Finland/Norway World Cups, Broken Skis And The Wrap Up

After my performance in the Estonian World cup I was tossing up whether or not it was worth it to continue on with racing World cup circuit. In the end I was keen to give it another shot and decided to extend my trip another 2 weeks to race Lahti (Finland) and Drammen (Norway). I had to get approved leave from uni as I would be missing the first 2 weeks and I had to stay a couple more nights in Turkey so I wouldn’t go over the 90 day rule without a visa in Europe so it was never going to be the smoothest operation ever but there were a few more things that made it a bit more interesting.

On a domestic flight within Turkey my bags were lost/never made it to the destination so I was stressing quite a bit leading into the Finland race that I wouldn’t have my gear. Luckily enough my bags arrived less than 12 hours before my next flight and I arrived in Finland a little more relaxed! The course was pretty hilly which was good as I was sure I that everyone would have to stride rather than double pole which suited me a lot more. It was just Callum and myself there so we had to do a lot ourselves such as confirm entries, go to team captains meetings etc so that was a bit of an experience. The day before race start we rocked up to our wax cabin and all our skiis were gone and nowhere to be seen, the Check Republic team had taken over. We searched around for about an hour and eventually we found our skis shoved into the electrical/boiler room which we had to turn into a wax cabin, not ideal, was quite toasty inside that’s for sure! Soon enough race day came around and I was feeling good! Out of the start and around the first 2 thirds of the course I was solid, in the latter sections and the downhill I was a bit sketchy almost falling due to fatigue and some tough corners. I ended up 24secs back from the winner with 134 FIS points and although it wasn’t my best points it was my best race on World cup to date finishing ahead of about 5 others.

One more night was spent in Finland before we headed to Norway, where the fun began. On a bus from our airport gate to the plane out on the tarmac our bus suddenly stops, the bus driver gets out and pulls something off the road and leans it against a nearby power pole, turns out its none other than my ski bag, with a big rip down the side. Sitting on the plain I was annoyed that the new bag I had just bought had a big rip in it but as it turns out, that was the least of my worries. When we arrived in Oslo (Norway) the closer inspection of the bag turned out a lot worse. The bag looked to have been ran over by multiple large vehicles and the inside proved it, there were four of my best skis destroyed, my pole tube exploded and a pair of pole turned to carbon flakes! Another non-ideal situation to say the least but after a heated conversation with the baggage handling department I had vented myself a little and continued on the journey to Drammen. Drammen is a pretty large city and the venue and atmosphere was great for the classic sprint. Once again it was just Callum and I but we had 2 Norwegians wax teching for us. So I managed to find a pair of skis amongst the scrap within my ski bag to race on and I was once again ready to go. The conditions were tough, some guys were opting the double pole option while most were striding. To add to this it was raining on the track and then about half an hour before race start it turned to snow making wax conditions tricky. I started off solidly and by the top of the main hill wasn’t far off the pace although after the main decent the long double pole section into the finish crushed me and like many times before I faded in the last 200 metres. I ended up signing the list but even so it wasn’t the worst race ever, I ended up 25 or so seconds back with FIS points around 160. Callum decided not to race due to sickness which was quite disappointing for him as it was our last race of the season. Although it was sad to be leaving the both of us were keen to be leaving, our form was starting to fade and we needed some sun badly!

All up I was pretty happy with my season, my main goal was to qualify for and race World cup which I managed to do. Next season is a Championship year so there is a lot of racing to look forward to including U/23 World champs, World uni games, 2012/2013 World Cup circuit, 2013 World Champs as well as the usual Conti cup and National races. I am now back in Australia on break from uni and starting to do a bit more training for the Australian season.

I would like to thank everyone who supported me this European winter including Birkebeiner Nordic Ski Club, University of Ballarat, Ballarat Sports Foundation, My Parents and sister, coach Finn Marsland and JC, wax techs Fabian and Simbo and the boys that make Euro tripping that much more enjoyable!

