To pick up where I left off after the World Championships Super G…

It was fun to race the World Championships Giant Slalom at night under the lights. I started in the top-30 and was 24th after first run, despite my boot coming unbuckled in the middle of the run. I made several mistakes in my second run and I moved back to 29th place. All in all, my experience at Worlds in Sweden was really uplifting, and I was happy to spend some time with my parents who made the trip to watch me race.

After a short break at home, I flew back over to Europe to race in a World Cup GS in Sierrra Nevada, Spain. Slightly jet-lagged, I didn’t to perform to my potential and failed to qualify for second run. Although I definitely didn’t accomplish what I had traveled to Spain for, I did enjoy my very first trip to the country. My teammate and I climbed to the top of the mountain where we took in views of the Mediterranean Ocean and the hills of Morocco.

Warm weather and spring conditions plagued the next race series in Tarvisio, Italy. It was warm and slushy every day, which made my late start number especially challenging. I actually had decent times and very competitive splits in the downhill training runs, but in the end, I lost too much time on the very last section of the long downhill course and came in 31st place in the race. I also crashed as I tried to stop in the finish area, leaving me feeling a little banged-up in the Super G race the following day. I skied quite well in the Super G. Aside from a tactical error towards the bottom of the course—which most early-runners such as myself were making—I wouldn’t change anything about my performance. Unfortunately the track got faster for the later girls and, despite coming down in the lead, I moved back to 18th place overall.

Not making World Cup Finals was definitely tough to swallow. I scored in five out of six World Cup Super G races this year, yet I finished the season ranked 30th in the World Cup Standings. I know that my ranking doesn’t accurately reflect my ability in Super G, but I take solace in the fact that the women’s circuit will be visiting much more technical venues next season which will better suit my strengths. My World Cup season didn’t go exactly the way I had hoped or planned, but I still have so many positive things to hold on to for next year. Plus, I stayed in the top-25 in the World on the WCSL ranking system, which means I will remain on the A Team.

Last week I went to Panorama, B.C. for some Noram GS races. It was refreshing to race in a more relaxed environment and to take some time to freeski on my own. I was happy to leave Canada with a win and a second place finish, in addition to two sub-10 point results. I definitely built confidence over the two days, with every run getting better and faster than the last—I won the final race by almost a second.

I look forward to carrying that momentum into U.S. Nationals next week in Alaska… Last time I went there, I came home with a National GS title and two other podium finishes!