Tag Archives: Avoca

Season Done

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After a long Northern Hemisphere season and feeling exhausted, I’ve had a much needed break and it’s time to update and get ready for the new season!

Kranjska Gora World Cup

Moving on from my last post, after the Olympics we headed back to Europe to continue on the World Cup giant slalom circuit.  My energy levels were hitting rock bottom and I got sick after leaving Korea.  Spent four days in bed prior to the next WC race at Kranjska Gora, Slovenia and almost didn’t race.  Conserved my energy in the warm up and was then surprised how well I did in some tough conditions with fresh snow leading up to the race.  Starting bib 50 I moved up to 35 just 0.8 seconds off making top 30.  On arriving back to our Austrian base, I managed to find a doctor working on Sunday and picked up some antibiotics for what turned out to be strep throat.    From Europe we headed over to Canada to race in the NorAm finals but with no NorAm points, flat terrain and more fresh snow I was frustrated to not perform so well.  After the NorAms in Kimberley, BC I headed on to Red Mountain BC for the Canadian Nationals, Willis headed south to Sun Valley and coach headed home back to New Zealand.

Canada

Canadian Nationals, Giant Slalom

Frustratingly we had another foot of fresh snow the night before the races but at least there was a little more gradient on the mountain and I picked up a podium spot for the giant slalom, unfortunately without much slalom training the slalom races could have gone better.

After the Canadian Nationals it was finally time for some down time so a couple of days after arriving back home in New Zealand I hopped over the ditch to Australia for the last  of summer warmth to recharge.  Had an amazing time just relaxing and exploring beaches along the eastern coast before it was time to head home and start back into my dryland programme.

Fraser Island, Australia

Not all dryland happens in the gym, having some fun on the bike

Along the Arrow River

The Northern Hemisphere season was again filled with amazing experiences, along with ups and downs, all of it made possible with help from my Team, generous sponsors, supporters, friends and family, not to mention Fans! Thank you one and all for your ongoing support.

Team Edwards, Snowvision Foundation, One Studio, NZSki, Sotheby’s International, Browns Ski Shop, Wanaka Ski & Snowsports Club, Skeggs Foundation, Community Trust of Southland, Just Dig It, ZoiBri Trust, Robert Moore Chiropractor, Alpine Health & Fitness, Avoca, Merrell NZ,  XTM Performance, Auckland Bone & Joint Surgery, McClean & Co, One Square Meal, Adidas, Remarkables Physio

USA – Beaver Creek December 2017

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Time has flown with November gone and December well and truly started.  The training at Copper Mountain and Vail continued with some excellent progression in my giant slalom with speed increasing.  In no time at all the NorAm races were done and dusted, unfortunately with not the results I was aiming for.  Fresh snow the night before the first races didn’t help and I had 2 x DNF for the GS races.  With just two days of slalom training before the NorAm SL race, I was quite pleased with how I went in the second run but not so much overall.  Had a day trip to Denver and Boulder for a bit of much needed down time and then concentrated on more training getting ready for the Birds of Prey World Cup giant slalom at Beaver Creek on the 3rd December.

Day off, Boulder
Day off, Boulder
thanks Pete

The atmosphere at Beaver Creek was amazing, perfect weather and good slope conditions, started bib 51.  Felt a bit slow out of the gate but had some good times lower down, unfortunately missing top 30 qualifying by 0.64 second.  A little time to hang out and watch second run before the mad rush to pack and head to the airport for our flight to Europe.  Thank you to all the volunteers, athletes, race officials, parents, mountains – all involved in these amazing races.

WC GS Beaver Creek
World Cup GS course
Fans – not much snow
Finish
Young fans
Leaving USA

We are now in France heading for our first taste of training at Val d’Isere where the next world cup giant slalom race will be.

