Britt Janyk

World Champs, Tarvisio and now Bulgaria

2009-02-25T04:27:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week we arrived in Bulgaria to the resort of Bansko. Last season they ran a men's Europa Cup event here so this season they decided to bring the women's World Cup event. The resort is actually pretty spectacular and so far the organization of the whole event has been great. The race hill is pretty challenging and demanding, you really need to fight and stay ahead of the course the whole way down. The weather looks to be good for the week and if that holds it will be our second week in a row of good racing weather for the season!!

I haven't written in a while and have completely missed writing about the World Championships…. So let's go back there, although I won't be talking about my results, unfortunately!!

The World Championships in Val D'Isere have just come to an end this past weekend and we are now back into the regular world cup schedule. At the World Championships I race in the Giant Slalom, Downhill and Super G. The race hills in Val D'Isere were pretty challenging, both the men and women had two different race hills for the speed disciplines. It was my first time on the race hill at the World Championships and this usually doesn't happen because the season prior to the event we usually have a World Cup event on the hill. Unfortunately last season that World Cup was cancelled. The hill was steep, tight, and had lots of turns.

The exciting parts of the World Championships for the Canadians was John Kucera winning the men's Downhill and taking the first men's downhill championship gold ever in Canadian history. This was absolutely inspiring. The men then followed up with a bronze on the final day. I was no longer in Val D'Isere at this time but I watched closely from where I was training in Italy. I couldn't believe my eyes when I watched the slalom event and saw my brother get his first World Championship medal. It was another day in Canadian history. I was actually watching the men's slalom race from my coaches' house in Sudtirol. His wife and their two boys were also there watching and their oldest, Filip, had to hold onto to my hand so that I would sit still!

The Canadians and the Americans have a home base in a town in Austria called Kirchberg and after the World Championships, once everyone was back in town, the whole village held a parade in their honor. My brother, John Kucera and Lindsay Vonn, who won two gold medals, received gifts from the local area and were celebrated by all… it was very very cool.

As for now, the excitement from the Championships is definitely going to motivate me through the last World Cup races of the season. Last week I was in Italy, where we had a downhill race and a super g race.

I am looking forward to the end of the season but it isn't over yet…… til the next time.

2009-01-14T11:32:00.000-08:00

A new year, a new season of blogging(hopefully more consistent than the last!!)

I am going to take you back to before Christmas to the first races of the season so that you have a better idea as to where things have been going.

Just prior to the holidays we were racing in St. Moritz, Switzerland. I was actually there for 2 weeks, along with the rest of the speed crew. We arrived in St. Moritz right after the World Cup events in Lake Louise. The plan was to catch the Europa Cup events the weekend before the World Cup to get on the race hill. Well, things didn't start off as planned. We arrived in a complete snowstorm and right away the first training run of the Europa Cup was cancelled. Oh well we thought, lets go powder skiing at least. Now, I have mostly been in St. Moritz when it's sunny and blue bird so never quite realized how difficult it can be in cloudy snowy conditions. We arrived at the base of the hill keen for a fun powder morning but this was soon to change. All of the St. Moritz ski area is above the tree line so visibility is instantly brought to zero! We had no idea where the good spots were to ski the powder so just tried to stay close to the groomed runs. Unfortunately the snow that fell was not the lightest – which I should be used to coming from Whistler! However, I also had a very bad pair of rental powder skis, which were more like a pair of water skis. After one run my feet were about to burst out of my race boots and my legs were killing me from sitting back so far and trying to get my skis to run!! We lasted a few runs and had a few laughs then found our way into the restaurant for a cappuccino. And that was just the start of our stay in St. Moritz.

The Europa Cup races did go off but in very marginal weather. In the Super G race I walked away with a 2^nd place finish. I had skied well in difficult conditions.

The following week, during the World Cup week, we decided to take a stab at a little hockey, or rather skating with sticks! We laced up and headed for the ice with our trainer leading the way who is an ex hockey player. I am pretty sure that skating is the cheapest activity in St. Moritz; 5 euro each for ice time. There were a few tumbles and most of them intentional ones! I think we are definitely going to be sticking with ski racing.

The World Cup week started and we were ready to attack the hill. The two training runs were great conditions and the soft snow was getting harder and harder. Come race time though, the weather came back in and the wind picked up. It was snowing like crazy again and conditions were definitely not ideal for a World Cup. Unfortunately it can't always be a beautiful sunny race day and you need to deal with what you get.

The toughest day by far was the Sunday before leaving when we were to be racing the Downhill. We woke up and finally there was sunshine! But there was a catch – the wind had come back to town. We inspected and the gates were being blown to the ground from the gusts of wind. On one of the chair rides I didn't think we were going to make it down! The race was postponed and it now became a waiting game. After 8 hours, at 2pm they finally cancelled the race. And the wind hadn't died down one bit, oh and the chair was closed because of the wind. The girls and I did one last ride up the train to get some fresh air and said goodbye to St. Moritz.

It's now 2009 and so far we have had one downhill race, in marginal race conditions and two super g races, also in marginal conditions and we have already had 2 downhill races cancelled. In less than two weeks we have our next races and from there we will have races every weekend until March. That's what I am looking forward to!!

Portillo, Chile Training Camp

2008-09-11T10:30:00.000-07:00

Sept 9^th, 2008

Summer training in the Southern Hemisphere

While most of you are at home enjoying the summer weather, those of us on the Alpine ski team are up in the high alpine of the southern hemisphere. Currently I am sitting in the hotel here in Portillo, Chile watching light snowflakes fall outside the window. My teammates and I have been here for almost two weeks now and have had some great on snow training. Just a few days ago our men's speed team arrived along with the women's U.S ski team. In this week we will have some great opportunities to train together. Not far from the resort of Portillo are a few other resorts where you can find many other ski teams training. The women's technical team was here with us in Portillo just last week and this week they are training in Valle Nevado, which sits right next to both La Parva and El Colorado.

This is now my third visit to the ski resort of Portillo and it is just as beautiful as it was on my first visit. This resort found its place on the worlds map when in 1966 the World Championships of Alpine Skiing were held here in Portillo. At the resort you can watch a video of the Championships, it's the same hotel, the same ski runs with just a few updated lifts!

