England Skicross

2010-05-18T15:46:00.003+01:00

So after some productive talks I can now proudly announce my new sponsor BlackFly Sunglasses.
Lets hope this relationship goes from strength to strength and we can get the BlackFlies name out there!

Make sure you add them on Twitter and go check out their website... NOW!
www.blackflys.biz
www.twitter.com/blackflys

Peace

Skicross Olympics race report!!

2010-02-22T13:35:00.008Z

Last night Skicross made its debut into the winter olypics with a crash, bang and a wallop... Literally.

I sat glued to the TV watching every heat like i was there with the boys racing! The first heat saw Mr Daron Rahlves go down which was a suprise to everyone. Daron, coming back from a dislocated hip only three weeks prior to the games looked strong but was forced wide which in turn made him crash and loose all hope of securing a spot on the podium. Daron sat at the bottom talking to the media whilst watching the heats and was quoted as saying "I was determined to race in the Olympics, But I'm disappointed with the outcome."

Daron Rahlves and Ted Piccard mid air collision

The Second heat saw Anders Rekdal and Simon Stickl crash on the second to last jump which meant my Jamaican pal Errol Kerr and Canadian Davey Barr went though to the quarter finals.

The other heats were filled with action packed racing, with thrills and spills and surprising results. Australian boy Scotty Kneller brought something special out of the bag and skied his heart out, beating some of the top dogs taking him though to the semi finals. An absolutely amazing result for him. Shout outs go out to Scotty for racing like a champ.
Another underdog Filip Flisar from Slovenia dominated round after round taking him through to the semifinals. Filip is a force to be reckoned with when racing. He isnt one of the biggest guys out there but he sure enough has the power to force people out and hold his line. He showed this last night when he finished in 8th place. A massive shout out to Filip and all the Slovenian boys for this awesome result. Congrats buddy!

From left to right - Filip Flisar, Audun Groenvold, Scott Kneller and Chris Delbosco

The finals didnt leave any action out either. Out of the start power house Schmid took the lead followed by Andreas Matt, Groenvold and in 4th Delbosco. Matt chased Schmid like a fox chasing a hare but Schmid was too quick for Matt to make a move. Behind them Groenvold was tried to hold of Delbosco but the canadian used Groenvolds slip stream and made a brilliant over take. Coming into the second to last jump Delbosco juiced his skis and found some speed looking to take Andreas Matt. He came off the second to last jump sitting to far in the back seat and crashed leaving room for Groenvold to take the bronze.
A massive Congratulations goes out to Schmid, Matt and Groenvold for becoming the first Olympic medalists.

Last night was a turning point in Skicross. We can only hope that this pushes our sport to knew heights and bigger things.

Welcome to the mad world of Skicross...

If you want to watch the full race go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00qjsqy/Olympics_2010_Vancouver_2010_Mens_Giant_Slalom_and_Mens_Ski_Cross/

P.S Here are some Pictures from the last few weeks as promised!!!

Home sweet home

2010-02-17T12:41:00.004Z

At the moment im sitting on my comfy sofa at home in the UK. We are only back for 10 days before we drive back out to train some more before the next race in Sierra Nevada.

This week ill be in the gym, online booking flights and going to meetings! FUN FUN FUN! I will keep you guys updated as to what ive been doing and whats going on in the next few weeks.
Take care and remember to keep shredding x

Lienz, Austria

2010-02-10T11:25:00.000Z

On saturday we drove from Niederau to Lienz for a week of training before my next race in Davos, Switzerland.
We started training on monday with some free skiing working on some race technique and how to get as little air off jumps as possible. We trained hard and the results seemed to pay off.
Yesterday we got up bright and early and went up the hill to use the skicross course for some good training. My coach set the course and we trained hard for a good 5 hours. Needless to say the training the previous day had payed off and i was skiing really well. I just hope i can take this into the race in Davos. Today we are going to the gym and prepping the skis for traveling tomorrow.
Ill keep you updated in the next few days
x

Niederau, Austria..

