The 24/25 competition season is well underway now, and as usual the last few weeks have felt like a bit of a whirlwind. Since the beginning of December, I’ve logged six races which included four top 30 results in World Cup, and one Nor-Am race win. I’ve bounced around from home to Colorado, back to Panorama, and across the pond to Italy. At the moment I’m sitting on a train on the way to Verona where our team will spend a few days off, and figured it’s about time to write a bit about the season so far.
If you’re reading this, then you likely know my last season didn’t quite shape up as well as I would have liked as I returned from injury. I’ve slipped back in the rankings, and now find myself starting with bib numbers in the 50’s. However, I was feeling good about my skiing in pre-season training and also determined to show that my best is still ahead of me. I also knew that both of the first speed venues of the World Cup season (Beaver Creek and Val Gardena) often present good opportunities for later bib numbers to punch in. In my experience, the challenge is always making sure I stay focused on my skiing, not letting the desire for a result get in the way of how I want to execute. I always ski my best when I trust myself and commit to the plan I’ve made, which seems obvious but can also be easily undermined when those race-day head games come into play.
We arrived in Aspen at the end of November for the last few prep days ahead of the Beaver Creek downhill training runs. Our team used those final training days to hone in our game-day mentality with some mock races. The conditions were soft after a fresh meter of snowfall, but it’s always fun to push each other and see who can clutch up when there’s something (bragging rights?) on the line. Unfortunately, a hidden bump under the fresh snow also claimed one member of our coaching staff, who suffered a lower-leg injury requiring surgery. This left us short one valuable position for inspection and course reports on the Birds of Prey downhill. Luck was still somewhat on our side though, as we just happened to be in the home town of legendary ski coach Johno McBride, a veteran of the World Cup tour who has worked with many of the American and Canadian greats of recent memory. Johno stopped by for a lunch visit on our last day in Aspen, and ended up being recruited to our squad for the Beaver Creek race week. Off we went, with a new secret weapon in our pocket, ready to see how we stacked up with the rest of the world after the off-season.
The Birds of Prey course was great this year; well-manicured and full of big terrain as per usual. The morning of the downhill race, I found myself dealing with some normal first-race-day-of-the-season nerves. Training had gone well, but of course that doesn’t count for much if you can’t put it together on race day. Knowing I had a good plan, I decided to go ski a few runs rather than sit in the lodge and watch the first guys on TV as the race began. That was my way of dealing with some of the jitters and trying to connect with my feeling on the skis instead. I think it helped, because I was able to keep that feeling throughout my race run and ski to a personal best 10th place result. It felt great to start the season on a high note like that, but by far the most rewarding part was the feeling that I trusted my plan and leaned into the challenge.
The next day came with its own challenges as I found myself preparing at the top of the Super G course wearing bib 54, and knowing that not a single one of my teammates had made it to the finish line ahead of me. I used a similar tactic with my warmup runs to distract myself, but of course it felt like there was a little more pressure on my shoulders this time. In the end I skied well, although I think still a little shy of my best ability, but good enough for 21st place. It’s a bittersweet day when you’re the only finisher on the team, but I think we all moved on from that day with even more determination.
My schedule over the next week was a little wild. With a need for some better Super G FIS points, I headed up to Panorama for two Nor-Am races that were sandwiched between the two World Cup weeks. That meant traveling from Colorado to Panorama on Sunday, skiing Monday-Wednesday, then flying to Europe on Thursday. There wasn’t much time for recovery in that schedule, but thankfully I was able to get the win and a score in one of the Nor-Am races. I’ll be the first to admit that winning isn’t easy no matter what the level of racing, and this rang true when I missed the podium entirely on the second race day in Panorama. Thankfully, there wasn’t much time to dwell on my frustration as I set off for Val Gardena.
The Saslong course is one of the stops I look forward to most in the season. The track is like a roller coaster with more terrain and airtime than anywhere else, and nothing feels better than when you link it all up. Coming in with little rest, I did my best to prioritize recovery through the start of the week. With the first training run under my belt and feeling more familiar with the course again, I started to really enjoy myself. First in the race order was the Super G, the same one in which I returned to racing one year ago. It’s always an open and fast set in Val Gardena, requiring full-send while being as clean, aerodynamic, and error-free as possible. I’m not sure I had that gear available yet when I raced it last year, and I was determined to make up for it this time around. Starting with bib 55, the course was in rough shape after some fresh snow came down the night before. I had a strong start and a couple top-15 intervals before making a mistake in the Ciaslat section roughly two thirds of the way down, which landed me in 26th. The race was incredibly tight, and it can be so easy to hang on to small mistakes when only a few tenths of a second would mean a big move up in the rankings. The result may not have been as good as I wanted, but I’m happy knowing I was at least going for it because that’s all I can control anyway.
Last on the menu was the downhill race, and it was shaping up to be a beauty day. It was looking like a classic Val Gardena race in which the light improves and the snow speeds up slightly as the race goes on, making for an exciting show. The knowledge of the opportunity had me feeling a little nervous, but once again I tried to dial in to the feelings I would look for in my skiing. While warming up in the start area, I could hear the coaches huddled around the TV in the corner of the corral cheering again and again as guys with high bib numbers came down fast. A cheeky smile from our physio told me “you know what you have to do”, and so I focused on that. Somehow the race run felt more wild than it had in training even though the course was running slightly slower. I was entirely focused on working all the terrain to squeeze out as much speed as possible. When I got to the finish and saw 10th place on the board, I was stoked to see it had paid off (although I ended up getting bumped to 11th in the end).
It meant a lot for me to follow up on my PB finish in Beaver Creek with another strong result. It’s always a test to carry the momentum through a season, and there’s a long way to go yet. For now, I hope to keep building up the confidence in my process and taking it one step at a time. And the next step happens to be Bormio… the darkest, bumpiest, iciest confidence test of them all.
As always, leave a comment to let me know your thoughts or if there’s anything else you’d like to know.
Cheers,
Brodie
Thank you for taking us behind the scenes Bullet, what a great read!!! Keep on truckin’ Bruv, the best is yet to come!
You’ve had a very good start to r the season. What ever your doing keep it up.
Ski fast, have fun, Smile.
What a strong start, Brodie! All that hard work PPT is working! Onwards!
Thank you for your insights! Great thoughts, cool guy! Keep that up and don’t look beside! Bormio demands nothing more than a stable body and a clear head all the best for upcoming challanges!
Great start to your season, Brodster! Love reading your blogs when you are so far from home! Ski fast and stay safe !
Thanks for sharing!! 💥💥
Great update Brodie! Really love your writing! Congrats on a strong start and best wishes for the upcoming races!
Nice to see you skiing up to your potential, Brodie. There is more where that came from.
Hey Brodie.Thisnis fantastic… you have the skill and you know the process. Go do it and you know I am here cheering you on… yelling at my TV or computer screen… doing what I can to help you get the best results..
go gettem Bullet ..
Loved reading your blog. Thanks for sharing. Best wishes for your next races!
Brodie, great update and thanks for sharing with all of us who support and admire the efforts of our Canadian skiers.
I’ve done a little “unscientific” review of past results (going back to the 70’s) of Kitzbuhel. The Canadian team results kinda follow a pattern and with everyone skiing well right now, you guys are trending to do extremely well!
So… I am going to be there to take in what I believe is going to be a great show for you and the team.
All the best!!!