St. Johann, AUT

PART I: Race day has finally arrived. After 4 full runs of the course I was ready to dial it in for the qualifying run yesterday evening. Conditions on the track were different from the day before. The injected surface, which had been much like hero snow the day before, had now turned into a sheet of ice. Even the best in the world were having troubles finding their edges. Accepting these conditions as an advantage from my recent alpine experiences, I entered the start gate undaunted. At the end of it, I qualified 10th from starting 45th. Just a few hours from race time, I feel confident and ready to give it my all. The first turn is going to be a doozy with four people fighting for the same line on the glazed ice…should make for interesting heats!

PART II: One for the books!! Having finished my first World Cup event, I am more than thrilled with the outcome. Coming into the race, I would have been happy with a top ten result, but my third place finish has well exceeded my expectations.

The time between my three heats were minimal, leaving me no time to get intimidated by the other competitors. Each heat, I got into the gate with the same game plan and bursted out of the start as fast as I could the moment the gate dropped. I am thrilled with my third place result, but this Saturday, I’ll be shooting for the top of the podium.

We are now in Les Contamines for a few days off before training starts on Friday. Game face on for Saturday! Check back in before Flaine.

Ciao