U/23 World Champs, Erzurum, Turkey

Spending some time in Livigno seems like it was exactly what I needed to get some form back leading into the U/23 World Championships in Erzurum, Turkey. It was good to arrive at the tracks feeling fresh and not realising the altitude as much as I did the year before.

The day before the skate sprint I was feeling good, I was fresh, I wasn’t noticing the altitude much at all and I felt like I had the spark back that I had been lacking prior to this. Having said that I was a bit worried about the course and how much it was going to hurt, the major work section was all in the first third of the course and going out too hard could mean major time loss later in the race.

Warming up I was feeling good, nervous but ready to have a good one. I made sure I went out of the conservative side to make sure I wouldn’t blow. I skied solidly out of the stadium and up the major hill; getting to the top I thought a had done exactly what I hadn’t wanted to do and gone out too hard but after a small downhill rest I had regathered somewhat. Up the second hill I put down all that I could and was starting to hurt badly; I then tried to hold it together as much as possible and dragged myself through the stadium and up the finish straight in a world of pain. I didn’t make finals but I was happy with the way I had skied, not blowing too badly and able to push hard. I ended up finishing 45^th and getting my best FIS points to date of 107 which I was stoked about and happy to have some form back.

We then had a day off before the 15km classic where I was once again feeling quite good doing some efforts on the course. It was another tough course with lots of climbing and limited rest. It was going to be another day to go out conservatively, especially because recovery on the downs was much worse due to the altitude.

Race day, I was feeling good and confident with my wax. I went out easier as planned and was feeling good. Up the major hills I was sure to concentrate on my technique making sure to ski as efficiently as possible. Around the 7km mark, going up the major climb for the second time I was really starting to hurt and close to tipping over the edge, this reminded me that I had to stay more conservative as the lack of oxygen was taking its toll. 3^rd time around the 5km loop I was really hurting, starting to fatigue badly and going slightly dizzy at the top of the hills due to the lack of oxygen. I finished hard and was happy it was over. I ended up finishing 55^th, slightly ahead of my rank which was good and happy to get my best distance points of 115.

Another day off between races lead to some ski testing and a very easy skate to prepare for the 30km skiathlon. I wasn’t so fresh for the 30km after the classic the day before but the easy ski brought the legs back a little. A bit of a boring but relaxing way to spend my 21^st.

With around 66 races the start was hectic, lots of people crashing and getting caught up in a bunch of skis and poles. I was very lucky to avoid the shemozzle at times. The pace was hot and I was working hard to ski efficiently so I would hold on as long as possible. I was skiing well and held on to the bunch for some time but after some kms I had to drop off the back to avoid blowing. I was just off the back of a small group which Callum was skiing in but unable to bridge the gap and started slowly loosing time on this group as well as the front bunch. I changed skis happy to be finished with the classic, it took me around 2kms to get my skate legs turning over but once I was going I started skiing fairly well. I was getting feeds of coke off mark and this was giving me a boost, I was still losing time to the front bunch and because of the small loop was worried about the lap rule. In the end one lap off starting the final skate lap I was pulled. It was quite frustrating because after getting pulled the front runners didn’t come through for a few minutes and judging by when Cal came through and how far back I was on him I may have gone close to making it round into the last lap, but then again that may have been wishful thinking. I was lapped off in 54^th position out of 66 starters as lot of people behind me had given up and pulled out and some lapped off as well so although I didn’t finish I was happy with the way I had skied.

All up I was pretty happy with the week and the way I had skied, happy to have some form back. After the last race we had a bit of a night out with all the other teams which was good fun and celebrated the 21^st a bit.

I now head to Lahti, Finland, for a classic sprint World Cup which I hope to pick up a bit from where I was in the Otepaa Classic sprint.