2010-02-05T13:20:00.002Z

So for the last week my coach and I have been in a little resort called Niederau, Austria near Kitzbuhel. We are staying here for another day then traveling to Lienz for a week for some intense Giant slalom and Super G training before the next europacup race in Davos, Switzerland.

After being in Niederau for a week we have both been pleasently supprised at how awesome this little resort is! We are staying in a place called the Auhof which is situated up the mountain a little way. It takes around 15 minutes to walk into town and around 25 minutes on the way back up!!!
The owners of the Auhof are British and they moved out here about 5 years ago to start this amazing hotel. My coach Ian knows them from racing on the dry slope circuit back home so they have given us a pretty nice room! Their son Martin is fascinated with brewing beer, so a year ago he got all his finances together and started brewing his own beer. Now most of you are probably imagining a little home brewing kit in his garage but you couldn't be more wrong!
The room is full of large machinery, Sterilising units, Bags of Malt, Hundreds of Bottles and more. Martin at only 18 is the proud owner of his brewery and the beer he sells to the local bars. It is so popular that he is finding it hard to keep upto the high demand of his very tasty beverage called Drachental Beer. If your ever in the area be sure to go along to one of the local bars and try this heavenly tasting beer.

This week we have had a brilliant powder day and have free skied the rest of the time. My ankle is feeling strong again after my injury and i am hoping that I will be skiing well in Davos. Hopefully i will make a good result in what i can only believe will be a very hard field.
I shall keep you posted as to what i am doing over the next few days and how my training is going. Unfortunately at the moment our internet is very slow so uploading pics is taking ages but i will add some as soon as i get some better signal.

Take care and remember to keep shredding x

Europa cup...

2010-02-02T20:24:00.011Z

So i left you last time just before the race in Le Sauze. Well that was interesting to say the least!

The first race didnt go as well i has planned but still wasnt the worst. I came 52 out of a very hard field which was suprising as i made a few mistakes.
The second race i managed to take 3 seconds off my time but as most people had run the course a fair few times, it seemed everyone was faster and racing quicker. In training i fell pretty badly, knocking myself out and taking my confidence with it. I got up and got ready to race. Unfortunately my confidence was shot and this showed in my run, making silly mistakes and being wary through every turn. I got to the bottom and knew i could have skied faster. This time i came 56th which was fairly disapointing.
From Le Sauze we traveled to Les Houches to drop off England Skicross Team mate Max Hardy at the British Ski Academy and continued our journey to Niderau, Austria.

In a few days we will be traveling back to Lienz, Austria to train before the next race in Davos. We will be training some hard GS and Super G and will also be working on air position. Hopefully this will give me the confidence and Technique i will need to race well in Davos. After Davos i will be getting back in the van and departing the alps for a few days whilst thousands of tourist descend on the ski resorts around europe.
On the 24th ill be heading back out to meet the Jack Wills boys for two days of fun before the two week intensive training I have before the race in Sierra Nevada.

Here are some pictures from the last two weeks...

Les Contamines World Cup

Les Contamines World Cup

Satski Helmet

Snow sculptures

More snow...

Chilling in the Jack Wills Seasonnaire Hoody

View from the Chamonix pass to Sion

Europa cup tour starts NOW!

