Cortina – Blog
What an interesting week of racing. I would have to say that
I don’t think that I have ever experienced so much snow in such little time
while in Europe. Cortina, which is one
of the most majestic places in Europe, was inundated with snow. As I have said many times before, I am “pro”
powder but lately it has been getting the better of the sport of ski racing.
Cortina is one my favourite tracks on the circuit so I
always arrive to the resort with high hopes and expectations. This year was no
exception, having stood on the podium last year. We arrived there on a Monday with the first
training run planned for Tuesday but awoke to a massive amount of fallen snow
and the continuation of falling snow! Needless to say the first training run
was cancelled. Awoke the next morning to 1.5meters of fallen snow, and the
continuation of falling snow; needless to say the second training was
cancelled. I awoke Thursday morning,
which was supposed to be the first downhill race, to clearer skis but so much
snow. We made it up on the hill and even
managed to get an inspection (or a slip) of the course before they cancelled
the training run. Now, it is Friday and
we had a training run planned, which meant that we would be able to get in a
downhill race the following day. This
was exciting news because I was quite sick of sitting on my butt waiting. Due
to the excess snow, very few runs and lifts were open which left “free skiing”
out of the question; instead my team took to Scrabble, cards and books!!!
Saturday was a beautiful day and perfect for racing. To add
insult to injury though I was battling the flu and a severe cold so I
definitely wasn’t feeling my best. I knew that I only need 1min17sec of
physical energy (they lowered the start because of too much snow!) and I knew
that I definitely had that in me. I conserved all my energy for my run and when
I stood in the start gate, I knew that I could pull this off. I felt good and
confident about everything. My run was good and I was totally in the
moment….right up until I hit a cross rut! Before I knew it I was out of the
course and pulling a unique little gymnastic move. I was so frustrated because
I had put so much of myself into that run and to make matters a little harder
to swallow I was leading by.35sec before I went out, with only another
15seconds to go. As an athlete you are always taught to look at the positive
and the negative, so while I did not finish the race, the good news is that I
am on the right track!
I was so pumped for the Super-G the following day because I
felt like it was my chance for a little redemption. I tried to take the perspective of what happened
last year in St.Moritz when I was somewhat “robbed” in the downhill and came
back the next day in the Super-G and earned my first ever World Cup
victory. When I woke up the morning of
the Super-G, the flu was gone, but unfortunately the nasty cold and taken its
place. I knew that, once again, I would have to conserve energy and dig deep
for the run. The course looked great and I was excited to race the Super-G in
Cortina. With a start number of 21, and warm weather, I knew that I was going
to have to have a great run in order to be in the hunt. I went out of the gate
“full gas”, as my coach would say; in hindsight maybe a little too full gas as
I straddled a gate about a 1/3 of the way down the course and found myself
tangled in the nets. The good news being
I was fine, the bad news being, I didn’t finish another race. I must admit, it was definitely a top 5 crash
for me. Unfortunately, the TV didn’t
catch it all but one of my coaches, Rob, saw it all in unfold before his eyes. PS: it is never a good idea to straddle a
Super-G gate going over 100km/h!!
All in all, a disappointing week in Cortina for me! It is a place that I love so much and where I
always hope to do well and stand on the podium.
My whole team had a tough week battling sickness and injuries so
hopefully we can heal up and be ready for Garmisch on Saturday. With the World Championships coming up in
just over a week, it is time to get healthy, get fast and get inspired in order
to show the world all that we can do!
Subscribe