OPA/Swiss Cup races (Campra)

The few days leading into these OPA Cup races I was struggling with sickness but going into the first day of racing, the classic sprint I thought I was back and ready to go. Warming up on race day I felt o.k. (much better than the day before) and thought I would be able to go alright but this was soon proven wrong. Out of the stadium and up the first hill I was feeling o.k. then up the second I was starting struggle and soon realised that I didn’t have my usual spark, I started to slip and time started to get away from. Up the last hill I couldn’t throw down nearly as hard as I would have like to, I just couldn’t turn over at any rate, I tried to keep it together double poling into the stadium but was quite lactic by this point. I ended up placing way out the back which was pretty devastating as I was hoping to make heats but anyway, hopefully go better tomorrow in the 10km classic.

Waking up, on the morning run and warming up I was feeling marginally better than the previous day, my grip was good and my skis were running fast. The course changed to 4 times a 2.5km loop due to the gale force winds and -20 degrees temp. Heading out on the first lap I tried to ski myself into rhythm and not go too hard and by the second lap I was feeling alright and lifted the tempo. Soon after picking it up I soon came aware that I still wasn’t 100% and had to work hard to keep it together. Going out for the fourth lap was a little demoralizing as the top guys were starting their first lap and streaming past quickly. Many times I considered pulling out, especially when I started getting stomach cramps so I was pretty happy to see the finish line. I ended up with 175ish FIS points which was o.k. considering circumstances.

The 15km Skate (Pursuit start) on Sunday was shaping up to be just as hard as Saturday, it was just as cold and the snow was incredibly slow. Due to a slower start on the Saturday I was starting in the last wave, 5 mins back, I didn’t mind this as there were some skiers around me to help pace myself. After a few KMs a couple of skiers in the wave went off the front and not long later I dropped the last few skiers as well. I tried to bridge the gap to the next skier so as I had someone to work with but this was not happening and unfortunately I found myself skiing almost the whole 15kms by myself although it felt like about 30km due to the slow snow. Although I have not yet seen results from this day I am confident in saying it wasn’t my best race I’ve ever had. We are now in Livigno for 2 weeks at 1800m altitude in preparation for going to the U/23 World champs, I am hoping I can regain some form in this time and get back up there to race fast again.

Also a big thanks to JC for giving me bomber fast skis all weekend!

Austrian Champs

There was a very quick turnaround from arriving back in Seefeld on the Monday night to then leave again on the Wednesday. It was good to have very large National team with two full vans of skiers and gear.

The first race on the Friday was a skate sprint and after my race in Otepaa I was keen to have a good one and get some low points again. It was a fairly long tough course of about 1600 metres with cold slowish snow so I made the effort to go out of the more conservative side to avoid blowing and hopefully come home strong. This worked fairly well as I felt I didn’t lose bulk amounts of time in the last third of the race like I often do. I ended up qualifying 16^th, 13 seconds behind the winner with my best FIS points so far of 112 so I was pretty stoked about that.

In the heats I wanted to make it through to the semi’s as I’ve never done this before in Europe so I went out aggressively and wasn’t going to get boxed out like I did in the German cup not that long ago. I had a sweet start and got into second heading up the main hill. I sat comfortably up the hill along the flat and over the top but then two or three guys passed me on the gradual down so I tried to lay down the law and bring them back in, but then as if a switch had been flicked I went lactic something chronic. Going up the last hill I tried to give it some but unfortunately I was past it by then and skied across the line with what felt like an acid party in my legs. Calboss and Mark Vandy skied solidly in their heats and were unable to go through despite being a lot closer to the front than I was. Esbot had a good one coming in in 2^nd place! PK, Tutty and Calboss also smashed out their best FIS points to date so a good day was had by most.

I was pretty stoked the distance events this weekend were both 10km races instead of 15km, the shorter the better I reckon. It was a 10km classic on the Saturday with a solid course with well varied terrain. I was starting to feel a bit on the sick side and was wondering how I would end up going. As it turned out it seemed my sickness hadn’t ventured down to my lungs yet and I could ski at near 100%. 10km races are always painful and I today was no exception, I turned myself inside out to go as hard as I could to the point of almost blowing and was quite happy with the way I skied. I ended up with 134 FIS points which was O.K.

