another world
A lot has happened since my last entry. To begin with, I spent three days at Sugarloaf waiting to race downhill. The always-reliable January thaw was far from merciful during our races there. In the three days, I only skied three runs - all of which were during the first morning.
The organizers cancelled the first day’s training run and after three days of waiting around, and cancelled both the downhill super combined races. Apparently there were bare spots in the middle of the course. I cannot begin to describe how frustrating it can be to sit around just waiting to race, especially at Sugarloaf where there is nothing to do. It was truly an exercise in patience. The long-standing theme in ski racing is “hurry up and wait,” and that week sure lived up to it.
The upside to the time off was that it provided me with some much needed rest. After skiing a lot of Christmas break and four races before, I was feeling pretty tired and took full advantage of the time off before heading to Europe to race for a month.
My schedule worked out so that I left for Europe Sunday, arrived Monday morning and raced Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Despite all of the rest that I had before the trip, I was still very jet lagged when I arrived in Europe. It is just impossible to get a decent night’s rest on a plane. Once I arrived, sleeping all night was tough. All afternoon and evening, I fought the urge to fall asleep and made it until 9:30. I fell asleep without a problem, but was wide-awake at 3 in the morning because of the time change. Right now I have a lot of confidence in my skiing and thought that I could do well in the first races despite the jet lag. The first races were all giant slaloms and the first two were at Kirchberg in Austria, right down the road from historic Kitzbhuel.
The races at Kirchberg were some of the most difficult and competitive ones that I have seen this year. The Swedish, Norwegian, Finish, Austrian, German, Swiss and American national teams all had athletes racing. At home I would start 30th at the highest-level races. Here I was starting 45 and it was only a FIS race, not a Continental Cup race or national championship. This happens a lot in Europe. Depending on the World and European Cup calendars, those athletes do FIS races when they have time. It is a great opportunity to see how you can stack up against the best skiers in the world.
The first two days were a real challenge for me. In the first race, I had skied well all of the way down until the bottom of the course, where a roll right before the finish caught me. I did not come off of it with enough of my turn finished and caught some air. Losing contact with the snow caused me to get low and miss a gate. I was not alone. Only 42 of 140 competitors finished.
Things were not much better the second day. Going down the course, I could feel that there was not a lot in my legs. At a couple points in the course, I had some mistakes and with a field as deep as it was, I was far off the pace and decided that I had to cut my losses and did not take my second run. I am not one to give up, and in any other situation would have taken my second run to prove to myself that I belong there. I had nothing in me in terms of energy and just wanted to rest up and get ready for my third race.
By the morning of the third race, we had moved an hour east to an area called Maria Alm. I was finally feeling normal in terms of fatigue. Warming up before the race, I felt much more life in my skiing and was ready to go. The field was not as deep as the previous two days, but there were still World Cup level racers competing. Now that I was feeling ready to go, I just had to battle the conditions.
That night it started to snow, but the temperature was right around freezing. While skiing down, the snow was sticking to everyone’s goggles. Halfway down the first run, I could not see anything and was skiing solely on feeling. I came down in 8th place, but by the time the first run was over I had moved back to 16th place. After the first run, it was a very close race. 30th place was 0.4 seconds behind me and 6th place was only 0.3 second ahead of me. Anything could happen.
So far on this trip, I have been getting better with each run and this trend held true for the final run. The snow had changed to rain and helped with the visibility. The times for the second run were just as tight as the first run, but I skied really well and was 4th on the run. That moved me up to 9th overall. That run was really a confidence booster. I beat all of the US Ski Team athletes and other national team athletes that were there on the run. It was good to end the first few days on a good note.
Racing here in Europe is a totally different experience than competing in North America. The top racers at Nor-Am races are just as fast, but the fields are just so much deeper. Because of this, one or two mistakes and you are on the outside looking in. It is a great experience, though, and I have learned a lot as a competitor.
There are ups and downs every week. When I have a bad run over here, it is really tough to come back. From this I have learned that I just have to shake it off and look toward the next run or race. That is one of the most important things that I have learned in my entire time racing.
In North America, there are no limits to what you can do with your technique and abilities, but competing over here has taught me how to race and compete. When I do have a good race over here, it reassures that I belong at this level and the top guys are beatable. This is something that I have always believed and it is a great feeling to back it up with my skiing.
Right now I am taking the weekend off and enjoying watching the World Cup races from Kitzbhuel live on television. I have been to Kitzbhuel to watch the race before and enjoyed the experience, but am glad to not be battling the 60,000 fans that arrive in the small town for the races. I am also using the time to digest last week’s races and prepare for a few days of training next week before another block of racing here in Austria and in Slovenia.