The attraction to this ski resort for training is the steep runs and the terrain, and one long run in particular. The teams that come to Portillo to train are usually the Downhill and Super G skiers because on one side of the ski area, at the top of the "Roca Jack" lift, is the start of the Downhill track. This run flows down to the bottom lift and provides a downhill track that runs about 1 min 20 sec long. We can also train Super G on this track. The start of the course runs down a steep pitch and speeds get up to 95km's by the time you reach the bottom. You then find yourself in a big left footed turn that spits you out onto the flats where there is plenty of terrain to work with. Next on the course is jump #1. This jump is usually the bigger of the two jumps and will carry you at least 30 plus meters in the air; I think I may have gone 50 metres off of it this week! The landing of the jump is very nice and it brings you across another flat area towards the 2^nd jump. Following the 2^nd jump there are a few more gates that take you to the finish. Oh ya, the training is at an elevation of 3000m and my legs definitely feel it at the end of the course, and especially after our 6^th run on the track.

This is a special place because teams have been coming to train here for years and years and there is a real ski culture here. In the ski room, where all of our skis are stored and where our technicians tune the skis you can see the history written on the walls. Any racer, coach and technician whose passed through these doors have signed the walls. It is really neat to read all the names and all the stories. Maybe one day, when I have moved on from ski racing someone will read my name and remember the things I have done in my sport…. That is as long as the building is still standing!

Britt Janyk

Queenstown, New Zealand

2008-08-05T17:11:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

I hope those of you reading from the northern hemisphere are enjoying some nice summer weather!! Down here in New Zealand I have had to make a quick adjustment to the winter conditions. Although I must say it is quite mild compared to our winters in Canada. Nonetheless the snow is great and so far the training has been excellent. I arrived almost a week ago with the rest of my teammates and coaching staff and have had 4 days of training on snow. Today we had our first day off and got the opportunity to explore a little. Where we are staying is just outside of Queenstown and quite close to another little town called Arrowtown. This morning Gen Simard, Emily Brydon, Kelly Vanderbeek and I rented some bikes and cruised on over to Arrowtown to check things out. It took us all of about 10 min and then sun was just starting to crest over the peaks of the mountains. The town basically consists of one main street but it is jam packed with tourist shops and cute restaurants and cafe's. We found a great little spot to have an espresso and then made our way down the "main drag". After a little exploring we found our way back onto our backs and headed towards home but not before picking up some good meat pies from the local bakery for lunch. They were delicious.

The last time I was down here in Queenstown for a ski camp was about 6 years ago and I am really enjoying being back here again. The town has definitely changed though. The apartments where I stayed last time have been torn down and new places have gone up, the ski hill has a brand new lodge which almost outdoes some of the places on Whistler Mountain! The people however are just the same; warm, welcoming and pleasant. It's great to be back and we still have another two weeks to go. Next on the schedule for the following day off snow is a trip to Milford Sound - should be fun!

Until then,

Britt :-)

Bring on the dessert!

2008-07-14T14:19:00.000-07:00

Since I sat down and wrote my previous blog I have been a very busy athlete. Between training full time in the gym for next winter and trying to catch up with friends and family, and trying to enjoy the summer it has been pretty non-stop.

Over the past few months there have been some common questions that people ask me about training and just life in general as an elite athlete. So, I thought that this would be a good time to answer some of those questions and maybe clear things up a bit about what it is we do.

For the past few months I have been training hard in the gym along with the rest of my teammates. We basically have an 8-week block between our on-snow training camps, which is used to focus solely on our fitness training.

Our trainer will write our program and it will change and progress throughout the 8 weeks. In that time I will spend some of it training at home and will also attend some training camps in Ottawa.

The western athlete's on the Alpine Women's team will meet our training in Calgary for 1-week blocks. During these camps where we meet with our trainer we will continue the same program as at home but it gives us an opportunity to come together as a group.

This naturally elevates the intensity of the training and brings us together to push one another. I have currently just finished up my third and final week of training in Ottawa and will now be spending a few weeks at home with my husband in Collingwood.

Our training is pretty regimented; we have two training session per day which includes both cardio training and weight training and then weekends are off. It is also very important for us to do a lot of core strengthening and plyometric work.

This leads me into one of the common questions I get from people and it usually goes something like this, " so do you get time off now?" The answer there is definitely no! The nice thing about summer is that I do get to spend a little more time at home but I wouldn't call it time off. In the last month and a half I have been to Ottawa three times for 1-week blocks, spent a week in Whistler training and visiting family and friends and have had 2 weeks in my home in Collingwood. My time off will come 3 days prior to leaving for our ski camp on July 29^th. We get our real "time off" in April for about 3 weeks. In those three weeks I sleep like crazy and watch movies!!

Another common question I get asked to me is, "are you on a special diet and are you allowed to drink." Well that one is pretty simple, no we don't have special diets and yes we can have drinks. Obviously though we are smart about what we eat and when we eat certain things. After really hard training sessions in the gym and on snow it is important to get the right nutrition into your body to keep your energy levels up and to help with recovery. And then I usually tell people that we are in a cold sport where gravity is our friend – so bring on the desert!!

My final common question has been related to the Olympics. With 2010 just around the corner everybody wants to know if I am on the Olympic team, or they want to know when our trials are. In Alpine skiing every race we enter is different from the last. Our Olympic criteria is based on our results in World Cup events during the season of the Olympics and the team will be decided probably only weeks prior to the games. I am hoping to make the team but I need to be on my game and racing fast in the 09/10 ski season. Right now my main focus is to train hard, stay healthy and to try and win a World Championship Gold next ski season!

So there you have it, I hope that helps clear things up a little and now you know a little more about the life of a ski racer.

2008-05-15T09:18:00.000-07:00

Summer Training

Wow is it already May, but I have just stepped off my skis, how could it possibly be May already! Well it's very possible when you are a member of the Canadian Alpine Ski team, just the other week my teammates and I were training in Whistler, B.C. and we had 8 days of excellent on snow training conditions. But maybe you're wondering, well why would they be having a training camp right when their race season has just ended?? What about a little rest? Well I can explain a little about why we do these crazy things…

From the end of March through to early May we had two on snow training camps, both held in Whistler, B.C. I really enjoy this because I get to stay at home with Mom and Dad and in my own bed – not too bad at all.

