L a t e s t  n e w s ..... Louise Bain and Callum Henderson win both rounds of Twin Peaks races at Fir Park & Hillend ...

'The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams' (Eleanor Roosevelt).

Racer Ready: First trip away with the Senior team down to the Southern hemisphere, has there been a big difference to training in Europe?

DR: In general I guess there’s not a huge difference but training in La Parva was at 3000 meter+ so it’s a lot more demanding on the body not just on the hill but also recovering from day to day because our accommodation was at 2700meters. In terms of snow its pretty aggressive and dry in La Parva and slick and icy in Chillan so were getting the best of both conditions on perfect training piste’s really cant ask for more but in general its pretty similar but with some amazing views!

 RR: What have you been up to down there? Who else has been training from the British Team with you?

DR: Other than skiing there’s not a huge amount to do when you’re staying in blocks of apartments and hotels other than a quick dip in the pool and some fitness, but I do try and keep in touch with people from home and call the family from time to time over the internet. Most of the time it’s just the 4 in our team and the world cup team that train together, which is ideal for us to be able to watch and learn.

RR: You started off with some cracking technical results? Talk us through the emotions of beating Noel for the first time and those podiums!

DR Ye the technical races were a great start to the summer. To be honest I didn’t expect to do as well as I did because training was so inconsistent I didn’t think I could get 2 runs together that would get me on the podium but even with a couple of mistakes I guess a pulled some runs out the bag! Beating Noel was obviously great but I try and just focus on skiing as well as I can rather than beating people because you never know how they are going to ski, but for sure it was massive for me! The podiums were just great and I even got some TV time here in Chile for it hahaha.

RR: Did you manage to get hold of your new skis from Dynastar and boots from Lange before you went out or are you still on last years models?  How are they all going?

DR: Unfortunately I only managed to get my slalom and GS skis for the trip over here and no boots, which wasn’t ideal because it’s a great chance to get the speed skis run in and fast but the Tech skis are immense and so easy to ski! I couldn’t believe the edge grip I got the first time I used them. So hopefully the speed skis will be the same and boots should be sorted when I get back.

RR: Do you and Ed Drake (who is also on the same set up) talk about set ups for the skis etc?

DR: In general we don’t really talk to much about how we like to prep the ski because we both have a similar set up and we generally leave that to the tech but were always talking about how the ski is in certain conditions and especially at this time of year when the skis are new to us were always talking about what there like. But it’s great to have someone on your team on the same equipment because you can tell if it’s you or the ski that is the problem.

RR: You missed the downhill’s due to illness and the rest of the guys went on to score great results, disappointed that illness struck? Will we be seeing you as a four event skier on the Europa Cup this year?

DR: Ye missing the Downhill’s was disappointing but I guess this is racing and anything can happen and it just so happened that I was ill so although the others scored good I just have to look to the next races and show want I can do there, because there’s no point looking back at what could have been when there’s plenty more chances. I guess in terms of a 4-discipline Europa cup skier this season, ill have to look at keeping improving in the speed events but for sure ill be looking to give it a shot in the Slalom and Giant Slalom as long as I keep skiing well. But for now I’m just focussing on the training and when the season comes then we’ll see where I am.

RR: We heard you called up your father from Chile to hear about the All England – do you miss the Dry Slope racing banter?

DR: I sure did I have to keep an eye on how Pendle do! You cant beat the dry slope banter that’s why I’m still there every year!

RR: There seems to be a new air of anticipation coming from the management of Snowsport GB, are the athletes benefiting from the different range of equipment being offered to the racers? There also seems to a degree of renewed optimism amongst the team and management?

DR: The Atmosphere in the team at the moment is really good, and I think everyone is benefiting from each other so for the next season there’s defiantly a lot of optimism, we just need to keep pushing things forward.

RR: Do you feel that the sport is well publicised in the UK or that more could be done?

DR: I guess it’s pretty hard to publish skiing in a big way in the UK because its not one of the big sports in the country, but it is great what the likes of yourself and channel 4 are doing especially covering the national champs last year, and with the way things are going out here on the snow I’m pretty sure that in a few years skiing will defiantly be getting a lot more attention, but I’ve always thought duel slaloms would make for great viewing on TV from the dry slopes! 

RR: Who else is skiing well down in Chile?

DR: To be honest everyone is skiing pretty sweet in the speed here in Chillan. We had some awesome training before we came here in La Parva and I guess its showing in the results.

RR: What are your goals for the South American trip and the season as a whole?

DR: As a whole here in Chile my goal was aimed at getting the most out of the training with the races being taken more as training (However when u go into the start gate training kind off goes out of the window) and the races came as a massive bonus! We’ve got another week left of training before we head home so hopefully I can make my Slalom and GS skiing more consistent. For the season I guess at the moment it’s getting competitive in the Europa Cup Races and continuing to lower the FIS Points.

RR: Any funny stories from the trip so far?

DR: haha! Well I think the motto goes “what happens in Chile stays in Chile”!