2010-01-28T17:57:00.002Z

The last few days have been absolutely manick!
Yesterday morning i left the UK with what was supposed to be a 12 hour drive to Le Sauze, France in front of me...
I left good old Blighty and headed for france. I arrived in Calais at around 9am and then had to drive the 8 hour drive to Les Houches to pick up my England Team, Team mate Max Hardy.
The drive to Les Houches was tedious, and to top it off i only had myself for company!
I made good time and arrived in Les Houches at 4.45pm. After a well earned/needed coffee we packed the van with Max's kit and away we went. This part of the journey was supposed to take us around 4 hours. Now id like to point out that Max isnt the most organised of people so when i asked him if he had his Passport to hand he looked at me with terror!
(As you will know if you have done this particular trip, the road takes you through the Frejus Tunnel. This tunnel cuts through the Corner of Italy hence the reason you need a passport.)
After we discovered he didnt have his passport to hand we had to choose an alternative route. This route was over a pass that runs through Valloire. It took about an hour to get over to Valloire and once there we carried on along the pass to find that there was a massive bank of snow blocking our way through!!! DAM IT!
We turned around and had to try the border and just hope they didnt check. But then we came up with an even better plan!!
As we drove up towards the Italian border Max jumped in the back of the van and covered himself in coats. Our plan was to try and sneak though without him being detected, and if he was just say that he was sleeping!!!! GENIUS.
We got to the border (max hidden under various peoples garments) and luckily the two officials there had pulled two cars over already. The lady shone the light down the van and waved us through! MAX/ED 1 ITALIAN BORDER PATROL 0!
We drove through the stupidly sized tunnel hoping that the next border patrol would be the same or we could blag our way through. So again max hid under the coats and we drove towards the next Italian border patrol. On the way out of Italy they have an Italian border patrol and a french one so this would be twice as hard!
Luckily for us the Italians dont believe in work so had already gone home. What a result. MAX/ED 2 ITALIAN BORDER PATROL 0. Now for the French one. We drove towards the hut which was illuminated by several lights that where on and continued driving past but trying not to stop. The guard must have gone to the Toilet or was otherwise engaged but this was perfect for our smuggeling attempt. We carried on driving and broke through to France without any problems.
We arrived in Le Sauze at midnight last night and as i had been driving for 19hours i decided it was definately time for bed!

We went up the hill for training today and we were all extremely suprised at how well the course ran and flowed. We spent a good 2 hours training the course which has made me confident that tomorrow will go well!!!
I will let you know tomorrow how it all goes...

So for now all i have to say is take care and keep shredding
Peace x

2010-01-25T14:08:00.002Z

Ok so ive been back in the UK now for the last two weeks waiting for the next race in europe to kick off. It has been really useful having some time off. Ut has given me the opotunity to rest, get in the gym, sort my busted ankle and have some down time! I am leaving for Le Sauze on wednesday morning and face a 14 hour drive to get there... UHHH I am really not looking forward to it!! So today i am frantically packing then repacking my kit and the van and making sure everything is hunky dory with the transport so that i don't break down in the middle of the french country side!
Anyways, I will keep you all posted on the results of the next race and you can find out if i make it to the race...

WORRRRRD X

Time at home...

2010-01-18T16:56:00.002Z

So i am back in the UK for a week before i fly to the USA for a race at Sugar Bowl where i hope to earn some big points. Unfortunately i have sprained my ankle so am in the gym training before the next set of races whilst i have some spare time!
I will be leaving for San Fransico on the 28th to race to NORAM's in Sugar Bowl. Please keep checking for more posts shortly...

Take care and keep shredding x

The next leg of the tour is in sight!

2010-01-11T13:08:00.007Z

Hey guys i hope all is well and that you are all taking the oppotunity to get out and shred some of this fantastic powder!

At the end of my last blog i had just finished training on the course in Les Contamines. The course was brilliant with fantastic features flowing nicely into each other and jumps that actually had landings! The next day was suppose to be qualifying but instead we stood on the mountain for 7 hours whilst course officials deliberated if the weather was good enough to run the race. At about 3.30pm the officials postponed qualifying until the next morning.

The next morning i was woken by my alarm screaming at me telling me it was 6am and that i had to get up. We rode the gondola up to the to the bottom of the race course in the pitch black. As we got to the top of the course the sun was just poking its head over the mountain. Still in mid darkness all the racers tried to inspect the course. By the time training had started it was light but the visability again was poor.
As i pulled out of the start gate for my qualifying run the clouds desended even further. I knew the course but unfortunately i couldn't see any of the features. I launched off of jumps that i could not see the take off's or landings for and hit roller packs that were invisible. To say the least my time was not exceptional by any means. The last few racers to come down suffered to with all the times being at the back of the field. Even the other racer agreed i was exceptionally unlucky.