The first camp was important because it gave us an opportunity to train on the 2010 Olympic track. We were able to test the hill, set up timing and test our equipment in the conditions. It is really important for us to build up this type of data and for we the athletes to just get some mileage on the race hills.

The second training camp we had was at the end of April and was held higher up on Whistler Mountain on the Peak Chair. This is the second year we have done this camp and I am sure that we will continue with it in the years to come. At this camp we are able to train all four disciplines, (Giant Slalom, Slalom, Downhill and Super G), and it many different types of terrain. We are also able to train some key components of the events such as gliding for Downhill and Super G and also jumps and rolling terrain and on our starts. It's in these areas where we can find those hundredths and tenths of a second that really count when it comes to the competitive season.

It is important for us to do these two camps, even if we are quite tired from the competitive season because it allows us to really make some changes in our skiing while our "skiing legs" are still trained. I say this because after skiing for several months on end you head and body are tired but your body is actually quite "ready" to make some technical changes. From now until our next on snow camp there will be an extensive fitness-training period where we will look to build strength for the next winter season. When we return to snow at the end of July and in August our bodies may have changed slightly and it will take some time to get our "feelings" back on our skis. So in this way, by having already had a training camp back at the end of the season we can easily recall what changes were made either by thinking back to the feeling or what most of us do is write down in our training journal daily. I always look over what I did at a previous camp before entering into the next camp.

So, from now until the end of July we are in the gym throwing weights around and on our bikes training our strength and cardiovascular systems. I will be training in Collingwood, Ontario where I live with my husband, (when I'm not on the road) and then later in the summer I will be training a little bit in Whistler where my family is. As a team we will also come together for some training camps, which will be held in Ottawa and in Calgary. The eastern athletes meet in Ottawa and the Western athletes in Calgary and our trainer will travel between the two cities. This allows us to touch base with our trainer and also to train in a group atmosphere. This naturally brings up the intensity of our training and then I find when I return home to train on my own I still feel the residual intensity from the week with the group.

As you can see our summers are just as busy as the winter competitive season. It keeps us well occupied and out of trouble. But I wouldn't change it for the world because, all of the hard work is worth it when you stand on top of the podium.

Britt

Aspen Winner's circle

2008-03-29T12:08:00.000-07:00

Whistler Training

2008-03-29T12:07:00.001-07:00

Hello Everyone,

First I need to apologize for not updating my blog.. .I had some issues with my webpage earlier this season and so I lost my rhythm with the blogging!!

I am now back from europe, I have posted my most recent Pique article below... and we are already back at the training!! This week and next we will be training on the tracks in Whistler. The men's team is here as well and we have already had some excellent Super G and Downhill training. I have also been getting a little bit of free-skiing in as it is very much winter here still! But, I have to also make sure that I squeeze in enough couch time and sleep time....

I will work on keeping this updated a little more frequently, so tune in and keep reading.

Britt :-)

BACK FROM EUROPE

2008-03-29T12:01:00.001-07:00

I have just returned from Bormio, Italy where the World Cup finals were held and by the time this hits print I will have been in Quebec City for two days of racing and then finally out to Whistler by the end of the week. Wow!

My last two weeks or so in Europe went well, besides the fact that events were cancelled. We started off in Germany for a Giant Slalom race, which was cancelled because of bad weather. Really high winds and pouring rain and fog doesn't really allow for ideal racing conditions! So, Emily Brydon, myself, and Rob Boyd packed up our van, known as "bluey" and drove 7 hours to Switzerland. I will add that the day before we had driven 5 hrs from Austria up to Germany. At least I got to play some guitar hero with the Tech team girls; that made the trip worth it. On the same weekend the men's team was up in Norway where they raced two Downhill's and a Super G. They walked away with some great results; Manny Osborne-Paradis was top 5 in the Downhill and Robbie Dixon just missed the podium and came away with a career best finish in the Super G. The race hill in Norway was a brand new track for Robbie, which makes his result even more impressive.

The following week it was off to Switzerland, to the wonderful resort of Crans Montana. It was my first time visiting the resort and I had a great time. We stayed in a great little hotel and were treated very well. It was also really nice to be in the French speaking part of Switzerland because I could actually speak the language, although most of the staff in the hotel and in the town was actually Italian! I am working on that language too… Bonjourno!

That weekend we raced a Downhill and as Super Combined. I skied well in the Downhill and had a few little mistakes and settled for a 6^th place finish. It is a great placing but I am finding myself no longer being satisfied with juts a 6^th place finish! But, it still is good to be amongst the top girls every weekend. With that result I solidified my overall placing in 3^rd for the Downhill standings.

From Switzerland it was off to our final stop in Bormio, Italy – I could finally practice my Italian, well maybe. I could probably communicate with a 3 year old at this point! We arrived in Bormio, drove through the rain, and immediately had a training run the following day. It would end up being our only run down the track because unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and both the men and women's downhill races were cancelled. On the day that the men's training run was cancelled I was actually sitting out on the balcony of my room in my shorts and t-shirt reading my book! I really did enjoy the track in Bormio, it was really fun to get a chance to run the track there. However it is a little harrier in December when the guys race the World Cup there. At least in March the sun is on the hill and the snow is a little more forgiving!

Conditions throughout the week were very spring-like and a little on the warm side for ski racing. But, the rest of the events went off fairly smoothly and at the end of the week all of the globes were awarded for each discipline. They also awarded the globes for the other FIS events on the same night and I was completely unaware of this at the time. The Snowboarders and Freestylers were there and we got to see many of the other Canadian athletes who were getting awards in their respective disciplines. I also caught up with Maelle Ricker briefly over a glass of champagne in celebration of our results. It was really great to see some other Canadians there.

I am happy to be back on Canadian soil and am also very happy to be returning with a 3^rd place medal for the Downhill standings – I really don't feel like I am number 3 in the world but it will be nice to try and be number 1 next season. We had a great season, Kelly and Emily both finished in the top 10 in Downhill and Emily also finished in the top 5 in Super G. You might be able to catch us training in Whistler over the next few weeks as our new season begins right away, as we will take advantage of getting some time on the Women's Olympic track. I also hope to get a little powder skiing in!