Warming up on the Sunday for the 10km skate with a pursuit start I was feeling quite flat and lethargic with my slight sickness possibly taking some energy. I was lucky enough to start only one second in front of another skier, this was good as I tried to get a sit on him and hang on. This worked well for the first three quarters of a lap but after working really hard on a steep pinch to hang on I was tipped over the edge and blew up with lactic acid. With around 6km left to drag myself around I tried to minimise the time I was rapidly losing while having an acid party in my legs.

Overall I was pretty happy with the way the weekend ended up going but I am pretty keen for a rest from racing although this won’t come for a little while as we have four days until another three days of straight racing in Campra next weekend.

Otepaa – World Cup in Estonia

After a solid weekend at the Millan World Cup on the weekend we fly up to Estonia in good spirits. Thursday was spent mostly travelling from Seefeld, in Austria to Otepaa, in Estonia. Finn drove the team van with Cal and I to Munich airport where we then flew to Riga, in Latvia then onto Tallin, in Estonia. We then had a bit of a wait in the airport for the Slovenian team as their flight was delayed, once they arrive we jumped on a bus and took the 3hr drive into Otepaa arriving at 12:30 that night, not ideal prep leading into a World Cup but anyway.

On Friday we sussed out the course which I was pretty happy that there was more striding than I had anticipated from watching previous race footage. I received some loving from OneWay as they replaced my broken poles which was awesome. I was happy with the course, the grip and how I was feeling in general and went into the race day with confidence.

 

 

There were a few skiers from Latvia, Lithuania, Kazakhstan and national group skiers with worse FIS points than me so I wasn’t the worst ranked skier like I was the week before and I was keen to hold my rank and hopefully not come last. In the warm up I was feeling good, I had plenty of grip and my skis were running pretty quickly. Callum was ranked 1 place ahead of me and started 15 secs in front. This was good as I could gage how I was going on the two switchbacks on the course. I skied the first two thirds of the course well, striding both hills and doing it as well as I could possibly have. I believe I lost most of my time in the final third of the course as it is a long gradual double pole section and my double pole isn’t the strongest part of my skiing that’s for sure. Although I felt I skied O.K. in the end it was quite a devastating result as I ended up signing the list in last place. I don’t think I could have really gone any faster on any parts of the course I just got a genuine pumping! A lot of the men opted to race on skate skis and just smash out the double pole for the whole race but I didn’t have the strength to do that, so never even considered it.  Esther was the only lady to double pole the whole course on skate skis and gained a lot of respect and a solid result from doing so. Callum was a fair way ahead me but from what I believe he would have liked to be a little further up the list as well.

The next day Callum raced in the 15km classic and skied like an absolute boss. Watching him on a super hard section of the course I thought he was going to blow as he wasn’t holding back on the first lap and looked as though he was already hurting pretty bad. Although like the A-grade chief that we know he is, he held the same speed for the remainder of the race finishing ahead of quite a number of skiers.

For now we are heading back to Seefeld in Austria for a day or so before we head to Austrian Championships in Bad Ischel which is three day of racing starting on the Friday with a skate sprint then followed by a 10km classic and a 20km skiathlon on the Saturday and Sunday.

World Cup Debut – Milan City Sprint

Ever since I qualified for World Cup a few weeks ago I’d been super excited yet quite nervous to compete in the city sprint in Milan, Italy. Even driving there and skiing on the course the day before the race I was starting to wet myself pretty bad. The atmosphere was intense heaps of people were out to watch and the course was situated right in the centre of the city in the gardens around a massive old castle which was pretty sweet.

