Val Thorens Snow Report: 5th February 2014

Race Report: Finishing first & more races to come.. it's been a great week for Cara!

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

It’s the CIT World Championships in Val Thorens! I have raced in the Downhill and two Super Gs and the Giant Slalom and Slalom are still to come. The weather has not been favourable as Monday brought wind gusts up to 100kmph and although the wind has now died down a bit, snow is still falling. Hopefully the clouds will clear and the sun will come out for the rest of the week!

Monday was the Downhill race. I was very nervous! This was my first downhill in 2 years and my skis hadn’t arrived in time so I borrowed a friend’s skis that I had never skied on before. Before a Downhill you have to do a training run. In the training run you get a feel for the speed, find the right line and get ready to give it your all in the race run. In the training run if you come out and miss a gate it doesn’t matter and you can just keep going. As I came over a roll on the steep I realised I had messed up my line and shot passed the wrong side of the next gate. When I got to the bottom I found out every other girl had done exactly the same thing.

The boys were next and after half of them also didn’t make it round the gate they decided they needed to change the course! After moving a few gates we headed back to the start for the race run. I had a good start and sped down the first part of the course. Suddenly I saw a yellow flag waving up ahead of me. The yellow flag means that there is a danger further down the course and you have to stop and start your run again. I took it as a good sign as it meant I would get to redo my run and make it even better. As I made my way back up to the start the weather clouded in and it started to snow. Despite the conditions I skied the top of the course even better than before. I made some mistakes on the steep and when I came through the finish I saw a little 2 written next to my name. I was 4 tenths off the winner. I was frustrated that I hadn’t won but really happy with my place on the podium!

Yesterday was the Super G race. More girls had come for the race which meant there was more competition. I was determined not to make the same mistake I had made in the Downhill. My heart was pounding in the start gate and I knew it was time to ski fast! I skied well despite making a few mistakes with the line and was overwhelmed when I saw a little 1 next to my name in the finish area. I was CIT Super G World Champion! It was even better when I saw my team mates, Olivia Poccard Marion and fellow Brit, Rachelle Rogers (GBR) were in second and third. It was snowy and windy but the organisers decided we would be able to run a second race. I felt slightly pressured to go for gold again but I knew I had to stay calm and just think about skiing well and skiing fast! I had a better second race and finished in first place again. Yet again my team mates completed the podium. I was really happy with the day and how I had skied.

Now I need to move off the speed skis to the next to the technical disciplines. There will be more people competing so I just have to stay focused, stay on my feet and ski fast!

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