Alpine Skiing

Athletes from Canada's women's alpine ski team arrived in Vancouver today, eager to leave behind a difficult season on the World Cup and start a new chapter at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games.

After early season success at the Lake Louise World Cup in Dec., the women struggled with disappointing results and back to back injuries of Kelly VanderBeek and Larisa Yurkiw.

"When it happened, having two injuries that week was tough for the team," said team manager Patrick Riml. "Over Christmas, the impact of the injuries, that we'd lost 50 per cent of the team, really sunk in."

Despite continuing to race in Europe, the team could not get their groove back, and heading into St. Moritz, Britt Janyk opted to go home, while Emily Brydon elected to continue to compete.

"I chose to stay because St. Moritz is one of my favourite tracks in the world, and it's been good to me," said Brydon. "I hoped it would be good to me again. I know that if I sit, it just festers, so I needed to get back on the horse."

Before leaving St. Moritz, Brydon squeaked into a top ten in the super-G, but struggled in the downhill, finishing 21st.

"I felt like it would be more beneficial for me to go home and get some rest," said Janyk, about her choice to split from the team. "It gave me a chance to reconnect. I feel like a new person with new energy."

The different strategies have appeared to work. The team regrouped in Nakiska, Alta., for pre-Olympic training. With a run closed off entirely for the team, and coaches preparing the surface with water, the teams could enjoy the training with no time constraints or outside pressures.

"When we were in Nakiska, we started a new chapter," said Riml. "It was an outstanding camp in Nakiska. The main focus was quality, and we left the camp on a positive note, with great skiing."

Unlike the men's team, the women feel the Olympics cannot be approached like any other race, and are buoyed by the prospect of racing at home.

"We all have a good attitude," said Janyk. "We can really embrace the feeling and energy of a home games."

To help feel at home, the team has a private house to stay at, very near the finish area for the alpine races.
"We're really looking forward to the house," said Shona Rubens. "It's nice to have our own space as a team, away from the athletes' village."

"In Torino I tried to make [the Olympics] just another race and you can spend too much time and energy making it that way," said Brydon. "I believe that the Olympics is a clean slate. We're at home and we know the course. Now there's nothing to lose."

The women travel to Whistler to prepare for Thursday's training runs for the super combined, which runs on Feb 14th.