On friday night, as the lifties were thinking of shutting up shop, 8 tdc coaches were frantically packing supplies into back packs, ready for the inaugural tdc night tour. The snow had been falling all afternoon and visibility wasn’t great but what did that matter on a night tour, surely that’s the idea! It proved to be a pretty strenuous journey to the Refuge des Fours, a two hour skin that culminated in a steep bumpy gully high above the Cugnai Valley, but once we had the stove fired up and pumping out heat we were all glad to have put in the effort. A delicious 3 course meal washed down with lashings of red wine was then topped off with a few glasses of whiskey. The laughter continued into the small hours as the snow and wind continued to drive against the hut outside. Although heads were a little fuzzy in the morning we had enjoyed a brilliant night, very different from your average Friday evening. The ski home was almost as much of a slog as on
the way up! Poor visibility and heavy wind blown snow made for a long arduous trudge out of the valley. Any hopes of cutting our efforts short by taking the Manchet Express chairlift were dashed as we rounded the corner to see it closed! Lets get the weather right next time team…looking forward to it already.
It was another beautiful day in the Espace Killy today and although we haven’t had loads of snow so far this season the piste conditions are fantastic, there’s barely a rock in sight!
This morning I took the group over to Val d’Isere but unfortunately my favourite La Daille area was closed due to preparations for the World Cup and a fallen cable which was crossing La Verte piste. We spent the morning consolidating yesterday’s technical focusses which were getting balanced over the outside ski early in the turn and improving rotary movements.
SCGB with tdc coach Ben Langridge
As the video footage shows the guys made some great changes notably their turn shape and economy of movements.
After a great lunch in La Datcha, we headed up into the Solaise bowl to work on the inside ski which in the most part wasn’t quite matching the outside ski. The general feedback was really positive with the guys feeling more stable, more smooth, and more efficient, so I took the group down the Matisse piste which I knew would be quite icy and narrow. This was a good test to see if the inside ski focus helped their impulse of rotation and their ability to put the ski flat and be patient through the arc. I was really pleased with the outcome as the team skied comfortably over the varied snow adapting with each turn to the different snow underfoot. We finished the day with another video run before heading back to the hotel bar to review it over a Vin Chaud.
tdc coaches working on the World Cup Super G today in Val d’Isere.
The Face de Bellevarde provided an awesome spectacle as over 30 racers crashed out on one of the hardest courses on the circuit.
Flat light and snowfall all day made conditions even harder for the competitors but this didn’t deter Lena (tdc‘s new coach for 09/10), who managed to get photos with Bode Miller, Ted Ligety (2nd Place) and Andreas Walchhofer (1st place), not to mention getting on the podium and bagging a bottle of champagne in the process!
tdc coaches were out on the hill in force today. With 4 Early Season Clinics running and 3 groups of VIP/Snowline ski hosts on a tdc training course, there are plenty of black jackets on show this week. The VIP ski hosts will be working in resorts across the Alps this season and are honing their technique and their leadership skills under the guidance of tdc coaches. Conditions were tricky today and there were a few sets of tired legs when we finally made it to the après-ski! More of the same tomorrow, hopefully with some fresh snow during the night.
The whole tdc team was on the mountain today to launch our ski school’s season. We are really pleased to have Josh back with us for the winter and we are over the moon to have Lena joining our team. We are as strong as ever and hope to ski with you this winter in Val or Tignes. Here are a few photos of some of the tam on the hill today, the whole lot can be seen at http://picasaweb.google.com/tdcski
It has been a bit of a road trip around Europe for Gi recently. Firstly ten days in Hintertux attending and delivering to the BASI conference, followed by a few days running a selection of new trainers for BASI.
Coming back to the Tarentaise and both Tignes and Val d’isere make Zermatt look pretty bare for snow cover. We have had some warm weather here but we had 25cm of snow last night and Val d’Isere will be opening this weekend as planned. Tignes is already open and there is good skiing to be had on the pistes.
