Netherlands competition starts Oct. 12.
October 10th, 2007
BOTTROP, Germany (Oct. 10) -- U.S. Snowboarding decided the best way to train for the Oct. 12 alpine snowboarding World Cup opener at SnowWorld, the Netherlands indoor facility, was to train indoors. According to Head Coach Steve Persons, the Bottrop Alpine Center's 640-meter indoor facility in nearby Germany is perfect.
"We just wrapped up an awesome on-snow camp in New Zealand, now we're in Germany for three days of training at the world's longest indoor facility before making final preparations at SnowWorld," said Persons. "Our Team is super strong right now and we're fired up to get the season underway."
The New Zealand camp was a first for the alpine athletes, who normally held their final summer session in Chile. According to Persons the riders needed a change of scenery and the venue swap paid huge dividends once they got settled.
Originally set for Coronet Peak, three days of consecutive rain prior to the Team's arrival made the slopes too soft for training. So they packed it up and headed over to Cardrona where the wet had been white.
"Cardrona rolled out the red carpet and made the Team feel at home," explained Persons. Apparently 'home' for U.S. Snowboarding includes a 40-gate training course - normal race sets are around 28 gates - which the Team devoured for the remainder of the two-week camp.
"We've been doing a lot of conditioning work with Per [Lundstam, USSA manager of strength and conditioning] in the summer and it's really starting to pay off. In the past, 40 gates would tire the riders out pretty fast, but he's been able to help them build their ability to recover. This time around, they weren't getting as tired," he said.
A parallel race has two qualifying runs, then six successful duals to make the big final where riders must complete two more runs in order to podium, therefore heavy conditioning is key.
Off the snow in New Zealand, the men made a side trek to go surfing led by 2002 Olympic bronze medalist Chris Klug (Aspen, CO). Justin Reiter (Steamboat Springs, CO) and Adam Smith (Bend, OR) spent some time fly fishing and the entire group took jet boats with what Persons described as "true Kiwi style."
"All the guys went surfing in Dunedin and had a blast. It was a double-break and Klug was hitting the big break out a bit farther, while the other boys were catching the smaller swells. Everyone had a good time with it," said Persons.
Landgraaf has been a good start for U.S. riders the past few seasons. Last fall, the Team qualified five riders for the final brackets and Smith has hit the podium twice at the event, including a win to open the 2004 season. Racing with Smith will be Klug, Reiter, Jewell, Zac Kay (Mount Shasta, CA), Michelle Gorgone (Sudbury) and Erica Mueller (Steamboat Springs).
"This Team has gained a lot of World Cup experience in the last few years. Now it's time to consistently get into the top 10 and increase our World Cup starting spots. Since this isn't a World Championships year, that's what we're going to focus on and Landgraaf is our first test," Persons said.
Qualifications and finals for Laandgraaf will both be held Friday, Oct. 12 at SnowWorld.