Quiet moment at Lake Annecy, France

Copper Mountain -Training

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Copper Mt 10Nov 2015

GS Course at Copper Mountain

Arrived in to Dillon, Colorado 2nd November to fairly mild temperatures and not a lot of snow.  Dillon is a small town approx 110km from Denver and pretty centrally located between Loveland and Copper Mountain, about 20kms/20 minutes drive to each so a good place to be based for training.

copper

Training at Copper Mountain. Race gear by One Studio

We have had some solid training since arriving with slalom, giant slalom and also super g. With the colder temperatures and high altitude (12,313 ft / 3,753 m), Copper Mountain have been going full speed with snow making.  This has also been topped up with a few falls of fresh snow and colder temperatures since arriving.  Due to the large number of athletes all needing to get training in and limited lane space, we have staggered starts with the earliest being 6.30am on snow. Other time slots are 10.00am and 1.00pm. We usually get a couple of hours, around 7 – 8 runs of quality training.  Andres Zampa from Slovakia has joined us for the start of the season and it’s great to have him on board, along with team mate Willis Feasey and Coach, Nils Coberger.

Skeggs FoundationThank you to the Skeggs Foundation for their continued support in the latest round of grant applications.  The Skeggs Foundation do a fantastic job helping to support the Wanaka Ski & Snowsports Clubathletes throughout Otago working towards their goals – check out their website!  Many thanks also to the Wanaka Ski Club for their continued support.

one studio bags Awesome gear by One Studio – Taking care of our race suit. Stuffing your race suit into your ski bag when you’re travelling the winter world doesn’t do it any favours and shortens its life. One Studio have come up with a plan to help your suit and your planet. They up-cycling all the off-cuts and print/fabric seconds and turn them into handy protection for the clothes that make you fast on the hill.
Every race suit leaving the One Studio workroom now has it’s own custom suit bag.
Always working to keep your race gear safe and fast – check them out for the best race suits on the hill!

US Bound!

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Many thanks Blowie!  Just Dig It – Awesome Team, thanks for your support.                Final moments packing bags and trying to get everything I need into as small as possible excess luggage but still looking at 90kgs!  On my way to Denver to arrive 2nd Nov ready to hit the slopes for the northern hemisphere season.  I’ve just finished off a couple of weeks of intensive dryland training building on my fitness and happy with progress.

mulenz

Had a bit of fun with the Lululemon team tackling the MuleNZ course out at Moke Lake with team mate Willis and physio Robbie Moore – rather exhausting morning but a lot of fun diving through mud, running up rivers and over mountainous obstacles to complete the course.

mulenz river sit adamThanks also to continued support from Avoca with more awesome mid layer merino tops, beanies and socks.  Looking forward to getting some mileage out of them in the States.

For the first four weeks I’ll be based in Dillon just outside Denver, with the first races in Vail, 20th November so I’ll have a little time to get used to the altitude.

Northern Hemisphere 2014

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snow planet 18 oct 2014

Snow Planet – Nick, Willis, Adam

The time from our last race until the start of another Northern Hemisphere season seems to have been very brief this year, with the visit to Auckland’s Snow Planet for some fund-raising and poster signing just weeks ago. Thanks to Snow Planet for hosting our NZ Ski Racing Club Supporters Event – it was an interesting experience racing the indoor slalom.  Great to meet all the young athletes.

Over the past month, my focus has been on gaining fitness and strength – it has been so beneficial having Alpine Health and Fitness supporting the Team, allowing us the use of their gym – thanks!  And the task of sorting gear for the NH season – thanks once again to POC, Australia New Zealand for providing me with helmet, goggles and shin guards.  Also got some excellent Avoca gear which will be great in the colder Colorado altitude; Merrell shoes and clothing also a very welcome addition.  Skeggs Foundation is a tremendous and supportive organisation who have once again helped me out with some funding for the coming season, along with the team at Just Dig It – thanks Blowie!  Many thanks also to Guenther Raedler – appreciate your continued support.  ZoBri Trust – great to have you on board again for another season. Hamish Edwards – truly amazing to have you along for the journey!  A huge thank you to all my sponsors and supporters who continue to help me to continue with the sport I love.

Adam Willis Nils

Adam Barwood, Willis Feasey, Nils Coberger (coach)

1st November and we have arrived in Colorado where we will be based just outside of Denver in a place called Dillon until early December.  Not a lot of snow on the ground yet, but hopefully we will get in some good training before our first lot of races.  This will include a couple of NorAm races before we head north to Panorama, Canada for some more races before Christmas.  The team includes Willis Feasey, Nick Prebble and coach, Nils Coberger and we will be joined by Australian athlete, Luc Chevalier.