The picture is my group on the L1 in Zermatt. The mountain in the background interests me because it reminds me of the Belvarde a bit, or at least a pale imitation.
I’m whiling away the rest of the autumn with a bit of coaching at the local dry ski slope.
I haven’t skied on the ‘mat’ for probably 5 years now – and I’d honestly forgotten how much fun it is.
I even managed to squeeze out 2 sets of 50 old school short swings in 100 meters!
Don’t ask me to carve though – I left all my kit in Val – so I’m donning some old rear entry hire boots and some health and safety conscious – you won’t cut your fingers on these edges – hire skis.
I’ve been asked to coach some slalom racing which is always a pleasure, starting with Portsmouth Uni who are training for the British Universities Champs – I took some photos of them through the gates which are now posted on the tdc photo gallery http://picasaweb.google.com/tdcski/
Unfortunately since we were skiing under the floodlights and the guys were so fast – I struggled to get really clear shots but some of them are ok, even when blurred however – you can still pick out good and bad technique, hopefully the team will find them useful.
Portsmouth Uni get some tdc coaching
I also set a slalom course for a Southern Region race – which had to start on a big 35 degree ramp. I was worried the kids would pick up too much speed so I set 4 big ‘Tomba turns’ at the top, unfortunately it was a touch too tight so I had to whittle it down to make it more manageable.
It was interesting for me to see that the kids were super comfortable and fast edge to edge – when the gates were more or less straight! But only a few could handle the bigger turns at the top which showed they didn’t have enough leg rotation. Often when ‘mat skiers’ get onto the snow they find it hard to maintain a constant speed because they’re not used to finishing their turns, the dry slopes being so much slower means that leg rotation is less important.
Anyway I hope I get the chance to work with these kids again, I’ve been scheming some drills and exercises just in case. In the meantime I’m getting ready for the winter – although I’m not looking forward to having to force on a pair of front entry boots – I can’t wait to get back on the snow, gonna try to beat 100 old school short swings on the ‘Village’! Enough rambling – I’m heading into Christchurch for a coffee… my round today then boys!
The BASI course finished on Friday, so that makes 10 new race coaches ready to get out there and change the world for the better. Really nice group actually, well done to them.
Saturday saw the first ever indoor session run under the banner of the development centre, or tdc. The participants were the Ski club of Manchester, a keen and talented bunch. Most of the slope was being used by kids club or had enormous kickers built on it, but the bit we still had left was good firm snow and i managed to catch up with them enough times to try a few drills and make a few changes. Until Rushup Edge has a decent base of snow again we will be back in the Chillfactore for some more on snow soon.
Paul going head to head with French International BasteraudSzarzewski and Marconnet look on
It was the annual beach rugby tournament in Tignes last Saturday. Wall to wall blue sky and the hot alpine sun made sure there was a real beach atmosphere despite being at 2100m above sea level! Val d’Isère won the amateur competition in the morning, conceding only one try in 5 games. Giles and Paul combining nicely to score the winning try in the final.
Paul distributes watched by Italian legend Bergamascotdc linking nicely watched by Basteraud
The pro-competition was to take place in the afternoon and as amateur Champions Val d’Isère were asked to join them. Fortunately we were playing touch rugby not full tackling otherwise things could have ended very differently! The motivation to run around for another spell of matches came in the shape of Stade Français. 13 times French champions and Heineken Cup regulars their squad is packed with Internationals and we were to play in their group. This was a warm up for their summer training camp that happens every year in Tignes, for us we were on our last legs, but how often do you get to play against so many legends of the game? A once in a life time opportunity.
Dupuy, ex-Leicester & French International scrum-halfGi poised to make a move
Motivation was high as we lined up against a team that were practically all international stars. If you know your rugby these names should mean something to you: Julien Dupuy (Leicester scrum-half last year), Sylvain Marconnet (French prop), Mauro Bergamsaco (Italian back row), Mathieu Basteraud (French centre), Christophe Dominici (ex-French wing), Sergio Parisse (Italian back row), Roncero Rodrigez (Aregntinian prop), Dimitri Szarzewski (French hooker). They all played and we even managed to score two tries against them! Lewis and Garner are still waiting for a call from the Stade Français coach such was their performance on the day.
