2014 British Alpine Champs

A successful British! The last fortnight at the British champs has left me on a high at the conclusion of the 2013/14 winter season.

Essentially it's been my most successful British Championships ever, which is ironic because it is the year where I had the least expectations for success. I arrived to Meribel both optimistic and apprehensive. I was skiing well but my first British Championships away from children's racing is something I'd been building towards to for a long time. Watching the never ending slalom come down one of the toughest most relentless race pistes around and seeing the speeds that some of the bigger boys hit in the super G is a pretty daunting sight for a mini or early years child racer. I was always told that one day I'd have to do the same and that I needed to be both mentally and physically ready, however I'm pretty sure that when everyone snaps the bindings shut they feel at least some nerves before leaving the start of your National Championships.

The first day was a bit of an odd one. We all came into the car park looking for the Super G set down the stade. I love the speed events and opportunities to hammer it down the Meribel stade are few and far between, however to a twinge of early disappointment the course had been set higher up and finished just above the stade. On the other hand I also knew that piste had so many more challenges. High speeds in to the newer, tighter A nets, the steep fall away coming over aeroplane, being able to carry the speed down and through meadows, then laying the skis right over down the 90 degree panorama bend. I was well up for this one.

Pic courtesy of Racer Ready

Following a delayed start we finally kicked off with the early starters spinning round on the chair saying it was a tough set.

Me? I got it bang on and put down a really solid run. My course read had been good, I positioned myself well right the way down and making minimum mistakes meant that I'd limited any time lost to errors and didn't have to scrub any speed at any point. Having not done a lot of Super G turns this year I thought that 105 was a decent score and for a while it looked like I'd just made the flip from a start number of 55. Frustratingly an Italian lad nudged under my time and I'd been squeezed out of the top 30 by 0.06s. Still 2nd U18, 1st 1997 Brit and 8th placed Brit overall was a decent start to the week.

Onto the super combi and after missing the flip by 1 in the Super G my aim was simple. Survive and complete. After achieving the task, just, I got down to hear the news that some of the boys in front of me had struggled and that I'd finally won my first British title! Me and the BSA boys had a good laugh at the bottom about the day until I got cheered onto the top step by all of them. I can't thank them enough for the season I've had and truly appreciate the fact that they all welcomed me into the team with open arms.

In the two GS's I was strong and solid, putting down good runs and looked to be making the best turns of the season.  I love the 195's and my turns seem to benefit from the having the longer ski under me. Unfortunately I had already ran out of my 25 technical starts, however we used this as an advantage because it meant I could ski with freedom and not worry about points! The first GS contained two decent, if unspectacular, runs and I managed to place 2nd U18 & first 97 Brit.

Taking to Dave & Ruslan

The second GS went really well - or should I say really well right until my ski popped off. Without question it was the best I'd raced GS all season, I made up lots of places on run 1 getting well inside the flip and was looking well set for a great result right up to the moment my binding popped. Ruslan said I'd have been right up there with the best boys in my Y.O.B and that my entry and line into the turn where the ski popped was perfect. I was good knowing how well I'd raced but massively frustrating that the chance of a 2nd British title had managed to sneak out of the back door.

Both slaloms weren't great, however given how difficult conditions were at the back of the field I was looking just to make the finish. Not least as (ridiculously) I've never actually made It down 2 slalom runs at the British before. In the first slalom, having survived a minefield of ruts on run 1, I somehow made the flip and despite a really scratchy 2nd run I made it down finishing 3rd U18 and first 97 again.

After a surprising change of fortune in the first slalom, I slipped into old habits again into the 2nd getting punished for chasing time after a mistake by going too straight into a hairpin. A painful straddle to the calf and very upper inner thigh (if you know what I mean!) was the inevitable result - trust me, these 30mm gates really do hurt.

Overall it was a great week. 4/6 podiums, 1st British 97 every day I finished and I finally managed to get my name on a trophy at the British Champs. I'd like to thank everyone who supported me and helped me get to this stage, not least my old Telford coaches. Also everyone at BSA who has made me feel so welcome and worked so hard with me. I hope I've started to repay at least some of your faith in me! I probably should have won one of these before now but it feels pretty good knowing you'll always be the first FIS 97 to get your name on a junior trophy.

