The World Championships came to a close today. We were faced with tough snowy conditions for the Sprint Classic. It has been a long week of racing but I was still able to find enough energy to get pumped up for the Sprint.
Because of the bad weather everything was pushed up so we get through the day. The race quickly came upon me and before I knew it I was in the start gate. With visibility bad, I could see approx 5 gates in front of me then just a blanket of fog. I had a good start and remember bashing the first gate. That was probably the best part of the run to be honest. Ha. The next turn I went to set my edge into the snow and quickly realized it was like frozen cement. It was so bumpy and I felt like I was riding a bull. At the 5th gate I loaded up a lot of energy into my ski and popped to the next turn. Unfortunately, I landed on my hip. Anytime you are not on your skis, no good. Quickly got up only to realize my pole was snapped in half. When I hipped checked I must of falling on my pole and snapped it. Without even thinking I ripped off my glove and chucked my pole off the course (protocol). Then resumed skiing the course with one pole. It is actually not uncommon for racers to break their poles while in the course. This was my first broken pole. Gosh, I think next season I am going to have to have a few training runs with one pole cuz today I struggled. It was such an odd feeling skiing with one pole. I came to the jump and hucked as big as I could. Not sure if I made the line or not but I do know that I only made it one gate further. I passed the next gate and then the next thing I remember was falling. Both skis split out and I was sliding on my chest. To be honest, not sure what happened but I was relieved to know that my body was still intact. Can’t afford any more injuries. (Seriously, my wallet can not afford any more injuries) Well that basically was the end to my day. A big DNF (did not finish).
To be honest, it was great week!! I am extremely pleased with my skiing this week. I learned a lot and competed against the best in the World. And for one day, I hung right in there with the best guys in the World. That was the highlight of my racing career. To qualify 6th in the Sprint Parallel was the confidence I needed to continue to work hard in training. With some hard work, I can ski with these guys. Great week!