We made it…but to a man we have decided that we never ever want or need to ride up the Mont Ventoux again; it is a monster, quite rightly revered as the hardest climb in France; the true Giant of Provence!
It was dawn as we rode the 9kms to the start line, joined at every turn by more and more riders. What a buzz in Montelimar as we awaited the start; there was a mixture of nervous tension and excited anticipation amongst the 9000 competitors; this was going to be some experience. The first thing that struck me as we rolled through the streets of the capital of ‘Nougat’ was the pleasure of riding on closed roads. I felt like a real pro whistling along in the slip stream of hundreds of cyclists, riding either side of roundabouts and on both sides of the road. It was amazing how fast we could ride with relatively little effort just because of the wind shadow provided by everyone around you.
This had always been billed as a beautiful ride and as we made our way through Provence the scenery did not disappoint. From lavender fields to olive groves and craggy mountain passes dry and arid, the landscape was constantly changing and inspiring. The first descent came as a bit of a surprise as the peleton hadn’t quite worked out the over-taking etiquette required when riding with so many. Victims were scattered along the road, lying on the verge and in the ditches, receiving medical attention from a team of doctors who would be busy all day. They were in good hands but it was nevertheless a sobering sight as we sped past.
Soon the riders started to stretch out as groups riding at similar intensities started to form. Sometimes it was right to drive the pace and do a share on the front but there was more time spent in the slip stream. Catch a ride on the tail of a mini-peleton, make the most of the tow and rest, maybe even take the opportunity to eat and drink. Our fluid and energy plan was a major concern to us all. We had pockets stuffed full of energy bars, flapjacks, gels and bags of isotonic powder for our water bottles. It doesn’t matter how fit you are if you run out of fuel or dehydrate, you’re finished; there’s no way back from a wibble on a day this big!
We had done a good 70kms before 10am and it was already a hot day when we stopped at the first feed station. It was absolute carnage as thousands of people with their bikes bustled their way to grab bottles of water, bananas and bars. It was a joy to get off and stretch for a minute or too, change position, swing the arms and shake the legs. However, no time to linger, with water bottles recharged along with the revolting yet essential powder it was back to the road.
The rest of the ride towards our daunting final ascent was beautiful, hard work but great fun. By now we had all split up, riding at our own pace, making our way towards The Giant. The route took us on an almost full circuit of the mountain before we were allowed to start the climb. It was infuriating to be so close without being able to start the final effort. All we seemed to be doing was frittering away precious energy and sweating profusely!
When we finally hit the lower slopes of the Ventoux it was in the region of 35 degrees and what awaited us was harder than our worst fears! The slope was wickedly steep and the trees provided no shade. The roadside was littered with walking cyclists, destroyed by the gradient and the heat but also, perhaps, by an over exuberant first 150kms. It was all we could do to keep moving as the gruelling road wove its way up the mountain; no respite, no let-up, no hairpins to sneak a few metres worth of rest, just relentless, interminable climbing in the eerie silence of the forest. The spectators cheered but got little reaction from the riders as they looked on at the macabre procession of slow suffering and pain.
Eventually we climbed clear of the tree line and approached the refuge of Chalet Reynaud, the final feed station and a huge psychological hurdle sitting above the half way point on the climb. The rest of the ride was a blur of exhaustion; clawing our way up through the characteristic, heat magnifying white rocks of the Ventoux, eyes stinging from the sweat, aching shoulders, numb toes, throbbing head, driven on only by the promise of respite at the top. Finally it came, the observatory and the finish line.
The last time the Etape came up the Ventoux it had to be abandoned in mid-summer because of a blizzard but this year the sun continued to beat down until we were long gone. What an adventure and what a conquest. Well done to the tdc boys and to the other guys and girls we rode with and met along the way. Next year we’ll know what to expect and maybe, just maybe we might do a little better.