Now I'm back home ready for a long summer of training in the gym, doing exams and finding some work to pay for my summer training. Bit of a change from the beauty and banter of Mont Blanc!

My Tour of Race Piste Cafés ~ Part 2

So..... After the truly huge response I had about my first café ratings for the first half of the season I thought I better knock up a part 2.

Unfortunately due to the fact I've started to complete a few more races my café time has been significantly reduced thus this might not be as thorough as part 1. A bit selfish I know (I do apologise) but occasionally even the old FIS points need to come before a bit of café research.

That said, even on good days there'll always be time for a hot chocolate and pain au chocolat between inspections so here goes....

Les Gets

Pretty good positioning half way down the long practice piste which is conveniently sat next to the race course. Minimum space inside meant that the race to get to the café to get a seat was almost as competitive as the slalom event going on outside, something that consequently meant making the flip for second run even more vital than usual. During somewhat of a blizzard and finger freezing wind-chill on the 2nd day we were extremely grateful to Saint Laurie Taylor who, in unselfishly sacrificing his day on run 1, was able to be sat in the café reserving seats for the previous two hours. Hot chocolate was decent but points lost for being expensive. 4/10

Bormio

4 Euros for a slice of pizza - or if you're in there for a while and a growing lad (the bulking phase) - 12 Euros for 3 slices. Happy days. Inevitably a few too many hours were spent in the bormio café, including a 7 hour long marathon stint in which a number of Flappy Bird high scores were destroyed! One point frustratingly deducted because the Polish guys there thought it was a good idea to stand in front of the TV when the skiing was on but even that can't deny the home of the English Champs a competitive score. Everyone knows that this gem is up there with the very best! 8/10

Val Thorens

Other than a little shed at the bottom you would have expected more from one of the Three Valley's jewels. Fortunately it was sunny and hot otherwise I'd have spent my whole time in the van in between runs. All the two's on this one I'm afraid - too expensive, too small, two finishes left too little time to check out facilities properly. 2/10

Meribel

The good old Meribel marquee! Sun, snow, rain? Then the tent is where to head! Pain au chocolat, hot chocolate and change from 5 euros is rarer than a smile from the ESF in Meribel! Extra pointage given for substantial space for even the biggest of teams, perfect viewing of the slalom piste and almost decent toilets (for France) close by give this canvassed covered crowd pleaser an impressive 8/10

Whilst in Meribel we must also give a shout out to the newly re-named Meri-Bar. I'm pretty sure Fraser Buchan will also back me up on this rasper. Slip down to the bar and order "the big one". 12 euros later, a near dustbin lid sized platter of bacon, sausage, egg, hash browns, beans, mushrooms, tomatoes and toast appears in front of you - without doubt it's the mother, father and god-parent of race piste breakfasts. Granted it's pretty unsuitable for any elite or aspiring racers, therefore denying it a near perfect 10. However even the inevitable downgrading gets slightly offset by the extra pointage earned by having Sky Sports rolling inside - Stelling, Merse & Matt Le Tiss are essential company every Saturday afternoon in the Alps! A  9.5/10 makes the marquee/Meri-Bar combo a must try (at least once) for every first run DNF-er - to quote Cammy "it's unbelievable Jeff"

Courchevel

Poor facilities even though it is very accessible and offering easy lift access for post run bag & ski collection. Only the one gazebo, tables which collapse any time you have more than 3 people perched on them and a pair of toilets that flood more regularly than Somerset cost this one significant pointage. Also, it has to be noted that we were hugely disappointed with the absence of pre-promised pig products to be served between baps and brown sauce. Organisers - please don't promise to bring along the bacon then turn up with soggy pastries, it only costs you café rating points. As a result - 3/10, and I'm flattering you.

Success...

A solid weekend of racing in St. Gervais has left me with nothing but smiles and confidence just a few days before the British Champs in Meribel. Three races, three finishes, all three results reducing my FIS Points, two PB's in GS and lots & lots of positives. As of last weekend I have lowered my points down to an average of 71 in GS and converted my consistency in slalom training into a race day with another battling finish down a challenging course.

An on-lift selfie - courtesy of Milo

I feel that my short break home after Bormio did me a lot of good and allowed me some much needed rest time both physically and mentally. Now with the batteries fully recharged I’m back out, fully focused on getting the job done on the hill over the final month of the season.