Cortina D'Ampezzo

2008-01-14T01:22:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,

Well the holidays have been over for a week or so and we are back to racing. I have been back in Europe since the 2nd of January and have since raced in two World Cup GS events. The first was in the Czech Republic and the last was just in Maribor, Slovenia this past weekend. At the GS race in Czech I sadly finished 60th.... but last weekend I turned things around a little with a top 30 finish. It felt so good to get a second run in GS. This week we will be in Cortina D'Ampezzo where we will be racing a Downhill and 2 Super G events on the weekend. Cortina is definitely one of my favourites stops on the circuit so I am looking forward to it.

After the races in Maribor Emily Brydon and I spend our days off in Graz, Austria which is just across the border from Slovenia. We stayed in this great little boutique hotel, the Hotel Daniel. I guess they have these hotels all around the world. I would recommend checking them out. We also spent an evening at our physiotherapists house near Maribor. She is married to the ski technician for Anja Pearson and they have a very cute new townhome together. Emily and I did our laundry, played scrabble by the fireplace and had a delicious home-cooked meal. It was perfect... oh and I won the scrabble game too. Not that I'm competitive or anything!

I look forward to having some exciting things to report on after our weekend in Cortina... until then.

Britt

Canadian Alpine Ski Team

Right to Play Ambassador

2008

2008-01-01T09:46:00.001-08:00

Hello Everyone and Happy New Year!

I am sitting in the Vancouver airport on New Year's day morning getting ready for my flight back over to Europe. It was a bit of an early morning for New Year's but thankfully my night was quite mellow! I have just had a really great break in Whistler where I was able to get out and do some fun skiing! I don't get to do much of that in Europe when we are racing.

Next on the schedule for me will be a few giant slalom World Cup races, both in the Czech Republic and Slovenia. In the middle of January we will have the next speed races in Cortina, Italy. I am really looking forward to getting out there on my GS skis, especially since I will now be able to start after the top 30! I now have over 400 world cup points which allows me to start after the top 30.

I hope everyone had a great New Year's eve, keep checking my blog and I'll do my best to continue to update it regularly.

Britt

A WIN!

2007-12-13T07:57:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone

Sorry for the late update, as I'm sure many of you have heard I had my first win last week in Aspen. It was absolutely amazing: Here is the article I wrote for the Pique Newsmagazine in Whistler:

The last two weeks have been very exciting. Two speed events have taken place, both in Lake Louise and Aspen, and my teammates and I are off to a great start. Jan Hudec started the men's Downhill in Lake Louise with his first World Cup win ever. The following Saturday in Lake Louise I had a 3rd place finish and then jus last weekend had my first World Cup win ever in Aspen. Wow, pretty amazing. Let me share with you all that goes on around the results and a little bit about what it has felt like.

Two weeks ago at the World Cup events in Lake Louise I stepped onto the podium for my first time with a 3rd place finish in the Downhill. It was amazing! I have been on the Canadian Alpine Ski team for 10 years now, I've had ups and downs and it has all been worth – all of it. My run that day down the course in Lake Louise was so much fun. I had come off my training run from the day before feeling pretty confident about how I was skiing the course and had just a few things that I wanted to touch up on for the race day. Most important though on race day is trusting what you know in the course and sticking with the game plan. The morning of the race I woke up and was excited, even though it was -28C out! It was really cold.

I was in the start gate and all I could think about was, let me onto the course! I felt relaxed while at the same time being energized and ready to push out of the gate. In downhill I have been working a lot on keeping my feet relaxed in my boots. I find this really helps me to keep my skis running which in turn means you are going faster. In speed it is important to be over your downhill ski but you do not want to be too hard on the skis. The skis need to be running smooth on the snow and for me I think about relaxing my feet. On colder days it is especially important to let the skis run because the snow has that much more grip to it. My run was going well and I felt that I was executing the line just as I had seen it in my mind, at the same time I was constantly thinking about letting my skis run. Towards the bottom of the course all I could think about was how cold my face was – I couldn't feel a thing. The last stretch to the finish was flat and you are just sitting in your tuck and did I ever just want to pull my hand over my face to protect it!

I looked up and saw 3rd place and had a pretty good feeling that this could be the podium finish. I ran 24th so there were just a few more girls to come down before the end of the top 30, and then I was probably safely in 3rd. And I was.

The crowd in Lake Louise was amazing, my parents were there and also a group of my close friends. The same friends actually that were present when I brother stepped onto the podium last year in Beaver Creek. I'll have to go ask them now if they would like travel with us full time now!

After the races in Lake Louise we jumped on the plane to Denver, Colorado and headed to Aspen. On the schedule in Aspen were a Downhill, Super G and then a Slalom race on the Sunday. We got to Aspen and it was gorgeous there. Fresh snow had fallen the day before, the Christmas lights were up everywhere and it really looked like a winter wonderland. Oh, I forgot to mention that on our way to Aspen we of course stopped at the outlets stores in Silverthone. Now if you haven't been to Silverthone before then you are definitely missing out, but your Visa isn't so that most likely is a good thing. They have everything, and now my Christmas shopping is done!

The hill in Aspen is quite different from the hill in Lake Louise. It is a very technical course, speeds aren't high but there is lots of terrain and direction changes so there is constantly something coming at you. This basically means that you need to be thinking well ahead of what's coming at you. The speeds feel pretty fast, even though the highest speed is much slower than those in Lake Louise. We had two training runs and Emily, Kelly and I were right in there in both runs. But, as we neared the race day on Friday, the clouds started to roll in and the snow started to fall. It was not looking good for the race.

On Friday morning Kelly and I woke up and the ground was covered in snow and soon after arriving to breakfast we got word that the race was cancelled. Just the night before Kelly and I had been talking about wanting sunshine for the race day or if that was not to be the case then at least let it snow enough to cancel the race – not just a dusting of snow that can be slipped off. We wanted POWDER!

So what do you know, it dumped! Kelly, Sherry, Emily and I quickly went back to our hotel, rented some powder skis from the shop below and made our way to the lift line to load at 9am. We had to go up, at least for a few hours; there was just so much snow. We also had to do things a little Aspen style and promptly purchased a few latte's to stand in line with and drink while riding the gondola! Such princesses, I know.

We powder skied for two hours and we were literally choking on the snow as we skied, quite amazing. After skiing we came down from the hill, changed into our hotel bathrobes and headed to the outdoor pool and hot tub to relax a little. Life in Aspen is rough! After lunch, we cruised around town, did a little shopping, (mostly window) and then began to rest up for the following days race.