We left Les Contamines yesterday morning stopping in Bourg D'Oisans at my coach's friends house for a lovely cup of english tea! Just what the doctor ordered. We are now in Alps D'huez but unfortunately my ankle is playing up so i will not be racing which is a massive shame. So tomorrow i will be departing Grenoble at 10 am for Gatwick airport. This coming week i will be prepping ski's and making sure i am in the best shape i can be for my trip to the USA and Canada.

So for now all i shall say is take care and remember KEEP SHREDDING!!

Xx

P.S here are some photos from the last few races hope you enjoy

2010-01-07T16:27:00.009Z

Firstly I would like to wish you all a very prosperous new year. I hope this year brings you some great skiing. After my last blog I drove from Saas Fee back to Lienz to train before the second World Cup race in St Johann. Normally the journey would take me around 8 hours via Zurich. However, because there was so much snow on the road it took me over 13 hours...!!!

We left for St Johann last Sunday morning so that we would get there just before our inspection. The course was interesting to say the least! They had injected the course from top to bottom which meant they had sprayed water into the snow so that it was solid ice. This made it incredibly painful on the landings of the jumps and extremely dangerous. Not only was the course incredibly hard but it was also at night! The race course was flood lit so seeing on course was not a problem however getting to the course from the gondola, it was pitch black! Luckily I had my trusty Satski (www.satsportsgps.com) to hand which guided me effortlessly down the run all the way to the top of the course.

Over 5 helicopters and 6 blood wagons were used at the race which was absurd! I raced ok, but the course was more alpine than skicross. Not my fortay! This being the case i didnt do too well but still managed to finish in one piece!! The finals of the race saw some interesting results with World Champion skicross racer Tomas Kraus not qualify and Simon Stickl winning the race.

That evening we had a team ceremony in the main town which was brilliant. All the teams lined up just up the road, all stood behind there correct flags. We marched into town proudly behind the GB flag into a huge crowd that took pictures and cheered.

After this all the teams were treated to a traditional Austrian dinner with some interesting entertainment. There was a group of men that wore very tight shorts and performed a very odd traditional dancing!!

We left St Johann yesterday morning with the daunting 8 hour drive staring us in the face. This time it did take us 8 hours to get to Les Contamines thank god. Today we trained on course which was fantastic. The course is perfect with huge features and the landings matching the jumps.
Tomorrow is qualifying and i will do my very best to make it a perfect run.

Take care and remember to keep shredding xx

Christmas frolicks

2009-12-29T19:33:00.004Z

Well a very Merry christmas to you all. I hope that you all enjoyed christmas as much as i have.

Apologies for the lateness of this blog. The last few weeks have been extremely busy for me with the first set of races kicking off and christmas time!

After the last blog things really kicked off with our trip to Geilo, Norway. After hours of sitting round our living room table we decided that going via the UK was the cheapest and best option. So on the 10th of December, Craig, Pete, Greg and myself travelled back to the UK to get our connecting flight to Oslo, Gardermoen. Our flight to Norway wasnt until the next day which allowed us all time to go home for a night to see our friends and in my case, my beautiful girlfriend!

We departed the UK early friday morning for Oslo. The flight was short and sweet and before i could realise it we were in the rental car, ski bags attached to the roof and all our bags tightly packed into the boot. The trip took us through the rolling hills that were layered with fresh snow but this meant that the roads were covered too. Greg our designated driver for the trip liked to see himself as a bit of a rally driver. So we hurtled down snow covered mountain roads in our 4 wheel drive Skoda Octavia. To my suprise the car stuck to the ice fields like super glue and we arrived in Geilo way before our ETA. The hotel we had booked was absolutely stunning with the front door of our little log cabin opening up onto the race piste.

The next few days were a little bit of a mess up with the first race of the weekend being cancelled due to the course being badly built. So the first day was used as a training day which led us in good stead for the race the next day. Unfortunately my qualifying run didnt go to plan when i put my arm through a gate and ripped my shoulder out of its socket. This made my body spin round and i practically stopped on course. NOT FAST! I finished my run and was not shocked to see that my time was at the back of the pack. After the race the organisers told everyone that there would be a race held the next day to make up for the first day. Unfortunately for me i had my flight booked and it would have cost me a small fortune to stay. So i said goodbye to Norway and traveled back to Lienz.