The day of the sprint came around and I was super nervous, pretty much peeing every five minutes and the strong lethargic feeling from being filled with nerves and adrenaline. I was the last skier to go off as I was the worst ranked skier of the field of 68, a block starting system was used to start the skiers which meant I was starting around 30 minutes behind the first male starter which was a bit of a disadvantage as the course was softening fast and after all the men and women had gone it was starting to get quite cut up. Leaving the start I was so nervous it felt as if I had pretty much forgotten how to ski but after the first 10 or 20 metres I soon found my feet and got into rhythm. The track wasn’t entirely flat and had a small uphill in it which was good for some variation. I threw down as hard as possible and worked it as much as I possibly could, right through to the finish. I ended up coming in 67^th ahead of only one other so I was happy not to come last as I wasn’t expecting much more. It was a relief once the race was over but there was not much time for relaxation as we then started prepping for the team sprint the next day.

The team sprint consists of two team mates each doing three separate legs of the 1.4km sprint course and with all the changeovers and twelve skiers on course all at once it makes for a lot of carnage and is often one of the toughest races. With the possibility of being lapped off the course our goal was to just try and hang on to the front bunch for as long as possible in order to survive the race. Callum took the first leg and skied like a boss, he managed to avoid a mass pileup and changed to me in fourth position, I was then able to relax and ski as efficiently as possible, the bunch reformed and passed back to Callum still in contact. Callum then smashed it out again and handed back to me still in contact with the front guys. In the second lap of this second leg of mine I was nearly taken out as an Estonian skier ate it hard right in front of me, struggling to dodge this skier I last contact temporarily with the front bunch but worked super hard to get back on, then dodging more sprawled out skiers in interchange I changed back to Cal still just in contact. The pace lifted again as skiers went out on their last leg and Calboss just lost contact with the bunch before passing back to me, I tried to gain ground back but didn’t succeed.

We finished 14secs back and in front of Italy IV and Germany II. We also beat Estonia II and Italy III coming 20^th out of the 24 nations. Coach, Finn Marsland said that it was the best team sprint result Australia has gotten on World Cup. We were super stoked about the result and how we managed to stay in contact with the front guys for so long and we were on quite a high for some time afterwards. We are now back in Seefeld for about four days before flying out to Estonia for the Otepaa World Cup where Callum, Esther and myself will compete in the Classic sprint on the Saturday and Callum will race the 15km Classic.

German Cup

After leaving the small town of Campra and arriving in our new town, where we thought we would be based for some time, we were back in the van once more only a few days later and heading to some German Cup races at Nortschrei in the Black Forrest. It was a bit of a skate fest with a skate sprint and a 10km skate; All four of us guys (Mark, PK, Callum, Myself) and Ester were racing both and we had heaps of support with Finn, Simbo and Fabian all wax teching for us. I was hoping to be fresh and ski well after the last weekend where I didn’t ski greatly.

 

 

The sprint went fairly well but the snow was pretty tough to ski on because a lot fresh had just fallen making it hard to put the power down. I skied solidly and was with the way I raced the course. I was 12secs back from the winner which was a little disappointing as I would have liked to be closer to the leader but I qualified for heats which I was happy with. In my heat I came through in 3^rd only a couple of metres off second with the possibility of getting to the next round with the lucky looser rule, but this didn’t work in my favour as I did not move through to the next round finishing in 15th. The heat was quite aggressive with guys boxing others in not worrying about breaking poles but was good experience and I look forward to the next time I race heats to have another crack.

The 10km skate the next day was on one of the harder FIS courses I have raced on and I made sure I went out more conservative to avoid blowing. This worked well on the 2.5km course as I moved up the positions in the 2^nd and 3^rd laps, the last lap was brutal and I had to work hard to keep it all together, finishing 2:50 behind, I was happy to have gone better than the last week.

 

 

After racing we drove straight back to Seefeld in Austria where they had had one of the biggest snow storms yet making for some sweet days of skiing. We have now been here for four days and Callum and I are having a day off tomorrow before heading to Millan to race the sprint team sprint World Cups on the Saturday and Sunday.