On Saturday morning when we woke up it was still snowing a little but not much had accumulated. The race was on. The snow on the track was still quite soft which to me meant that I could really take advantage of my early start number. As I was inspecting and got a look at the track I started to realize that it looked a lot like Whistler conditions. Right away I went back to the nationals events that I had won in similar conditions and tried to relate it to what I was seeing on the course in Aspen. I didn't start to think that I could win the race but all of a sudden I started to feel quite relaxed about the race because I knew that I could ski these conditions well and fast. With the team we try to train when conditions are tough so that when we are faced with them on race day we know we can overcome them.

That race in Aspen became the first World Cup win of my career. It was a wonderful and amazing day, one I will never forget. It was also a very proud day. I could not have done it without the support of my coaches and of my teammates. You, my readers have also read through many of my downs over the past years, as well as my ups. A World Cup win has been my dream for many years and to have attained my goal has made absolutely everything leading up to that moment worth it.

I want to thank everyone who has written me emails or called me – your support means the world. I am also very proud to win as a local Whistler racer, a town with a passion for skiing!

Canadian Alpine Ski Team

Right to Play Ambassador

bjanyk@mac.com

www.brittjanyk.com

(705) 606 8402

Lake Louise

2007-12-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, and sorry for the late update! I have just recently
gotten my webpage up and running so now I can return to updating my
blog a little more frequently.
This past weekend at the World Cup races in Lake Louise things were
pretty exciting. I started the weekend off with a podium finish in
the downhill, for my first time ever.
It was so great to step onto the podium at home in Canada in front of
friends and family and an amazing crowd of fans. It made me very
proud to be Canadian and to be out there racing for Canada.
I am now in Aspen, Colorado and we have some races this weekend, more
Downhill and Super G. I am looking forward to the races here as it is
a great hill and the track is going to be fun.
I want to finish by saying thanks to everyone who has sent me emails
and messages - all of you have inspired me and have been such great
supporters. Thank you very much, all of your words make it easier to
be away for so long on the road!
Britt :-)

Lake Louise 2007

2007-12-04T16:57:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone, and sorry for the late update! I have just recently
gotten my webpage up and running so now I can return to updating my
blog a little more frequently.

This past weekend at the World Cup races in Lake Louise things were
pretty exciting. I started the weekend off with a podium finish in
the downhill, for my first time ever.

It was so great to step onto the podium at home in Canada in front of
friends and family and an amazing crowd of fans. It made me very
proud to be Canadian and to be out there racing for Canada.

I am now in Aspen, Colorado and we have some races this weekend, more
Downhill and Super G. I am looking forward to the races here as it is
a great hill and the track is going to be fun.

I want to finish by saying thanks to everyone who has sent me emails
and messages - all of you have inspired me and have been such great
supporters. Thank you very much, all of your words make it easier to
be away for so long on the road!

Britt :-)

World Cup finals

2007-03-28T23:11:00.000-07:00

World Cup finals 2007

My season in Europe wrapped up this past week, with the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. This would mark my first time back at the world cup finals since 2003 so I was pretty happy to have qualified this year. I have just returned back from Europe and am very excited to be in Canada and in Whistler for the Pontiac GMC Canadian Championships. But, first let me take you back to the races from Switzerland.

In total there were ten of us from the Canadian team who qualified for the finals in our events, I had qualified for the Super G and the Downhill events and entered the finals ranked 5th in Super G and 25th in Downhill. The conditions for the week were very spring like, cool and icy in the morning and very warm and sunny by the afternoon. It was great!

It was my first time racing on the track in Lenzerheide and I must say, it turned out to be the toughest track of the year. It was going to take 100% focus and concentration from start to finish of the downhill track because there was absolutely no room for error. Unfortunately we did lose a few racers who crashed and walked away with injuries. At the end of the season that’s the last thing you want to see, we are all pretty tired by this time of the season and it is easy to lose focus but that’s the last thing you want to do.

The great part about being at the World Cup finals is that you really do feel like you are part of the elite group of World Cup racers. Only the top 25 are there, men and women together, usually racing on the same course together, and everyone fighting to improve their ranking for the end of the season. Oh and of course there’s that beautiful globe that we all would love to walk away with come at the end of the season!

In the Super G race I had a bit of an interesting incident. I was starting 20th, in reverse order of our ranking and I really wanted to try and move up in the ranking’s as the points were close with the girls around me. It would also be the last world cup race of the season and I really wanted to go out with a bang, and in a sense I did! We inspected the Super G course early in the morning with the men, and then watched them race. When 11:45 came around, I was ready to lay it on the line and race.

It all came to a halting end though about 8 gates into the course when I found a piece of the mountain with my left ski! I went out with a bang. There was a rock coming through the snow and I had run right over it. I attempted to do the next left footed turn but had absolutely no grip on my ski. I could feel that something was not right, but how could I have hit a rock? After the next turn I pulled out of the course, there was nothing I could do. As I was coming to a stop on the side of the hill, frustrated and “pissed off” about the situation, a thought occurred to me, “what if I didn’t hit a rock, man I really hope there is a big scratch on my edge when I pick it up and look because otherwise I am really going to kick myself if I just stopped for nothing!” I pull myself to a stop and lift my ski up and there is my answer. I had definitely hit a rock. My whole edge under my left boot was gone, only a few pieces were hanging on. The base had also been ripped off in places to show the metal under the base. I had definitely hit a rock! A few racers later Renate Goestchl hit the same rock, so I must have been on the fast line.

With not finishing that days race, my ranking moved back from 5th to 7th. With that ranking, our wonderful sponsors Pontiac GMC, will be providing me with a car for the next year, that is something to look forward to.

I am now home, we are racing the Canadian championships and the events are going to be great. I would love to see some spectators out there, so come on over and watch the races. They will be running until the 28th of March on the Dave Murray Downhill over at Creekside.

The World Championships

2007-03-11T07:56:00.000-07:00

World Championships 2007

For the past 2 and a-half weeks I have been in Aare, Sweden for the 2007 World Championships. We arrived on a Wednesday and I left this past Sunday, only 3 days short of 3 weeks! It was great to be able to settle in and stay for a while but it got a little long by the end. Throughout the winter season we get used to being at a different place every week, although not everyone stayed for the whole length of the Championships, but there were a good bunch of us who stuck it out right to the last event. However, this being my first World championships since 2003, I was pretty happy to be there for the length of the events!

