Flowing

Hey guys, quick little update here in Canada.

I would love to post some video of my skiing but the internet is so bad here it is a chore just to upload pictures. So where did we leave off? After the first Slalom I think…

Well, the second SL was not that awesome. I wasn’t “flowing” down the hill very well at all which was frustrating. I know I have the speed in me, I just have to unleash it! Anyway, after that we switched on over to GS which I was pretty happy about. After my results in Aspen I was in the seed (top 15) for the start. I drew bib 12 and I was more than happy to be back in a discipline which I have been having a lot of success in.

That said, Panorama is not my ideal hill, my ideal snow, and the course set was not exactly to my liking. BUT, I ended up doing pretty well considering. I finished 13th overall which is my best Nor-Am finish to date which I am psyched on. This is the best start to the season that I have ever had so I am confident it is going to be a great year. I know there is a lot of untapped greatness for me in racing and I look forward to unleashing that soon. Like I’ve said, I don’t want to be peaking right now!

Second day of GS the snow came up and punched me in the face 5 gates from the finish my first run. My goggles snapped in two and the lens gave me a small cut under my eye as I got a nice, mellow headache. It was not the most ideal scenario but it is just one race. In a season I race somewhere between 50-60 races so I try and not get too upset about things like that. Not anymore at least. Hahah

You can never change the action, but you can change your reaction to what has happened and that in itself will reduce the impact it has on you. Like Mark Engle said to me that day, “A year from now, this day is not going to matter. Getting all upset about it doesn’t really help at all and won’t make a difference. But if you learn something from today, and try to fix what went wrong, well then that will make a HUGE difference for the better.”

Well, with GS over I focused on what I could do to be better. Unfortunately next was Super-G, and I have only been on SG skis three times so far this year. Two of those times were the races in Copper, where I moved back… 30, 40 spots? Hahah, oh well. Action, reaction, impact, right? Started 33rd today and wound up back in 45th, moving back only 12 spots! Step forward.

Luckily today was a Super Combined which means after a SG run we had one run of SL. Okay, I can do tech. I focused on flowing and giving it everything since I knew some of the speed skiers were not psyched on SL just like I was not psyched on SG. I ended up 10th for the run and moved up from 45th to 15th overall which feels pretty good right now. I also scored by my best Super-Combi F.I.S result by like 30 points so that’s a plus. Also, since I finished 15th I will also be in seed for the next Super Combined Nor-Am which will be totally sweet!

Anyway, one more Super-G tomorrow where I am going to try my hand at actually moving up! Crazy, I know but I think I can do it. After that I head to Calgary to catch a flight the following day back to Denver. From Denver I need to get a ride up to Summit County to where my car is parked, (can anyone give me a ride??? hahah), and from there I head to Steamboat Springs. Steamboat is holding 3 slalom races the 20th, 21st, and 22nd which I hear are just the best races of the year where the entire town comes up to spectate so I am excited to be a part of the action! That and I hear a rumor there is prize money so that is ever an enticing situation. Either way, I look forward to coming back to Colorado for a bit before Christmas!

Well, I apologize for the false “quick update”. But that is all that has been going on. Thanks for tuning in and I will upload video when I can!

All the best,
Tucker