Conditions were difficult, but
the biggest problem for the racers was the gusting wind whipping up the
snow, making it almost impossible to see from time to time...
"You get tired, you
warm up, you see the forerunner start to warm up, then you have to put
your clothes on again… when I went out I couldn’t see the first gate.
Just had to follow the blue line. Pretty good run on top, but the crust
is broken in some places, especially in the Super G turns and that takes
you by surprise, got my knees in my belly a few times!"
"I thought it would
be worse but the problem is there’s a lot of snow in the line,
especially on the Tunnel jump. You have no choice, there’s so much snow
that you have to take the line that’s there because it’s faster. And
then you get too tight into the next one, and you drift too much…
Local favourite
from Val d'Isère Ingrid Jacquemod was philosophical, if disappointed
after her great training runs in better conditions:
"I didn’t spend my
time thinking about the conditions, that’s the way it goes. It was
freezing up there, but we knew it would be a long day, we knew what the
weather was going to be like. Ok there was stoppages but that happens
often in Downhill. We’re used to it.
I didn’t attack as I would have
liked at the top because I couldn’t see that well, and because it was
such a short race a few hundredths make all the difference."
A shame it wasn’t a
sunny day then?
"I take what’s on
offer! Sure it was a great day on Thursday, but that’s the game, we know
the rules!"
Anja suggested
cancelling the points? Just racing for the money?
(laughs) "Well I’ve
won nothing today, so if that’s what she thinks, that’s up to her! Yes
I’m from Val, and with all the support I’m really disappointed for them
as well. But I have to treat it as a race like any other and take the
positive out of it as well."
Still confident for
Turin?
"I’m not about to
get down now, or all there’s no point taking part! "
.
The podium was topped by two
Americans in the end, with the race stopped shortly after Chemmy
Alcott's run, with conditions worsening again, but sufficient racers
having completed the course for the race to count. Caroline Lalive was
delighted with her first podium since 2002 (Altmarkt). She had had a
disappointing Olympics that year and summed up her secret to remaining
positive...
"There are moments
when it’s hard to keep going. But every day I remember that I love
skiing, I love the sport. Every day holds the promise of being a better
day. And today was a better day! "
Caroline described
how she felt at home in Europe. A fluent French speaker with dual
citizenship, she was born in the US to an American mother and Swiss
father near Geneva, and frequently returns there. She reckoned that she
thrived in the conditions, the kind os snow she was used to in the US.
"The conditions were difficult, variable, inconsistent. That's skiing
though.
The harder the more
challenging the better I do! Of course I'm happy we raced, and the
people from Val did amazing work, it was impressive that the race could
take place."
Meissnitzer picked up third
place, and with her second to compatriot Dorfmeister in the following
day's Super G, showed that it's not just the Austrian men that are the
ones to beat this Olympic season. Downhill winner Lindsey Kildow was
delighted with her win (and the Savoie cow 'surprise prize' that went
with victory, Prince Omar) and added:
"Patting her before
race brought me luck! I didn’t hold back because I'd had a good course
report (from Julia Mancuso). I couldn’t see ground but it was ok to be
aggressive, the skis were running well so i went for it. The sun came
out but the crosswind whipped up the snow, so I couldn’t even see the
blue die at times. Hard to stay positive with all the waiting, to keep
to plan, all the delays make it hard to stay focused and standing in the
cold… it's hard but tried to put everything out of my mind.
Real cool to have a
pet in Europe! May not be transportable, but still! I petted her before
the race. It’ll be hard to see her before Turin, but hopefully she’ll be
thinking about me!"
Chemmy Alcott was
one of the last competitors to be allowed to start, with winds getting
ever stronger, something we could really appreciate down in the arrival
area. Bitterly cold after a relatively quiet period between bibs 15 and
30, Chemmy was the 43rd racer out of the start. Only three more racers
were to be allowed down. The first section in poor visibility again
slowed her right down, but she put in a fast 16th best time between
checkpoints 1 and 2 to lie 25th, and in the points. Then the wind caught
her again and again, with the final nail in the coffin being a huge gust
that knocked her sideways in the final section when she looked to be
really moving.
Her first comment
when she got down "I can't believe that!"
After she'd got her composure back slightly, she added:
"I managed to keep
concentrating at the top, it wasn't too bad, I was more worried about my
feet getting cold! When you’re kept waiting at the top like that, at
least on the radio you hear it’s because of the wind and not people
crashing cos I guess that would have been bad if we’d known people had
been crashing out. But you can wait too long, you can be in the zone and
then slip out of it, to stay in there is tough...
I was really going for it, I
knew there was a good opportunity, I was going pretty hard, it was
really messy, and I was taking out gates which you don’t really do in
downhill and my hand’s killing me!"
(Chemmy showed me a bruised and
very swollen left hand)
"Right near the
end, just the flat to go, suddenly a gust hit me and I just completely
spun, as if I was stopping. My skis went sideways and I dumped loads of
speed, and I felt it, nothing I could do. Really disappointing, worse
when you know you're fast, so irritating..."
I talked to a very philosophical
racer's father after she'd arrived safely at the bottom, asking how it
felt to watch daughter Chemmy taking part in races in such conditions.
"Well I suppose
I’ve been doing it since she was first allowed to do Downhills aged 14,
so I’ve got used to it. It was worse then because she was a bit wild,
didn’t like the jumps, use to do a starfish and I didn’t like that! But
she’s a good compact skier now, a pro, she skis well. Today’s a good
example, she was skiing fast but got caught by the wind and had to stick
the brakes on which cost her time and took her out of the reckoning.
Unfortunate because this is the sort of day she would like normally. No,
I’ve adjusted to it now!
Her coach will say
that this isn’t the best course for her, fairly level with just a couple
of jumps in it. She likes something a bit steeper and icier!"
Sunday was another day.
Dominated by the Austrians with the Americans still showing form, the
weather couldn't have been a greater contrast. No wind, full sun,
bitterly cold temperatures and the snow not as hard as the Europeans
would have liked, but no complaints today, a Super G in perfect
conditions to top off a generally successful 50th anniversary of the
Première Neige Criterium at Val d'Isère.