The first event to go would be the Super G races and then the downhill training runs follow. We would have a few days of training before the first race, the men would run the day before us and open the Championships and then it began. But that would only happen in an ideal world. As it turns out, we arrived and the temperatures were sitting at 0C and as the races days were getting closer the weather was getting worse – I don’t think you could have even run a Slalom event in the weather they were getting! So, things are delayed, and delayed, and delayed. The men’s Super G was cancelled right away and then the following day, the ladies Super G race day, was cancelled as well. Already, in the first few days, the weather days were being used up, and the Downhill events hadn’t even started. I think it was at this point that the stress levels of the organizers were raised.

The apartments that we were staying in were right near the race hills, as were the other teams. On the days of the cancelled events, we would look out our front window and see all the spectators walking past towards the finish area and once the event was cancelled, we would see the large crowds walk right back again! I felt mostly for them; they should have been given notice at home if the race was on or not.

The weather continued to persist for the next few days; high winds, snow and fog would not allow us to start the first events. The hardest thing about this for a racer is having to keep your motivation up and to keep your head into the race, day after day. On top of that, these are the World Championships, you are there to have your best performance of the season – this is the time to peak.

On a Wednesday morning, exactly one week after we had arrived in Aare, we awoke to beautiful sunny weather, cold temperatures and a perfect race day, finally. We had used up so many days of doing nothing that now they had to schedule the men and women’s Super G race on the same day; men first then the women. I woke up and I was excited to be racing but at the same time I had gotten so used to getting up and having the day cancelled that I couldn’t really believe it. The most important thing for me was keeping my race prep plan going over the course of the days. It can be difficult to do when the weather outside is ugly but it’s so important to keep your head into it. I think that I had done that well and for that reason was ready to race that Wednesday.

We warmed up and inspected our course while the men were racing next to us. We heard that our guys had done really well, three in the top 10, only hundredths from the podium. That was my inspiration! When I left the start gate that afternoon I left nothing on the hill, I tried to take risks in the line where I could and to be smart in my line were I needed to be. As a racer, when you cross that finish line, the best part is knowing that you did everything you could on the course, essentially you did your job. After that it’s just waiting to see if your best on that day is good enough to be THE best! It’s really satisfying when everything comes together. For me, everything came together but other girls would be faster than me and I would finish the day in 4th place, again only hundredths from the podium! But, my best finish ever at the World championships – that felt great and I was proud to have been racing for my country.

After the first week of unstable weather, the temperatures cooled off and the weather was stable. The downhill events ran smoothly and when race day came along the Canadians were ready to perform. The men and women ran on the same day again and the men ran first. Jan Hudec surprised us all by getting his first World Championship medal -the silver. It was absolutely amazing to be there and to see it. He had inspired me on that day and I think he reminded us all that at the World Championships, like the Olympics, anything can happen. I was so happy for him, what an amazing day. Even better than that though, was that all the guys on the downhill team now had to shave mowhawks because of a bet they had made prior to the race. When we make bets on the women’s side it’s usually more along the lines of our coaches having to do something – not us!

In the technical events we had some close podium finishes but not close enough. Throughout the whole event I felt that the Canadians had great momentum and we really fed off of each other’s results. We were having fun and we were performing. All I can say is watch out for the next World Championships, or even the next World Cup events because I think we have got something to prove.

We will be back onto the world cup schedule this weekend, there are only a few more events until the World Cup finals. But maybe more importantly we only have 3 weeks left in Europe!

"Start Stop"

2007-01-29T06:23:00.000-08:00

Pique article 23.01.07

I am writing to you this week from the Olympic track from last year’s games in San Sicario, Italy. We have returned for a Downhill and two Super G races. Last week we were in beautiful Cortina D’Ampedzzo for three races, and Cortina was as beautiful as ever.

The conditions in Cortina were great, even with the lack of snow this year. We had two training runs early in the week and then started with at Super G race on Friday. Unfortunately on Friday it was pouring rain when we woke up and it did not look like we were going to get a race off. We waited around all day, as the rain continued to pour down and they continued to delay the start. Finally at 1:30 in the afternoon they confirmed the start for 2pm and we were racing!! The rain had let up but the wind had picked up. The race conditions definitely weren’t ideal but that’s ski racing and you have to be ready for anything. I remember doing the same thing a few years back in Whistler fro the Canadian Championships Super G. It can happen there and it can happen at the World cup level too.

On Saturday we woke up and the conditions were much better. It was still warm out but at least the skies were a little clear and it had become cold enough so that the snow surface was frozen. We started only 15 minutes behind schedule and I had bib 42 – I was ready to race. I got into the start gate and was looking forward to running the track. I pushed out with force and was on course and completely focused. Just after the first turn and steep pitch I looked ahead into the next turn only to see a yellow flag waving for me to stop. Quickly I stood out of my tuck and came to a stop… my first time being flagged in a Downhill race! I took my skis off and walked out of the fence and jumped back on the chairlift to go start again.

There were 54 girls at the start for the downhill and if you are flagged you must start before the last girl. So, I got back to the top, gave my tech the skis to work on for a few minutes and got my head back into race mode. On my way up the chair I try to calm down a bit and went over the section of the course that I had just skied to figure out what I could have done better. I had decided that this was a great opportunity for me, I could have a better start the second time around, there was a turn that I could be cleaner in, and the second time around I would do it and be faster.

I got into the gate after 52 left the start and again, was ready to go. “Racer ready, ten seconds,” said the starter. I put my poles over the wand and just as the five-second countdown started I hear, “start stop.” At this point I pull back from the start and begin to laugh! The starter was laughing as well, what else were we to do. The funny part for me though, was remembering from our summer training when we practiced our starts. The coaches would give us a countdown but then every once in a while they would give us a “start stop.” We had practiced the exact situation I was going through.

About 30 seconds later I left the start and was back on course. I did ski the top section better than my first run and when I crossed the finish line I was in 17th! Not only was I pretty happy to see that placing, I was also just happy to get down to the finish line without being flagged again! Wow, what a day. Last weekend in Cortina definitely made me realize that you need to be prepared for anything at a speed event.