The slalom in St Gervais provided some soft and rutty conditions which made it very difficult to attack from the back. A tight set along the flat and a huge off-set on the steep meant the race was always going to be stacked, making it virtually impossible to make the top 30 flip from bib 101. It was a tough battle but I really wanted to up my race consistency before the British, to finally put together a consistent run of slalom races this year and show a true reflection of what I do, run after run in training. As I crossed the line on the second run to end up 36th overall I thought it was a good performance from a start bib of 101. And whilst the points weren’t great they were enough to shave a couple off what I've already got and I think if I keep producing the same kind of fighting performance I should start to drag my slalom points down next season.

Saturday and Sunday were the type of performances we'd been waiting for all season long. Two runs of solid skiing on both days, scoring my best two results of the season. With the terrain ever changing it constantly made it difficult to know what was going to happen but as long as we continued to take it to the hill throughout the runs and stayed strong Ruslan said we would be in a good position to score.

Again the conditions were a little soft, however my start bib was a lot better in the GS's and I started both days with the opportunity to advance through the field with the intention of gatecrashing the top 30 - something I achieved on on both days. 

On the lift with the BSA boys

Certainly the second run on the Sunday, where I got within 0.5s of the race winner whilst knowing I can still go quicker was one of the highlights of my season so far. All in all, it was a great race meet and it has fueled me with plenty of confidence ahead of the British Champs next week.

Next stop however for the training group is Val Thorens and my final opportunity to score this season, as I will have used up all my allocated first year technical starts by the end of these races. With Meribel also just around the corner it'd also be nice to put down some more good runs in both slalom and GS and hopefully get something really low on the board in advance of next winter.

Below are a couple of videos of my training that I've managed to get up online. However keep a look out for the BSA Junior 2014 season video coming out soon and I'll hopefully get my own end of season video over the next few weeks. There may be a bit of GoPro footage mixed into this one as well!

Finally, best wishes to everyone racing in the British Champs and Scottish races next week. It should be a blast.

 

Villars Killed The Radio Star

It’s been another hectic month with lots of races, training, travelling and I even managed to squeeze in a guest radio appearance!

February has been the busiest month of my season and whilst I was expecting it to be tough and physically demanding when we planned the programme at the start of the season, I never thought it would be as hard as it was. It sounds glamorous but eleven races,  five resorts and three countries all in the space of 20 days is incredibly demanding. However it provided me with ample opportunities to score good points and start kicking my season on to achieve the targets I set out at the start of the year.

The first set of races was located in Combloux, which is just around the corner from our base in Les Houches. The first day was a mixed emotions day for me because I didn’t score any new points, however I skied really well in sections of the course but just made a few too many mistakes on both runs. In retrospect, this was most probably due to losing sight of the game plan that me and Ruslan had drawn up during inspection and me looking to charge at every gate of every run. These mistakes most probably cost me the chance to score good points in the race but, as I have come to realise over this past month, it isn’t about scoring new points all of the time. It is about skiing well, consistently putting yourself in good positions and taking the chances when they come. If you are skiing well then it is likely that the points will follow very quickly.

Blue skies for skiing - perfect 

It can be frustrating for every racer when we ski well but don’t quite hit the jackpot with a new score however by keeping patience and developing my consistency when racing, I know I'm going score at some point in the season.

When we got back to the hotel I had a sit down with Ruslan to look at some video and analyse where I went wrong on the day and how if I had ironed out the silly mistakes how my performances would have improved.

This left me very determined to go out the next day and prove to myself that I could do it. Unfortunately heavy overnight snow meant it was pointless me even going to the races as it would just be a waste of one of my 25 tech starts given the inevitable ruts and bumps that would make it virtually impossible to ski well from the back of the field. Frustrating to the max maybe, but it fired me up to ski well the in the next races in Les Gets.