Apr 07, 2008 - A long stretch
I have just finished up quite a long stretch of racing. I have been on the road for the last month, putting over 2,000 miles on my car. I have been to Ontario, Lake Placid, Sugarloaf, and Vermont for races during this time. The end of the trip included 10 races in an 11-day period. I cannot begin to explain how tired I was by the last day... Mar 13, 2008 - March Madness
Spring is here and my racing is in full swing. The spring races are some of the best opportunities all season for racers in my position. From here on out, I will be racing against national team athletes trying to score points that will help my world ranking. Yesterday wrapped up a five-day block where I had five NorAm Cup races. The races began in Collingwood, Ontario. For anyone unfamiliar with Canada and Ontario in particular, Collingwood is in the middle of nowhere. It is about two hours northwest of Toronto on the shores of Lake Huron. It was an eight-hour drive there from Lake Placid where I was training last week... Mar 03, 2008 - Rollercoaster ride
Ski racing can be one of the more frustrating sports around. It boggles my mind how quickly things can change. Emotionally, it can be a rollercoaster ride from great highs to disappointing lows in a mere matter of days - then back to those wonderful highs. Avoiding any lows would be ideal, but throughout the season there are bound to be some. Each athlete’s hope is to make the highs last longer and shorten the low points as much as possible... Feb 14, 2008 - A long trip
My recent trip to Whistler Blackcomb sure seemed like the longest eight-day trip that I have ever been on. When I decided to go there to compete in the Canadian National and Junior National Championships, I envisioned good races being held under decent conditions. I could not have been more off in my assumption. I would guess that I saw the sun for a total of three hours the whole time I was there. I must say, though, when the sun was out it was a breathtaking place - perhaps one of the more beautiful places in the world I have been to. Feb 07, 2008 - A different perspective
While at home recovering from the crash that cut my Europe trip short, I had the chance to see a couple ski races as a spectator. In the week that I was home, I caught a Windham Ashland Jewett Central School Ski Team race and a J-V and J-IV (13 years and younger). It was great to see these races because I had come up through the same races. I started my racing in the weekend program at Windham and continued through high school. In 7th grade, I began skiing for the high school team, as well. Jan 28, 2008 - Feeling pretty beat up
The skiing world in Europe is far different from anywhere else in the world, especially North America. Here, skiing and mountain life are a part of the culture. Skiing is a social activity... Jan 19, 2008 - Another world
A lot has happened since my last entry. To begin with, I spent three days at Sugarloaf waiting to race downhill. The always-reliable January thaw was far from merciful during our races there. In the three days, I only skied three runs - all of which were during the first morning... Jan 08, 2008 - A good start to the new year
I just finished the first half of an eight day racing block. The first four days were NorAm Cup slalom and giant slalom races. They were held at Sunday River right after New Year’s... Dec 26, 2007 - Home for the holidays
After a whirlwind trip across North America that included 13 races in Colorado, Canada, and Maine and spanned just about a month, I can say without a doubt that it is good to be home. As exciting as it is to travel great distances and see beautiful places while skiing, sometimes there is nothing better than relaxing at home and sleeping in your own bed... Dec 14, 2007 - A great day
Ski racing can be a funny sport sometimes. In a matter of days, things can totally turn around. I was kind of disappointed that I had not skied better than I did during the downhill races at Lake Louise. I knew that I just had to put that performance behind me and move on to the next race. That could be the most important lesson that I have learned in this sport. There is almost always another race right around the corner. At this level, when you have 60 races in one season, there are plenty of opportunities to succeed. Dec 10, 2007 - North of the Border
I arrived in Calgary, Canada, to some bone chilling weather. I came up here after racing in Colorado to compete in NorAm Cup speed races. There were two downhill races, two super G races and a super combined (one run of super G and a run of slalom). My first races were two downhills held at Lake Louise, Alberta. Before we arrived, Lake Louise had played host to both men’s and women’s World Cup speed races Dec 02, 2007 - The season is underway
I just finished up my first North American Cup races (NorAms) to kick off the competition season here in North America. The races proved to be quite competitive, as there were many World Cup teams gearing up for the upcoming races at Beaver Creek. Nov 23, 2007 - A little down time
I am finally home and getting some much needed rest. The journey home was a long one, totaling over 6,000 miles and 28 hours of traveling. I got home a few days ago and am just getting over the jet lag. I am now able to stay awake past 9 pm and can sleep past 6 am. Nov 07, 2007 - Surrounded by the Best
AUSTRIA -- Paul Epstein, my teammate for the year, and I made our way back to Soelden for the weekend to watch the World Cup races. We were excited to get out of Hintertux after a difficult week of training because of the snow and weather conditions. I was particularly excited about watching the Men’s race, but the women’s race provided quite a bit of excitement with Julia Mancuso’s spectacular second run moving her into second place overall.
Oct 30, 2007 - About Chris Frank
Chris Frank grew up here in Windham, the son of the resort’s general manager at the time, Dan Frank. At the age of 7, Chris joined the junior race program at Windham and was a part of it until graduating high school... Oct 30, 2007 - Thrown Into Winter
Thrown into winter - October 23, 2007 - It has been 10 days since I stepped off the plane in Munich, Germany. After getting my bags in the airport, I hopped into a van for a 3-1/2 hour drive south that brought me to Soelden, Austria...
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