World Cup #1 Innichen, Italy

Today was the first World Cup of the '09-'10 season and it was held in the South Tyrol, the heart of the Dolomites in Northern Italy. The Italians didn't have a lot of snow to work with so they built a short course. The fastest time on the course so far has been 42.24 seconds, set by Michael Schmid.

Most of the athletes were not fond of the way the course was laid out. There are many single jumps with flat landings, which can be hard on the body. But, like the course or not, there is always a winner; so you just have to suck it up, go out and compete.

I was happy with my third place qualifying time. I felt healthy and strong, I skied well, and my skis were running. Michael Schmid and Audun Gronvold were both just 0.2 of a second ahead of me and I felt good about my chances in the final heats.

Since the course was so short the start was very important, and even more important was having pole position. Almost every heat the person with the first pick and pole position was the one that finished first. I won my first 3 heats, but with the 3rd pick in the final I was unable to close the gap on Schmid, who won the race. I got snaked by Xavier Kuhn out of the start. He then skied defensively the rest of the course. I couldn't find a place to pass so I ended up third.

It's not an easy feat these days to get a podium in Ski Cross so I can be very happy with that. There are some big names behind me, including Krauss, Lewen, Hayer, Del Bosco, Rahlves, Matt, and the list goes on. We have another race tomorrow on the same hill, with qualifying happening on the same day. It will be a long day, but I have a good feeling right now and I am very hungry for my first World Cup win! But now it's time for some pasta.