Racing! It’s one thing to ski when it’s really really cold, and it’s totally another to race in it. Everybody got the early stages of frostbite somewhere (Kelly’s nose, Pat’s finger, my and Bella’s ears, George’s… well… let’s just say ouch), but we actually made out quite a bit better than a lot of athletes out there. Girls racing with earrings really suffered – luckily Bella figured that one out before race day. But that’s the bad stuff. The good stuff: we had the fastest skis on snow.
It’s one thing to have good skis, the kind that you can ride forever or give you the extra distance on each V1 to float you over the hill, but when you can drop into a low tuck skate and absolutely reel in everybody else on the track… well that’s when you have the best skis of the day. “My skis were so fast I fell and broke a pole” said Pat. The course, although very hilly, really rewarded people who could keep their skis flat on the snow and gliding. According to Scott, “people who put their skis on edge, it was like they hit the brakes.” So aside from Pat’s unfortunate wreck in the stadium, the day went pretty well.
George Cartwright and Eric Bjornsen took the day with 27th and 31st places respectively. These were really good finishes, 4th and 5th juniors! I came in 52nd with an okay race, Sam in 57th (he said he had pacing issues – this course is not forgiving to people who start too fast), Pat in 130th (“I beat Charlie!”), and Kelly in 157th. For the girls, Bella finished 116th (“They need to make wind-panties”). So all-in-all not the best day of racing we’ve ever had, but a good way to kick off the season nonetheless. There’s been a lot of sitting around recently, waiting out the weather. Emotions have been up and down, but this team is hanging loose and just trying to roll with whatever this week throws at us.
For now, we’re hoping for a couple more days of racing, although the weather doesn’t look particularly cooperative. But we suit up and head out there anyway. It’s race day – we show up ready to race.
Dakota
