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!