Early morning in Les Houches

A few days later we were in Les Gets ready to do business down some pretty long GS courses. Les Gets was the perfect race for me; long, lots of rolls and suited to the bigger racers on the circuit. After a dream first run I found myself about 3 seconds out which was a great time from the back of the field. I’d also made the top 30 flip, which meant the next run I'd be going down right at the front of the field. I had an unrutted course and the track should be clean which was perfect. This was the opportunity I’d been waiting for all year. However, never one to do things the easy way, it is very much like me to waste these opportunities and yes, you guessed it, I wasted another. Flying down the course I went over one of the rollers, took air and my ski literally clipped one of the gates which was enough to pre-release the binding and that was the end of that. There's no point in trying to complete the course on one ski. Ouch.

It was really disappointing to see that my recurring nightmare had happened again but it’s something I’ve learned to live with over the year and I know it will continue to happen. I've learned that it’s just about getting through it and focusing on the next set of races. To compound that disappointment again, we turned up the following day to see that the race was cancelled due to high wind and poor visibility. Again the opportunity to make amends for the day before had been snatched away from me, but that’s ski racing for you. It's a completely unpredictable sport that has frustrated skiers a lot better than me, so you just have to live with it and go out racing hard the next time you leave the start gate.

In Villars

I didn't have to wait long however as three days later we were in Villars, Switzerland - a place of absolute nightmares as I will explain shortly. There were three races on offer for us, two GS and one slalom, which was great because we finally got to stay in one place for a while. It was a relief to not be on road every day as all of the traveling does take a toll on you physically.

The first two days in Villars were great for me, scoring my two best scores in Giant Slalom of 86 and 81 which was right on my target of 80 GS points by the end of the season.  I skied really well on both GS days and managed to score the 81 despite making a big mistake on the second run over shooting after going off a small jump and as a result nearly missed the following gate. I decided just to go all out in Villars because the conditions were great and I was psyched for the runs. I just wanted to go out and win, no matter how far back I was in the field. Training the week before had gone really well and I knew that I could get right up there if I skied like I did that week. It was great to see that finally my perseverance and hard work had finally repaid me with some promising scores.

However, the slalom the following day was a disaster! I skied really well again and despite making one hefty mistake on the first run I still had a good time. My second run was clean but whilst not necessarily fast I still scored a 78, which was the best score of the year. It was great to see that I can make a few mistakes and still manage to score my best result of the season in slalom because it means that my skiing had moved up a gear. I was over the moon.

We left Villars incredibly happy after the best week I’d had in a long time, only to realise when checking the FIS website for points earned that I had been disqualified on the last gate. I sunk  through the seat in the van, through the floor and then through the motorway tarmac. I couldn't believe that my best score of the year had been taken away from me. I knew that I hadn't done anything wrong and when we checked the video later it indeed proved that I'd skied clean and hadn't done anything wrong.

Obviously, because we had no issues, we assumed that everything would be OK and left the race before checking protocol in order to get back to Les Houches at a sensible time. We had the English Champs coming up and were transferring to Bormio the following day and needed to rest.

Unfortunately however, it appears that the last gate judge got me confused with someone else, put my number down on his paperwork and I was wrongly disqualified. Having missed protocol we couldn’t protest the decision and frustratingly this result is now gone forever. It's a terrible feeling at the moment, however I know that I’ll be scoring results way below the 78 I lost some time soon and I'll forget all about it. For now though I still need the two scores that will to get my average points down and meet my target I set for the year.

Two days later we were in Bormio for the English Alpine Championships 2014. The English has been a pretty happy hunting ground for me in previous years so I was going in with high hopes and real determination after the events in Villars. However this year wasn't really meant to be. Throughout the week I found myself constantly battling against the conditions at the back of the race and unable to race how I wanted to. I really don't think that it was down to any lack of focus, I just think I was trying too hard to re-score that 78 again and it was completely impossible in those conditions from the back. There is however a pretty good café review ready to write the next report!

Good focus at the start 

The final day in Bormio finally bought a really good day however! 1^st British 1997 and 3^rd under 18 brought me my first medal of the year and - more importantly - also saw the return of some solid race day skiing. The first run I put down in the GS was one of the poorest technical performances I'd produced all season but I was determined to just keep wanting more speed and keep fighting on the line to stay in. All through my mind down that first course was the same line I've heard all season from Ruslan “never agree with situation, always more, ALWAYS MORE! NEVER AGREE!”