While we were in Cortina, the men were racing in Val D’Isere, France where Eric Guay and Manuel Osborne-Paradis, were 2nd and 3rd in the Downhill. The last time two Canadians were on the podium together was in 2005 in a Giant Slalom race with Gen Simard and Allison Forsyth.

After this weekend in San Sicario we will have a few days off and then we travel to Sweden for the World Championships. I think the team as a whole is really building up for the Worlds and we are ready to do something there. When I talk to you next it will be from Sweden, but until then, keep watching and cheering us on.

Raining In Europe

2007-01-29T06:22:00.000-08:00

I find myself having a hard time to find something to write about this week and I’m not sure exactly why that is? It’s raining outside today, January 9th, and we are in the mountains in Austria. At this time of the year it should be dumping with snow, or there should at least be some on the ground from a previous snowfall! Needless to say, it’s all becoming a little depressing!

This week we are in Altenmarkt and Zauchensee, Austria for a downhill, Super Combined and Super G race. Wednesday and Thursday will be training runs and races starting on Friday. But as I said, it’s pouring rain!

The men are in Wengen this week were it has also been pouring rain early in the week. But, hopefully it won’t affect the races. Where we really should be is in Whistler for some powder skiing! Or maybe the valley could ship some of that nice, white, fluffy snow over here! If only.

This next month will be very busy on the World Cup circuit. Last weekend we were in Kranska Gora, then, this week in Austria, followed by races next week in Cortina, Italy and then back to the Olympic downhill and super g track in San Sicario for two races. This will bring us to the end of the month where we will finally get a day or two of recovery before heading up to Sweden for the World Championships! And, this is all of course hanging on the fact that there will be snow but I really that there will be enough.

In the last two weeks we have had some Giant Slalom and Slalom races and both had snow only on the race hills. This meant that there wasn’t an opportunity for a warm-up course prior to our race runs. In the mornings, first thing would be one run of free skiing down the race hill and then the inspection followed by the start of the race. In an ideal race warm-up situation we would inspect the race-course and then warm-up in some courses for at least 3 to 4 runs. This is important because it is an opportunity to get a good feeling going on your skis, to get your body moving and to wake up so that you are ready to go when it comes time for your race run. But, so far this year we haven’t had a single G,S race where we have been able to do that; all three race hills have not had enough snow.

In these types of situations you really need to use that one free run down the race hill well. A good warm-up before the free run is important to ensure that you are activated for the run. I will also take a little longer in inspection in order to really take the time to visualize myself skiing sections of the course in a good position on my skis. Visualization becomes your strongest tool because you can’t warm up the feeling on your skis in a course so you need to adjust and do it mentally. After inspection, when there’s lots of time in the lodge it’s good to go back through the course, using good images and also keeping activated and keeping your body warm.

I hope that our next G.S race in Cortina will have a warm-up course and I hope the rest of this month will go off without a hitch – but whatever happens, when I step into that start gate, I’ll be ready to go!

A White Christmas

2006-12-31T14:59:00.000-08:00

Everyone in Whistler is enjoying the holiday snow and it is so nice to see, I mean the snow that is! Wow, a white Christmas, am I ever glad that I have come home this year because had I been in Europe it would not have been a white Christmas. It's a short visit home but nonetheless well worth it. Early this week, Christmas day in fact, I will be back on a plane to Europe for a Giant Slalom race in Austria! It's crazy I know but somehow we can't seem to convince FIS that a race between Christmas and New Year's is not a good plan for the North Americans.
The World Cup season has had a bit of a shaky start, as I'm sure most of you know. Uncertainty of snow and lack there of has caused quite a bit of juggling with the schedule but luckily we have only lost one of two events. As far as results go though, it has not been a shaky start at all!
The season started in Lake Louise where both the men and women got podium finishes including the first win by a Canadian male on home turf since Rob Boyd. Now that had to have been a while back because Rob is now one of my coaches!! (no hurt feelings Rob!)
From Lake Louise we moved over to Europe. It was a quick visit for me, only 8 days but in those 8 days I raced 4 World Cup events! On the men's side they probably raced about the same number in order to get back on track with the schedule.
While over in Europe, I raced a Super Combined, a Super G and two Downhill races. The Super Combined and Super G were held in Austria and at that point it was just great to be getting some racing. The hills were a little green around us but the race hill was in amazing shape and we were able to have two great races. The Super Combined, a new event this year is a Super G run followed by a slalom run in the afternoon. It was the first time we had run this event and it was a lot of fun. The following day in the Super G race the Austrian women showed their domination of their home hill by finishing with 7 in the top ten. Ya, we aren't going to let that happen again!
From Austria we moved on to Val D?Isere, France where we ran a training run followed by two Downhill races. It was great to run the Downhill in Val D?Isere as it was my first time being on the track there. Most of the courses this year will be my first time running them but if I can adjust as smoothly to the other courses as I did to the one in Val D?Isere then I know I will be just fine.
I feel like I am adapting to the speed disciplines quite well and I am having a really good time doing it. It's a busy schedule but different from doing GS and Slalom all the time. For one, at speed events your are able to be at one place for at least five days or more which means I can actually unpack by bags a little! Don't ask me how or why I choose to go down a hill at 120km?s/hr but I guess we just get used to it! Sometimes.
The men at this time were racing in Reitteralm, Austria, Val Gardena and Alta Badia, Italy and then in Hinterstoder, Austria. They had even more events than the women's side so I imagine most are a little tired this Christmas break. Throughout the races the guys saw some more great results including two more podiums. John Kucera was 2nd in another Super G and just last week Francois Bourque finished 2nd in a Giant Slalom.
I had a dream just the other night that one of the girls stepped up onto the podium and I have a feeling it will be coming soon. It has been a very exciting start to the 2006/2007 season and I think we can continue this excitement and energy into the World Championships in Are, Sweden. Keep watching and a Merry Christmas to everyone in this beautiful white valley!

