For the past two weeks I've been out in France with BSA for some pre winter glacier training. One week in Tignes and one in Les Deux Alpes was just what I needed - the two week break from school being an obvious added bonus!
I was really looking forward to getting back on my skis and finding out how all the hard work over the summer would help my skiing. It was also great to be back with Ruslan and the rest of the team again.
Week 1 - Tignes
I was very excited for the first week in Tignes. With a small group of 3 athletes I saw it as a excellent opportunity to work with Ruslan and gain a lot of improvement in my skiing. Small groups mean we all get more time and focus with Ruslan than we would normally in a bigger group of racers and I wanted to make the most of the time we had.
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| Tignes |
Another added bonus was that all three of us were part of the British u18 team which meant there was a high standard throughout the group and Laurie, Jake and I really pushed each other every day both on and off the hill. It was also good to get a close up view of a number of the World Cupper's smashing down courses in their final training sessions ahead of the season opener in Soelden.
The fact that Tignes is a well known European Glacier and it has a reputation to have good quality skiing pre-winter meant that it was very busy when we were there. This ensured that to use our time wisely every run we had needed to be high quality and contain as few mistakes as possible.
Over the week I feel that I made some good steps forward and improved my skiing a lot, especially in GS. I honestly never thought that I would feel as comfortable on the new regulation skis as I do this early into the season.
The short term sacrifice of last season where I spent a lot of time on a GS ski that bridged the gap between old and new length and turning radii appears to be rewarding me now. The fact I felt so strong on the ski and mountain also suggests that all the hard work in the gym and over the summer with Ruslan has really paid off.
And whilst Ruslans famous and often repeated quote "Now you have to do this in the races" always hangs over my head, I'm feeling confident going into the minefield of my first season of FIS races.
Off the hill we were also working pretty hard. Every day going to the sports centre and either doing some sprinting work, ply-metrics or a lifting session.
Week 2 - Les Deux Alpes
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| Training Piste Central |
I was really looking forward to Deux Alpes because it provided a flatter terrain and was I was interested to see how the new GS skis turned on it. It isn't very often that European Glaciers have lots of flat areas to train on pre-winter and therefore it was a great chance to feel what was happening this early on in the season. With only one addition to last week's small group we would again be getting great focus and attention from Ruslan throughout the week.
It was also good to get the timing gear out and see where I was compared to the other lads. As the standard of juniors at BSA is very high it is equally very easy to be quickest or slowest on any given day. This is great however because we sub consciously react to the start gate and we all push each other forward, the banter flies around everyday and the stakes are always raised. It's great to be with such a great group of lads this season, however coming off the mountain on the wrong end of the timing sheet is an absolute no-no.
The one major issue about Les Deux Alpes is the absolutely horrendous queues each morning to get up the lift. Whilst everything is great when you're up there, having to wait over an hour to get skiing isn't the best thing that has ever happened to me. All week we moved our arrival time forward until were reasonably towards the front, until one day - when we finally were at the very front - and ended up waiting 3 hours in the pouring rain before they decided to close the mountain. Nightmare.
That said, I felt that the time we did get on the mountain over the week was well spent however and I again made some good progress. Overall I felt the two weeks were very successful and I'm looking really forward to getting out to Les Houches in the winter and getting some FIS races under my belt.
Until then? Well there's plenty of time and opportunity to get back into the gym, especially as Velocity Health and Fitness, Walsall are kindly supporting me. It is an absolutely superb facility and I feel really lucky to be involved with them and hugely appreciate their support and belief in me. I hope that over time I can repay their faith and generosity.
It's been a good few weeks... now back to school on Monday.