It finally hit home the sole meaning of that quote when I got to the bottom after Run 1. It wasn't clean and it wasn't great but I'd blitzed the lads I was really racing. Run 2 was a little bit slower, scrappier and the time wasn't great but the feelings I got from the first run and the trophy I was bringing home was enough to satisfy me for all of the journey from Bormio back to Walsall.

Now I’m back home things have quietened down quite a little and I've had time for some good reflections on the past month. Overall I think it's been a very good month that has taught me a lot about FIS ski racing and the qualities you need to be a good racer at the top end of skiing. It is all about perseverance, keeping focused on the ultimate goal and not being disheartened when the points are raining home for what feels like everyone but you because you know if you keep skiing well then they will follow quickly.

Vicky & Adam at BBC Radio Shropshire

It was also nice to come home to a bit of press! Earlier this week I was swooped over to BBC Radio Shropshire to do an interview about me, my training at BSA, Telford Ski Club and everything to do with skiing. It was really good to talk to Adam Green and Vicki Archer about what I was doing, where I'm hoping to go with skiing and how I am going to get there. It was important to tell people all this information and hopefully I get some replies and maybe some attention from it in the future. It was also good to get my Dad on the radio - especially as he spent the whole journey there trying to spook me over how many people would be listening. We also got some nice plugs in for some of my sponsors, so Head, Velocity Heath & Fitness, Ski Bartlett and Uvex will no doubt be delighted!

For now at least I'm back at school, finding time to keep on top of my A levels and spending some time with my friends and family, which is always nice. It was also great have time to sit back and watch Dave Ryding do so well in Sochi - 17th in the Olympics with a Fellows-esque 2nd run mistake was a great effort from the Rocket.

No doubt it won't be long until I'm looking forward to getting back out to BSA and building up to the season's grand finale, the British Alpine Championships. Wish me luck!

My Tour of Race Piste Cafés ~ Part 1

As the races haven’t been going so well recently I’ve spent a few too many hours in and around cafes waiting for the others to finish racing so we can head back home. My time in the cafe has become a bit of a running joke of late and I’ve had a few requests off of people to “rate the cafes” 

Hopefully my finishing record will improve and by the end of the season I won't be able to tell you where the best cafe is but for now I can help with a few!

San Pellegrino

A great little cafe but the most boring place on Earth after coming out of a slalom race. Hot chocolate was decent but a bit pricy at 3.50 euro and same goes for the food. The cafe was a good distance away from the race course but in a convenient place being right in the finish area. So convenient that I didn’t bother going round to get my kit after the first run and left Laurie to bring it round for me.

One point deducted just for being in San Pellegrino but still a solid 6/10

Pila Gressan

Surprisingly didn’t hit the cafe in this one, however it looked quite toasty from outside.

Chamonix

Small cafe with good service and cheap snacks. Cookies for 1 euro were lovely and the food was great even if it was a bit pricy. As a little extra you could even watch the race from one of the seats in the cafe which was good until everyone cottoned onto the fact and I lost my seat rather dramatically. After a DNF on the first night the heating was great after a cold couple of nights and I would recommend it for any fellow DNF’ers of the ski world.

This is a great cafe with a great view. A solid 8/10

Morzine

Another well situated cafe right at the bottom of the hill however we never really spent that much time in the cafe other than getting food. A 2^nd run DNF on day one & Ruslan pulling us all out on the second day meant cafe time here was minimal however my pasta carbonara was great and the three-cheese toasted bread was pleasant.

However it is hard to rate this one, just for the lack of time spent in there, so ill give it 5/10.

Champery

Yes. It did hurt.

Two of the finest cafes that you will see around the Alps. After crashing both days me and Laurie spent an accumulated 6 hours in the cafe which left us with plenty of time for non-ski related activities. The hot chocolate was little pricy at 4 francs each, however I suppose that given this is Switzerland we can let that one slip. We had a good little game of pool on both days which was good to laugh at Laurie’s great habit of potting the white after every attempted shot. Once it had all settled down we managed to get a rocking chair next to the fire and even watch the race, or more to the point, the last gate because of the terrible visibility. The large mirror in the toilet that offered selfie opportunities of the gate mark I got across my back earns this alpine gem an extra half point. If you're going to DNF a first run, then we heartily recommend you do it here.

We would definitely recommend this cafe and rate it a good 9/10. Clearly this beauty is going to take some beating this year.