Race Report: Val Thorens 11th December 2103

Race Report: Val Thorens 11th December 2103

Cara's second race report for this winter season

featured in Snow report Author Cara Brown - Ski Racer, Guest Reporter Updated 24 October 2014

The winter ski season has officially started! All the resorts are opening up or set to open within the next few days and I’ve had my first races of the season. I raced here in Val Thorens in 2 Giant Slalom races and 3 Slalom races so far.

The first two races were FIS races and the French Europacup team were there which didn’t make them easy at all! In the Giant Slalom I didn’t ski my best in the first run and then in the second run I hit my pole so hard off a gate I dropped it and had to complete the steeper part of the course one pole down… The FIS slalom race also passed without much success however I did manage to make it down with two skis and two poles!

On Saturday and Sunday I moved onto the CIT races. Luckily the French Europacup team had gone so I got a much better start number and started number 2 in the Giant Slalom. Excited to have what I consider the best bib I managed to put together two good runs and score my best ever Giant Slalom result and finish in 8th place out of 66 starters. Fuelled by a good result I was ready for the slalom the following day. I had an OK first run which gave me good start for second run. My hopes were short lived though as on the 5th gate I caught some soft snow on my outside ski and had a bit of a fall..

Although the races didn’t perhaps all go exactly to plan I’m really happy to have done well in a Giant Slalom early in the season. Also, a massive well done to fellow brits, Natalie Beattie and Rachelle Rogers who got the two top podium spots in the slalom race on Sunday.

I’ve now travelled a way down south now to Isola 2000 which is in the maritime Alps. I’m down here racing for three days in two slaloms and one giant slalom. The slalom piste here is extremely steep and probably the steepest hill I have ever skied on. Today out of 42 starters only 19 people made it to the finish. I made it down and scored a second best slalom result which will take my points down by 5 to 68. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s race now I know what to expect from the hill.

The season seems to be going fast so quickly now and I can’t believe I’ve been here in France for well over a month. Soon it’ll be Christmas then 2014 and then there’s only a few months before the winter is over! More snow is meant to fall this week which would be good as the last dump is starting to look a bit bare but I’m sure Meribel will give us a white Christmas as usual!

Follow Cara's FIS rankings here and see which races are coming up in our events calendar, or on the FIS calendar.