European Vacation

So racing in Europe was a bit of a bust. No other way to say it. The weather was very warm, and when it wasn't it was snowing hard. Aside from my glorious shopping spree on the first day of the trip I can't speak to too many things which were total wins. But even if I didn't come away with the best results possible, I had some memorable experiences and ones that will prove beneficial down the road.

For example, no other standard FIS race compares to the Westendorf night race. The Westendorf Nachtslalom is held every year on the night before the Kitzbuhel WC super g, about two towns away. Because of the lack of housing in the town of Kitzbuhel (there are up to 80,000 spectators for the Hahnenkamm weekend and only 20,000 beds in Kitzbuhel), most fans stay elsewhere in valley for the weekend. Many racers competing in the Kitzbuhel slalom (on Sunday) use Westendorf as a prep race (on Thursday). Some fans like to kick off their weekend of race spectating at Westendorf, as it allows them closer access to their favorite slalom skiers, and it's an all around good time. Typically anywhere from 2-4 thousand people show up for this race, although the numbers were a little light this year since it was raining right up to the start of the race. The organizers put up a fully stocked athlete VIP tent, beer vendors, bars going off surrounding the event, the whole deal, making it the largest ordinary FIS race in the world. After finishing 21st the first run from bib 27, I straddled half way down second run. Although I didn't get a result from the race it's great to be a part of such a fun environment, and it puts other race scenarios into perspective for the rest of the year. Plus, I had a great time blowing off some steam after the race (when it started raining again) and enjoyed the fact that I had a couple of days off coming up.

Here are some photos from the rest of the trip. I am back stateside now, and after a couple of days of dryland I am going to start training again in Vail on Sunday. A big shout out to former ski racer, full-time cougar hunter, and skier cross phenom Joey Swenson competing at his first X Games. Kick some ass this weekend Joey!