A hole in the mountain with concert buildings to serve as temporary places of residence, Flaine is different from anything I’ve ever seen before. With our first training day cancelled due to inadequate course conditions, some athletes were skeptical about how the race would turn out. The course was more technical than the ones before. Speeds were lower and there were a couple crankers on rolling terrain that were catching people off guard during the first few runs. Qualification day, eight Canadians made it through to compete the following day. Turned out that fellow team mate, Ashleigh McIvor and we were in the same heat right off the bat. Working together, we both advanced to the next round. During a pass in round two I blew a shoe mid turn leaving Ashleigh to represent in the finals. Out of the gate fourth in the small finals, I slowly picked off each competitor one by one, finishing 5th overall.

All in all, round one in Europe went well to say the least. With two silvers and a bronze to count, Canada is making its mark on the World. Heading back to North America in the morning, the hunt will be on for gold.