The OPA Cup in France

I joined up with additional American skiers and coaches after the Swiss Cup races and made our way over to the Savoie Grand Revard region in southeastern part of France.
Here is part of our racing squad after training. Many of us hail from different club teams from around the country but we are combining forces to represent the USA as one team while abroad.
Caitlin Compton and Becca Rorabaugh at the racing venue in La Feclaz, France.
Wrecka, Ronski, Noah "the Hoff" Hoffman, and Mikey Sinnott out crust cuisin' after the races were over. Mt Blanc is in the distance.
Those of us who are the same age have grown up racing together, whether its on the same Junior National teams, J1 Scandinavian Cup trips, and previous World Junior Championship teams, etc... Whether it was getting to know each other better or just reconnecting after spending the early part of the season in different team vans and hotels representing the US together provides a good opportunity share ideas, learn from each other, and have fun together which helps strengthen and unify our ski nation. A huge thanks to the US Ski Team and NCCSEF for making this trip happen.
Kudos to whomever can name the 5 American skiers in red suits in this snapshot from the mass start distance race.

Friday night featured a 2x3x1k classic team sprint event under the stars and lights of down town La Feclaz. I paired up with Sadie Bjornsen and we raced to a 6th place finish. The pair of Caitlin Compton and Nicole DeYoung were just getting started when they posted an 8th place finish in the team sprint. These two lead the American women's team in the distance race by both finishing in the top 10th and 11th respectively and scoring sub-62 points. The mass distance skate race reminded me of pack racing in collegiate cycling races because the pack stayed together for most of the race and there was plenty of drafting, rubbing elbows, crashing, maneuvering around piles of tangled racers and/or carnage of equipment for almost everyone involved. Pure fun in my book. I didn't feel like I was in my absolute top form but it was a confidence boost getting to rub elbows with some top ranked skiers in the pack and afterwards realize what "could be" if I could race just a little bit faster. There is potential to score incredibly good points here. I finished 22nd and it was still my best points races of the season. Points are important in team selections and helpful in gaining favorable start positions. Peter Kling finishing things up near the end of his skate race in downtown La Feclaz.

For those of you who dont know much about the European or "OPA" Cup racing-- they are similar to our "Supertour" races although it is known to be more stacked with elite full-time racers. Each European nation takes a limited number of athletes so there aren't a large number of racers, but those present are fierce and fit and the time gaps are typically small. The field includes many skiers who are familiar to the World Cup scene but are still gaining experience before stepping up to race on the World Cup circuit full-time. Several of the top skiers in our races last weekend have medaled in international championship events and a few were just racing at the Olympics.

Compton was one of the Olympians who came over right after the games.
In addition to racing, I enjoyed getting to check out the old churches, statues, cemeteries, and historic castles (!) in the region. I was amazed by how old the buildings looked, but yet so many of them were cozy and livable inside. Sometimes it was difficult to tell the difference.
Here's the school house of St. Francois, which is the tiny town were we stayed for the week. We thought the school was no longer in use but after taking this photo and checking out the building a teacher came out and asked if she could help us. It was a good thing that Pete can speak French.
Our accomadations in France were great. The hotel staff was very friendly and we had all the fresh bread, wine, and stinky cheese that we could eat.
Here's the wine and cheese cellar in the basement of our hotel. I'm into trying the ethnic food in each place we go. I try to do this prior to the race weekend or long van rides just incase there is any sort of disagreement with my stomach....
Don't worry Wrecka, I wont tell! "Fart" is the French word for wax (see the sign).

We spent a day driving across Italy en route to our next racing venue. I was in search of the best castles, the guys were picking out sports cars, and we all stopped at a restaurant to eat some incredible pizza. Now we are in Rogla, Slovenia preparing for the OPA Cup finals. More to come soon!

Best of luck to those of you racing at AWG, Junior Nationals, NCAA Championships, or the World Cup this weekend!
Katie