Pique Magazine, published 01.11.06

I have now been back in Europe for two weeks and have been following the europa cup circuit. I started with two Giant Slalom races in Austria and then we drove across Italy into France and to Megeve. There we had a Super G race and a Downhill and Slalom combined.

I am writing this from my hotel room in La Plagne, France and tonight I will be racing a Europa Cup slalom. First run will be at 6pm and second run at 8pm. Soon I will jump on the bike and warm-up, then go outside and do some activation. Afterwards we will sit down for lunch and then at about 3 pm we will go out to inspect the course and warm-up in the gates. I am here with a group of the development team girls and for most of them it will be there first night race. They were a little nervous last night at dinner because of the late start for the second run. Usually we are pretty sleepy at 8pm at night. I know, it's sad, but when you are up at 6 am most days, 8 at night feels late! I told them not to worry, the excitement of racing and the lights on the hill, you stay awake and you will be ready to race. It should be fun.

Anyway, let me go back a week or so and fill you in on how things have been going. In Megeve last week I ran my first downhill of the year and it was a blast. The week started with a Super G and I finished 13th from a start number of 79! I haven't run a super g since last March and so my points are not very good which is why my bib number was so far back.

Following the super G we had two Downhill training runs and then the race on Friday. I was starting 53rd in the downhill, but your bib number did not matter, the conditions stayed perfect the whole way through the field. In the training runs I just went out of the gate and had fun - that fun led me to a 9th and 4th place finish in the runs. On race day I finished 12th. But, the race wasn't over. In the afternoon we had a slalom run to complete the combined race. I moved up and placed in 6th overall. It was great. It was really fun to put my speed skis back on, but boy are they ever heavy!

Megeve is a great resort, the town is so beautiful and the mountains are gorgeous. I had hoped to have some time to go and explore the mountain but there wasn't any. However, my team mates and I did find time to go for crepes, almost every day! Yum, they were delicious.

While I was in Megeve, the rest of the women's team were in Cortina, Italy for some World Cup races. They finished the weekend of racing with a great result by Genevieve Simard, finishing 2nd in the Giant Slalom and Allison Forsyth finished in 4th. Christina Lustenberger was also there amongst others, but it was her first world cup start back since her knee injury last season. She has been skiing very strong but unfortunately didn't finish the first run.

In a few hours I will be racing under the lights. My mind is starting to focus in and the excitement is starting to build within. In a Europa Cup race only the top 60 in the first run get into the second, so the young girls here from the development team will be looking to get into that second run. Right now the sun is still shining out on the slopes and it seems weird to think that my day, the day of the "racers", will just be beginning in a few hours, fresh and fired up, when all the "regular skiers" will be nearly ending their day.