 

A Struggle Of A Weekend In Campra

After the Continental Cup races in St Ullrich I came back to Davos and hit up the training pretty hard for a few days before heading off to a small town called Campra near the Italian border for two Swiss Champs races. Mark Pollock flew over and joined us, ready to race only two days out from the 1st race. Ben Sim arrived a day later to wax for us along with Fabian Mauz from Germany.

The first day of racing was a 1.4km skate sprint which I was pretty to do well in, with my goal of qualifying in the top 16 for finals. The course is one of the hardest sprint courses I’ve skied because it has so much climbing in it. In the warm up I didn’t feel great but off the line I felt quite good and my speed was O.K. but soon after the first hill I became aware that I didn’t have my usual spark and not long afterwards my legs were in an acid fest of lactic acid. I managed to keep it together somewhat but was sure my time would be a few extra seconds slower than I would like it to be, and it was, 16seconds back. I was lucky enough to make finals qualifying in 14^th place and keen to go better in my heat. Callum and I ended up being put in the same heat which is becoming quite a common occurrence after New Zealand this year. I started well and was still in contact with the group until just before the last hill although they then put quite a gap into me and extended the lead throughout the finish straight.

The second day was a 15km classic and I was keen to have a better day than that of the previous day but this was also not going to be the way. I knew that on the hilling 5km loop I would have to be cautious on the first lap to avoid blowing and went out easy with what I thought would leave me with a fair bit left in the tank. After the first lap I was working harder than what I wanted to be but still picked it up a bit going into the second lap, this is where I started skiing along Struggle Street. My energy levels were low and I was starting to enter the hurt box real bad. Third lap I was really struggling and going backwards real fast. I ended up in the back half of the field quite a few minutes back which was a little devastating but hopefully thing will pick up in the races to come.

From here we have a few more days in Campra training before we go to a pace in Austria called Seefeld for a training block where we will meet up with the rest of the AUS team which have been training in America over the past month. We may possibly race next weekend in some German Cup races otherwise my next race will be in the Millan World Cup city sprints with Callum and Esbot.

World Cup Qualification

To begin with, going to the OPA Continental cup races in St Ullrich was going to be pretty easy and straight forward. PK and I were going to drive our van there, and do our own waxing etc but then PK called in sick so I was going to be riding solo from then on and to throw another spanner in the works, Callum, realised only a couple of days out from the Slovenian world cup that he had no way of getting there and thought he might just take the mighty van leaving me with no ride… We had Valerio Leccardii (legend) from the Swiss team help me out and he arranged for me to travel down there with some of the Russian team athletes and coach. The 4.5hr drive was a little hectic as we had to drive over a real sketchy mountain pass while it was snowing solidly, the road hadn’t been cleared for a while and there was a good 10/15cm of fresh. Riito, the Russian coach was on a mission and driving the van like a race car, the amount of body roll we were getting was pretty hectic and I’m not sure what had happened to the seat belts in the back but they looked like they had been missing for quite some time. This trip kept me on edge and switched on ready to race.

The next morning we skied the race course for the first time and tested skis etc. The Russians were working with another athlete from Luxembourg and were really generous and waxed my skis for each race which was sick! When it came to the race, which was a 1.5km skate sprint, I almost fell on my face as I came off the line because my skis were running so fast. After I gathered my legs and arms back together I got into a bit of a rhythm, still skiing like a bit of a spud and scrambling a bit I managed to get round feeling pretty fresh. I finished around 50^th out of around 100ish starters; it was fairly tight race as 15secs divided the top 80 finishers. I was fairly happy with my finishing position but even more happy that I had managed to go below the 120FIS point mark which meant I was now qualified for the World Cup circuit and will race my first sprint World Cup and team sprint with Callum Watson in Millan (Italy) around mid January 2012.

