Val Thorens Snow Report: 18th January 2014

Last weekend I raced in the University World Championships in Les Menuires. Unfortunately the slalom race didn’t go exactly as planned as I fell over on the fifth gate on the first run, which made me more determined to do better in the Giant Slalom the following day. I had a good first run and finished in 4th place. I was happy where I stood as there was no one too close behind me but I had a good shot at the podium second run.

The second run was much straighter and therefore faster than first, but right before the finish line the gates were set a lot tighter. I had a good run until the end where I got late on the gates and slowed down a lot before reaching the finish. I took second place. I nervously watched the last few competitors come down to see if I was going to get on the podium... The next girl came down into third place behind me then my team mates Natalie Beattie and Manon Campillo, (who had been in first and second place), both went out right before the finish line.. This meant I had managed to get my first ever podium in a non- British run race! I was over the moon with my result, but still wished I had gone 3 tenths faster to get the top spot on the podium!

I moved straight onto the next races which were two slaloms and two giant slaloms. In the first slalom I had a bad first run but a good second run, something which I always seem to do! I ended up 17th from having started in 28th, and scored my second best time result. The next day I knew was going to be the day where I would put together two good runs back to back, and I did - I managed to score my best ever result in slalom, taking my points down by 10!

Relieved that the slaloms were over we moved onto Giant Slalom, my favourite discipline. In typical form for me, I didn’t have a great first run but this meant that I had a good start for the second one. I really went for it and had a great second run, scoring my best ever result.

Snow fell heavily all day and it wasn’t showing any sign of clearing. Due to the amount of snow that fell through the night the race on Friday was cancelled. I was really happy with the way I had skied and that I had scored personal best results in all the races. I now have a full week of training in Meribel to solidify my skiing and try and get my runs more consistent.

If you’re in Meribel this week I will be training on the Stade every day, so come and say hello!

I also highly recommend “La Maison” tea shop which is the only real après ski tea shop in Meribel, very cute, comfy, not expensive and you get Italian style coffee, massive pots of tea and fresh baked cakes!