Where is the snow! The cry on the World Cup Circuit

2006-12-31T14:54:00.000-08:00

I am a month into the first half of the racing season and I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel; one week to go and I will be home. It?s funny how we count down the days until we go home when away on the road, why do we do that? I enjoy being away, I enjoy the travel but there is something about home and no matter how hard you try, the countdown always creeps into your mind. But I must say that last season the count down was happening much sooner than it has this season and I am pretty sure that is due to the fact that I have had a few good results this season and I am really enjoying every part of my job right now. It?s amazing how that works!
For the past two weeks I have been in Lake Louise racing and staying at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise ? maybe that?s why I haven?t been counting down the days to home. The racing was great and the snow even better, although from what I have been hearing, maybe not as good as Whistler. The races were my first in Lake Louise since 2000 and I was reminded of just how fun it is to race on home turf. It was great! I saw so many familiar faces from the Whistler race crew and felt their support on the side of the hill from start to finish. The weather for the week of the World Cup was chillingly cold but we survived with our face mask?s and mitts. The Europeans definitely didn?t like it.
I am skiing more speed events this year and have left slalom on the side for now and apparently it has been a good decision. It felt really good to have some top thirty results, consistently. And, it was great to start this off right away at the beginning of the season and in Canada.
But, enough about me, how about the results from the rest of the team ? WOW! The guys with two podiums in Lake Louise and then we stepped up and had 4 girls in the top 12 and a podium in Super G and on the same day my brother produced his first podium in slalom and with Thomas there were two of them in the top 5! I don?t know if the team has ever had so many World cup points in one day?. And I have a feeling that there is so much more that is yet to come.
I was talking with the new head coach for the men?s tech team this morning and he was commenting that to him it seems like everyone on the team, men and women, are feeding off of each others results. His question to me was ?Are you guys close?? His comment is very true. When Thomas won his first GS races two seasons ago each of us on the women?s team called and congratulated him and I had the feeling inside of me that said, hey if he can do it then so can I. It also works the other way, the guys always give us a call when we do well, and that?s how we stay connected. Two weeks ago when the guys stood on the podium in Lake Louise our coaches said to us, well girls the bar has been raised and now it?s your turn to perform, no pressure. Our results show that we rose to the challenge and it?s because we are feeding off each other ? it?s a great feeling. We are close ? the whole team is close and we have a friendship that allows us to rally as a team leading to success.
I am finally off to Europe now where there still isn?t much snow but it is reported that the Austrians are making things happen. I hope we don?t get any more races cancelled because right now the Canadian team has great momentum and I think it will be pretty hard to stop us.
I will end by saying keep watching, and keep cheering us on and please leave fresh snow for me because I think I will be needing some good powder runs when I get home to Whistler for Christmas.

"Going For Gold"

2006-10-19T02:33:00.000-07:00

Please find below my most recent Pique article:

Pique article 19.10.06

Welcome back to a new World Cup, and World Championship season. Every year I wonder how the summer goes by so quickly, because sooner than you know it the new winter season is upon us. Maybe we just have too much fun in the summer time but then again I have a pretty good time in the winter too!! Anyways, I am definitely not complaining that the new winter season is here.

This past summer has definitely been a busy one. From training camps in Calgary and Mt Tremblant, to ski camps down in Chile our off-season has been jam-packed. And, somewhere in that time we found some room for friends and family!

Dryland training started way back in May with our first camp in Calgary for the dreaded physical testing. Okay, well maybe no so dreaded but it’s always a little hard to do testing after you have just had three to four weeks off! We trained eight weeks hard in the gym to build and prepare for the new season, which brought us to our first on snow camp in Chile.

This summer I was training with the Speed team, whereas in the past I have been with the Technical team. Our first camp was two weeks long in Valle Nevado, Chile and the tech team traveled to Ushuia in Argentina. This is the southernmost tip of the country! The camp in Chile was great, we had good conditions, we skied everyday and definitely accomplished a lot. While I was there I was also testing new equipment. I have been on Salomon for my whole career so far and it was time for a change. By the end of the camp I had made my decision, based on timed runs in the course, and this season you will see me on Lange boots and Volkl skis. I think it is very important to take time when you are testing new equipment and making that decision. It was good to have two full weeks to really go through the process and at the end I was 100% confident with my choice. At this level your equipment plays a very big part in the whole picture of things. You need to trust and have full confidence in the equipment that’s on your feet because when you are going 120km/hr down the hill it helps!

Our second on snow camp this summer was also in Chile but this time for three weeks and we were in La Parva and Portillo. It was my first time to either place and both are great ski areas. We did some races in La Parva where we all placed well and it also increased the intensity in our training and we started to push each other some more. While we were in Portillo the men’s speed team was also there so we were able to train with them in Downhill and Super G. We even got a little close to some of the guys – we pushed them and they pushed us to go faster!

Since our last camp in Chile I have been home for three weeks and now we are back in Europe and soon we will be back in the start gate for the first race in Solden. We are here in Solden training right now and hoping to get on the race run for a couple of days but right now there isn’t enough snow! I am sure everything will be fine though and on the 28th of October we will be racing the 1st Giant Slalom of the 206/2007 season.

Things are looking great amongst the team and so I encourage you to keep reading and watching for our results. Let the snow fall….

Portillo, Chile

2006-09-21T15:02:00.000-07:00

I have just returned from a great training camp in Chile. The team was there a total of 3 weeks and we spent the first 9 days in La Parva where we raced in the Chilean Championships. The second half of the camp was in Portillo where we had some great training with the men's speed team. We skied a total of 19 days while we were down there - I'm a little tired now that I am home! It was my first time to both places so a very new experience. La Parva is a great ski area having a very wide variety of terrain, but be ready to ride lots of poma's.
When we arrived there wasn't a lot of snow but soon enough the white stuff began to fall and we had an excellent afternoon of powder skiing in Portillo. For the most part we had great winter conditions and sunny blue skies!
Both La Parva and Portillo are very high up and training at that elevation can't always be easy. When we are at a training camp like that our dryland trainer usually monitors our level of lactic acid in our legs in the afternoons and we also ride the bikes with oxygen so that we recover much quicker. It makes a big difference to keep this kind of data logged because you can easily monitor if you are getting too tired or if you are adapting well and your levels can be pushed. I wish I could ride with extra oxygen all the time!
I am happy to be home now for a bit before heading off to europe for the next camp on the 12th of October. Until then I will be resting a bit but mostly heading back to the gym for one last training block before the season really gets underway.

Britt

Portillo, Chile

2006-09-05T11:57:00.000-07:00

Check out the pictures page for photos of Portillo.