The next day for the 10km classic I was feeling a bit flat in the warm up but soon found my legs again. The wax cabin was going a little bonkers that day because it was only about 2m wide, 6m long and it was being shared by Russia, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Brazil and Australia. In this race I actually borrowed a pair of “Zero” skis off the Russian coach which were bomber fast and gave adequate grip; there was a lot of people out there who were struggling to get good grip as it was becoming really glazed in the tracks. I felt I skied pretty well despite being a little further back in the rankings and managed to go under 120FIS points again which will hopefully get me a World Cup start in distance races later this season.

The third day of racing was a 15km mass start with 116 starters being one of the biggest FIS mass start races I’ve ever been in. The start was an absolute shambles with people going everywhere and taking big risks to get past, guys  were breaking poles left right and centre and crashing everywhere, some were trying to pass straight off the line and taking themselves out on the number steaks marking their start position creating mass pile ups. After the group strung out a bit I could once again get into a rhythm and work back into the field but I soon found that it wasn’t going to be a killer race from me as my legs were pretty cooked from the last two days of racing.

On a whole the weekend was pretty enjoyable and I would like to thank the Russian and Luxembourg teams providing me with lightning fast skis each day, driving me to and from St Ullrich and giving me someone to swindle away with. This weekend I was unaware that, going under 120FIS sprint points, not only qualified me for the World Cup circuit this season but also for the 2012/2013 season as well as the 2013 World champs in Val de Fiemme (Italy) so I was pretty stoked when I found out I had ticked a few more boxes the I had initially thought!

I am now back in Davos (Switzerland) and back to training, we will be here for another 5 or so days before heading to a place called Campra down near the Swiss/Italian border for Swiss champs.

Sorry for no race pics but I had limited support…

Stay Tuned.

p.s. New Race suits…

and giving Callum dreadlocks :/

Our Ist Week in Europe

Finally we have arrived in Davos (Switzerland). Getting here was a bit of a struggle and a lot has happened so far in the few days we have been here already.

PK (Paul Kovacs) and I got off the plane in Zurich airport, Switzerland, then jumped straight on a train to Germany where we picked up the mass blue Mercedes hire van for the team and drove back to the airport to pick up co team member, Callum Watson. After travelling substantial amounts of time in a westerly direction we realised we were a bit off track and headed back East towards our destination.  A bit more power in the 2.0L van might have come in handy and cut the length of the trip down but after about 28 hours of total travel time plus faffing about we finally arrived in Davos.

It’s a little devastating here in Europe as there is no snow anywhere and the season hasn’t started off real well so we have been confined to skiing around on two small 1.5km loops of manmade snow.  It’s pretty crowed at times with all the National teams training here for the upcoming World Cup as well as all the punters skiing around in lessons trying to keep up. One morning in the middle of a hard interval session, Callum took a bit of a hit which landed him on his back tucked up in hospital. The three of us were in a train and came flying down into the stadium mid interval when Callum was taken out from the side; PK and I thought it was a small child that hit him but Callum has since convinced us that he was the size of a large rugby player Both ended up on the ground in a pile of broken skis and poles. The other man came off a little better than Callum, he just hobbled off groaning about a bung back, where as Callum was in a pretty rough state on the ground for quite some time. Quickly we packed him into the van and rushed him off to hospital where lots of examinations and x-rays were taken, the end result was that Callum had a haematoma between his ribs and needed to have a couple of days off from training. Soon enough he will be smashing it out once again and plans to race the Davos World Cup, don’t worry about that!

PK has now taken a bit of a hit too and is having a few days off from training due to sickness. Before this though, PK was working hard on building a positive relationship with the Russian team. One day when we were doing some classic PK had a bit of a situation with his wax and somehow midsession managed to get in with the Russian team and got his skis professionally prepared by the Russian wax tecks on the side of the track (A-grade chief).

Otherwise everything is going well. Training is good, the feasts we are cooking up are even better and preparations are going well and should be in good form for the upcoming Continental Cup races next week in Austria.