Home for the Holidays.
December is almost gone and three more World Cups GS’s are in the books.
Overall I’m pretty happy with the way things went this month. I qualified and scored points on two hills that had given me so many problems in the past.
Beaver Creek was great this year! I skied two very solid runs and finished 25th. I’ve wanted this so much over the years and to finally get those points in the USA in front of my family and friends was very special for me. Last year when I scored my first long awaited World Cup points was a special day for me, but success is so much better when it’s shared. Having my parents there made it a whole different experience.
Val D’isere was only a week after Beaver Creek and with a long flight to Munich and a 500 mile drive I was back in Val D’isere for the third time in one year. Last season Val D’isere got the best of me. December’s race ended with a DNF after the first split and February’s World Champs ended with a hard crash. I wasn’t looking forward to my third attempt on the Belvard but I tried to keep my head up because I was getting a World Cup SG start and wanted to make the best of it. Unfortunatly my ski fell off on the fourth gate and I went for a little slide on my back. I was bummed but knew I couldn’t dwell on it because the next day was the GS. After another sleepless night due to jet lag I was up and as ready as I could be for the race.
First run I made it to the finish and skied solid but I had some big mistakes and managed to finish 25th and get a second run. My next trip down the hill was a fight from start to finish. I was tired and didn’t have the energy to charge down that steep nasty so I skied safe and scored some much needed World Cup points.
Alta Badia! The big daddy Gran Risa. The most classical GS.
Coming into Alta Badia this year I was really excited. I was skiing really well and felt super balanced in training all week.
This is the place where I was reborn last year and this year I was left with a bitter taste. I fell on the seventh gate. I made one small mistake followed by a bad recovery move and it was over, I was on my hip and sliding out of the course. I’m more than disappointed with the outcome of this race but I need to move on and start focusing on Adelboden.
I have three weeks until Adelboden and I plan on making the best of this time. First I’m going home to Carbondale for a short break and then back to Park City for training in the gym and race training on the 2002 Olympic GS hill. There are only 52 days until the Olympics and I plan on being there! Adelboden is the final race before the Olympic team is named and four of us are gunning for three spots. ( Bode, Tim Jitloff, Tommy Ford and Myself)
Happy Holidays,
Jake
