My bio

Here is a link to my bio on the USTSA website, check it out!
http://www.ustsa.org/new-site/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=66&Itemid=55

Friday Parallel

Friday was the 3rd ever Telemark Parallel race at Howelson Hill in Steamboat. At 2:30 the qualifiers began. All of the racers first did the red course, then the blue. First run Amelie (Swiss) missed one of the gates and second run Thea (Norwegian) also DQed. After the qualifiers I was in 3rd place. The top 2 women got to automatically move to the semi-finals and the rest of us had to duel it out. I was paired with Madi (USA) and we are very close in our skiing. First run I was on the red course and Madi fell, I won by many seconds. Determined to win, Madi beat me in the second run, she skied very well, but because of the first run, I moved on. In the semi-finals I was paired against Anne-Marit (Norwegian). She is an amazing skier and I doubted I could beat her. If the first run (blue course for me) I beat her through the gates, but she caught up in the skate. I was just enough ahead of her that I got to choose the easier finish. Our finish was so close they could not tell for minutes who had won. I beat her by .045 seconds, the closest race of the night. On the second run once again I beat her in the gates, she caught up in the skate but I had an advantage, I got no penalties. That extra second she had to skate made the difference, I won and moved on to the finals. I was beside myself, I was hoping to not lose and next thing I knew I was guaranteed first or second. I was going to race as hard as I possibly could and shoot for the top of that podium. First run of the finals I did well through the gates but I lost some time in the skate, Laura beat me by about 1.5 seconds. Second run was the red course and I knew I would do better. I pushed hard in the gates, beat her to the skate where she then passed me. As we were skating I looked up and saw the most wonderful sight, I got no penalties and she got 2. I was behind her and that 0 was all I needed, as she skated the extra 2 seconds I turned in ahead of her and beat her. I won a world cup. Being on top of the podium, holding the American flag while singing the National Anthem will forever be one of the proudest moments of my life.

World Cup 2012

So as you probably heard this past week was World Cup in Steamboat Springs, CO. People started to arrive 2 weeks ago (Cory, Jack, The Canadian) and we all practiced together. Training was good and we were all getting pumped. Saturday the 11th at the Winter Carnival night firework show Chad got up on the stage and preformed the opening ceremonies in front of THOUSANDS of people. Probably the first time that many people have watched opening ceremonies ever. We crossed the stage following Charlie who was carrying the American flag and looked out across the mass of people. The races began on Monday on the mountain with a classic. It was a lot of gates, a big jump and a pretty tough skate. Visibility was very low and I crashed on the last gate before the rap. I was tired and it was my first classic of the year for me so I didn't do too well Monday or Tuesday. Wednesday was day off/training day at Howelson where we all hucked so hard off the jump they got slightly upset at us! During the Thursday sprint classic I had an ok first run then second run I was doing amazing when I missed the first gate after the jump and DNFed. Friday was amazing, it gets its own blog so keep an out out for that. Then Saturday was another sprint, tired from my win on Friday I didn't do as well as I could have but I skied well. It was an amazing week of racing, hanging out with the other teams and improving my skiing. Congratulations to every woman for getting a podium and all of the US for showing up and being amazing.

02/02/2012

Great day of training today on Mt. Werner. It was a hard course, really turny with a flat rap halfway down and a skate at the bottom. It was tough but I got about 4-5 really great runs in. I made a promise to myself to get better before World Cup here and I'm feeling like I really accomplished that. Skiing on my home mountain on (hopefully) good conditions and with much more training under my belt, who knows, another American on the podium? I'll just keep pushing it and race like I've never raced before in a week!

Back!

So I know it's been way too long but I'm back and blogging, stay tuned for lots of updates this season, starting with training leading into World Cup!

EUROPE (part 4)

Day 4:
Today was a nighttime classic. That means training in the day, then lunch, then tuning then a race beginning at 4 and going through the dark. Let's just say this course was Howelson Hill on steroids! It was super steep and Jack's way of describing it is: "Imagine an ice-cube". It was bad. But we all survived, many of us slid, slipped, skidded and hiked but we made it through! I ended up in 16th so all in all it was a good day!

EUROPE (part 3)

Day 3:
TRAVEL DAY! It may sound boring but it was an amazing day! We drove from Thyon, switzerland, through Les Alps, through Charmonix to Meribel, France. The drive was spectacularly beautiful. With great music as our soundtrack we traveled over mountains, on tiny windy roads through small European towns It was a blast! We stopped inside the French border for a bite to eat at a surprisingly fabulous petite restaurante then continued on. We got to Meribel and we are all getting ready for our night classic tomorrow night! Will keep you posted on results!

EUROPE (part 2)

Day deux:
So today was a classic...for those of you who do not know Telemark racing all you need to know is that classics are long and HARD! Add to that a recovering illness and you have a recipe for disaster! The first part of the course was great, however, after a bit my breathing got worse and I thought about giving up. Giving up would have made me feel way worse so I decided to continue. With every ounce of energy I made it down the rest of the course (collecting many penalties on the way :( ) and through the skate (MUCH thanks to Cory and my other wonderful teammates and competitors for cheering me on and getting me through the skate!) It was hard but I did it and in the end I actually felt better! Travel day tomorrow to France! A bien tot! 

EUROPE! (1)

Sorry it's a bit late but...: 
Day ONE of racing! Thyon, Switzerland 

After a long flight from Denver to London, a missed flight to Geneva and missing skis we finally made it to Switzerland. We rented a car and drove to Thyon (yes, we did get a bit lost). Today was the first day of racing and the first run went very well, however, being sick, the second run caused me some difficulty in breathing so i didn't do as well. I ended up in 18th out of 22 which, for my first ever World Cup, isn't too bad! Tomorrow is a classic which promises to be pretty tough! Hopefully I will be able to breathe and push through it! 

Me on CNN!

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/sports/2011/01/21/weigle.zoe.taylor.cnn?iref=allsearch

Europe

EUROPE IN 5 DAYS! Training is at its peak and I'm super ready for world cup! Skiing against the best in the world in Switzerland and France is a dream come true, it's finally happening! It's my first world cup so I'm by far not expecting a podium but I will try my hardest for the best results I can possibly get! I'll post everyday with results and details! :)

Training

So I've been super busy training, with 2 weeks left until World Cup I've been really intensifying it. We train 6 days a week for anywhere from 2-5 hours. Tuesday through Friday we train gates, skate ski, jump train, and weight train from 1-3 or 4. Saturday and Sunday we run gates, free ski and or skin from 8:30 or 9-1 or 2. So that is my crazy schedule! World Cup in 2 weeks, I will keep you posted!

What I'm up to...

So this ski season has started and I'm getting ready to go to Switzerland in about a month! Last week I had my first race of the season and it went really well, I came in 3rd, a great start to what I hope will be a great season! Training has been going non-stop, we have practice everyday (except for Mondays) for at least 2 hours. I'm getting ready for Europe and getting ready for way more intense competition! Give me feedback and comments please!

Welcome

Welcome to my blog! I've never really done this before but here I go! I just moved back to Steamboat Springs, Colorado for my third winter of living here for half of the year. For the other half of the year I live in Atlanta, Georgia. I am 15 years old and I am on the United States Telemark Ski Team. This year will be the first year I am able to compete in the World Cup abroad. In February I will compete in Switzerland and France and then I will go to the Junior and normal world championships in Norway. So stay tuned and I will keep posting! Welcome to my blog and give me feedback!