer and watch the sport
of ski racing! The gluwein is flowing freely, the horns are being blown relentlessly,
and the bells are almost deafening!
Altenmarkt is one of the most challenging
tracks on our circuit but this year it was the best I have ever seen it. The athletes loved all the jumps which seem
to be omitted from our newer tracks more and more. The jumps varied in length and height but all
were a lot of fun! I found this week
quite tiring though, between it being the first speed race in almost 3
weeks, it being a difficult and
challenging track, and having a combined on the Saturday before the downhill
race, I was quite exhausted come Sunday night.
I am enjoying the combined events more and
more because I have been training more slalom than usual which makes the racing
part a little more exciting and competitive for me. The slalom portion of the combined was on an
“Emily” friendly track (not too steep and nice grippy snow), which in turn
makes it a more equal race for the “downhillers” and more exciting for the
viewers!
After both training runs had finished I
knew that I was going to have to dig deep for the races because I was having
difficulty getting a good feel on the snow.
I used the downhill portion of the combined race as another “training”
run and in hindsight it was a great tactic because it set me up mentally and
physically for the actual downhill race. Sometimes training runs are a great
indication of how a race might play out but one the other hand, a race is a
race and that is when athletes take more risk and really race the track. Training runs can be great building blocks to
get ready for the actual race but accurate predictors for race day.
I ended up finishing the combined in 9th
place which I was really excited about having not placed all that well after
the downhill portion! The days of
combined races are always quite exhausting because the days are long for one,
but they also take a lot of mental energy because you have to race in two very
different disciplines that take different mental strategies and approaches.
The downhill race day was forecasting for
snow and each and everyone one of the athletes was super disappointed and
frustrated because it has been very challenging with the weather this year but
when I woke up in the morning and saw blue sky and my spirits rose
immensely. With a start number of 8, I
knew I had to have a great run to stay in the hunt and I also knew that it was
going to be a long day in the finish area, waiting for the rest of the
competitors to come down. I was really
happy with how I charged the course, took the risks where I needed and skied smartly
in the crucial sections. At the end of
the day I finished in 5th place which I was ecstatic about. Having struggled on the track all week, I
couldn’t have asked for a better placing…..well I am always looking for a
podium finish J . With this placing I
continued my top 10 streak for this season and it gave me the confidence to
know that I can still do well, even on hills that don’t necessarily suit me or
I have difficulty with!
Now I am in beautiful, majestic Cortina,
Italy getting ready for a big weekend of racing. They have scheduled 2 Downhills, 1 Super-G
and a Giant Slalom. I don’t plan on
racing the GS, unfortunately, because we don’t have enough quota spots! This is one of my favourite tracks in the
world and I always look forward to racing here!
Much to my sadness, I woke up to a foot of fresh powder (don’t get me
wrong, I love powder but just not when I am suppose to be racing downhill!) and
a cancelled training run; I guess that the “hurry up and wait” game has begun
again!
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