First off was the Grand Prix. This is always an interesting competition week. I always want to ski well at any competition, but also I don't want to be skiing too good. If you are showing your cards a little early, you will not have the form when it matters like "February 2014" which is the real goal for our team this winter. All in all I was pretty happy with how things went at Grand Prix. I had a disappointing competition jump in Villach Austria, Some fantastic jumps in Oberstdorf, Germany, and great racing all around. I did manage to surprise myself in my jumping which was good. Throughout the summer I have had some pretty great jumps and jumping sessions. My goal for the winter was to jump better and better, averaging top 20 after the jumping. Well in Oberstdorf, I manage to have some very quality jumps which were further than I am normally going in competition. My coach even heard, "oh crap, Taylor is coming on the hill too" which is big for me as I am not normally a top 10 jumper. Unfortunately, I fell on one of my competition jumps which didn't make for a very fun race being behind from the crash.
The next two weeks the whole team came for a training camp in Oberstdorf, Germany and Stams, Austria. The focus of this was mostly jumping and a little intensity. We managed to jump almost everyday of the camp except for a few, and it proved very productive. We had two little in-team competitions which I thought were good to keep the competition mindset sharp but also to work on things a little more in a competition format. I was happy to pull the victory in both competitions, by jumping to 1st and skiing away. It gave me a feeling that I haven't had before and something I will strive to achieve more!
One of the highlights of the trip was going to Area 47 in Austria. This was adventure park full of fun. Adam Loomis captured some of the highlights on film and made a sweet little video. Check it out below.
I am now back in Park City for the rest of the month. I am still going to be very busy. This time of the year will be for fine tuning your form and jumping as well. I will also have several media appearances for the USOC and some ski ball trips for the ski team, and not to mention US National Championships in Lake Placid in October.
143 days to Sochi 2014
Taylor