ICC race 8, Park City - Proving a point...

After the massive disappointment of being dropped for a few races to accommodate 'priority' athletes I was relieved to find that my season wasnt quite over when I was sent out to compete at Park City for the final race of the season. I was flown out to meet the squad at Calgary and was one of the drivers on the car for the 18 hour drive down to Park City, which is just outside of Salt Lake City in Utah, USA. The drive was very much like you see in the movies, dead straight roads, nothing for miles either side, and some good banter down the radios between our two car convoy. After a couple of rest days (and some cheeky shopping trips) we started training at what to me is one of the most enjoyable tracks on the circuit! Speeds around the 130kph are acheived very early on with a challenging mix of single and double pressure corners. Training on the first day got me used to being back on the sled after a month away from the ice, and i put down some competitive times. The following training days and the race were to be undertaken in persistant snow, a major drawback for me as the top few corners are uncovered, hence slowing the effect of the initial push from the top as the snow clogs the track. Consequently the race became more about the drive lines from corner 4 onwards, and training indicated that I would do well despite this!

Race day came around and it was great to have the adrenaline rush of a raceday back in my veins. The warmup went as well as it could in the snow, and my push on both runs was still one of the best despite a month out from hard training. My first run wasn't entirely clean, i took a couple of hits on my way down the track in key areas, but despite this I was ranked 5th after the first run. My second run was cleaner but in a very close heat where around 9 sliders had runs separated by only 2/10ths of a second I fell back a place and finished 6th. A very pleasing result with all things considered this season, and I feel I very much proved the point that my deselection was unjustified with 3 medals in the 5 races I participated in. (The top 6 in each race acheive medals).

The Podium Finishers for ICC race 8, Park City.

This for me was the concluding race of the season. After all the highs and lows I failed to make the Olympic team, however my selection onto the British team was always with the vision of making the 2014 Olympic Games. To have acheived qualification for the 2010 Games was always a very big ask, however I feel I was well and truely in the mix, and in different circumstances I could have made it. For now though a summer of training awaits, I have acheived my World Cup Qualification Criteria this season which was my main goal, so I can potentially be racing on the highest stage of my sport next season, and with World Championships to be aiming for it is very much 'Game On'!!