The next few days were spent training before the first World Cup race in San Candido, Italy.

We arrived in Italy on the 18th and started on the skis straight away. The course was short but fun and i thouroughly enjoyed that race. My time was respectable coming 3 seconds off of 1st place. The second race wasnt my best result but was also not bad.

I am currently in Saas Fee spending christmas and new year with my family and amazing girlfriend. Having lots of fun using my Satski and collecting some awesome data! I will be back to Lienz in the new year for some more training before the race in Les Contamines.

So i wish you all a happy new year and remember to keep skiing...

Peace x

2009-12-07T14:59:00.007Z

This weeks training has been absolutely brilliant, and thank god, as the first race of the season lumes just round the corner.
Team spirit this week has been really high with the arrival of another new friend Mr Peter Whelan.

Pete has moved from the darkside of alpine to skicross. Seeing the errors of his ways I believe he will be staying with us for some time now and has proved to all that he can hold his own on course.

The last week has been absolutely brilliant with the festive season kicking off, with Christmas markets and Krampus. Now I know that most of you are probably wondering what on earth Krampus is? I shall try and explain as best I can... A mythological hairy horned figure that was a close companion of St. Nicholas. He complimented the giving of of gifts during the Christmas season by beating children who misbehaved with birch branches or by carrying them off in his sack. Krampus is specific to the Austria-Bavaria region but similar figures appear in other parts of Europe under different names. December 5th, the Eve of St. Nicholas, is still set aside to celebrate Krampus where people dress up in grotesque masks and unsuspecting women are whipped. Some of these traditions continue in parts of the United States. His origins remain obscure though he predates Christian Europe. Many postcards were produced depicting Krampus though he is sometimes mistaken for the devil.

This is what the Krampus look like. If you can imagine 300 of these beasts running down the street at you then you can comprehend what we had to go through! Very scary but fun non the less.

We have also taken up playing tennis and squash twice a week on top of all the other training. There have been some fantastic battles in the squash hall with Craig (team mate) and Ian (my coach) battling it out to become the squash master champion. Craig's fines and practice payed dividend as he claimed the tittle this week.

During training last friday it started snowing. We rode the train down through the mountain and reached the van which had a foot of snow on!! Our trip home which would normally 45 mins from Moltaller to Lienz took an hour and a half. Partly because we had to put the snow chains on the van and no one knew how to do it!! We attempted to drive up the mountain without them but this only left us half way up the mountain... stuck. We took the decision to get out and try and put the snow chains on. This was not fun.

It took around 30mins to put on the chains and start our journey home again! It snowed for another day which has left us in good stead for the first race this coming weekend. We are traveling to the UK on the 10th where we will stay at home for an evening before traveling to Norway. We will race on the 13th and 14th in Geilo, Norway. Hopefully it all goes well and the training pays off.

Hope your all well

Word x

The tour is in full swing!

2009-11-27T13:44:00.002Z

So we are into our second week of training and have had some pretty good days on the hill. Most of the week we have been training with the start gate up at Moltaller glacier where we have an amazing course thanks to the NoTeam boys.

We are still waiting with baited breath until the 1st of December when we will find out if the first race in Grasgerhen, Germany will take place or not. There has been no snow so far this season in europe, and lots of the resorts are finding it hard to open with this little snow! Unlike Whistler which has had 5meters of snow in the last 7 days! UNFAIR. So we shall see what happens within the next two weeks and see if our plans change!

I am currently sitting in my apartment with the rest of the team playing ice hockey on the xbox having some down time. Tomorrow we are going into town christmas shopping but as of yet have no idea what to buy the girlfriend so could be quite a long day!

Ill keep you all posted on next weeks goings on and i will have some photos for you too.

Take care all

Word Xx

England Skicross

2009-11-11T18:01:00.000Z

Less than a week to go until I leave for austria and there is still so much to do!!!