Geneviève Simard back on skis.

Haus im Ennstal, Austria, Jan. 28th . Ten days after her bad crash in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Geneviève Simard is back on her skis. She trained again in Haus where the next speed events are scheduled this weekend. The Canadian clocked the 35th best time, three seconds behind the leader, France’s Ingrid Jacquemod.

She was pleased by her return and she feels optimistic about her future.
“Today was a big accomplishment for me, it was important to be able to ski that training run, only ten days after my big crash,” she said. “I really felt good on my skis. My injury still hurts but the pain is manageable and I plan to do the downhill races now. It’s the best way to prepare for my event on Sunday, the Super-G!”

Geneviève feels comfortable and strong mentally and she hopes that her body will soon recover too. “My shin is still bruised and swells-up in the morning after-warm up and a race day,” she explains. “It will take a while to heal. I was going at 100 km/h when my shin hit that gate without protection, so it’s understandable. During the past few days, I worked really hard in the pool and with the physiotherapist to try to speed up the process. It’s nice to be here today and to see that all this work paid off and that I can ski again. I really missed it. I was only off for a week and I was really excited to ski again.”

No problem at high speed

The 23-year-old from St Morin had no problem handling the high speed in the first training run in Haus. “As far as the speed goes that’s fine because I know it was my mistake in Cortina, a true driver’s mistake, so it’s not because I was scared or out of control that I went out, but because I misjudge the line,” she says. “That part is fine, it was just a matter to find the good solution for my shin and ease the pressure on it. I’m not scared after a crash or anything like that.”

“This course is perfect for a comeback, it’s an easy one with this fresh snow, you can tuck it almost all the time. The course is for gliders. I can glide OK .When I’m going down I’m looking for the bottom part which is more technical. In downhill I’m still a rookie, I still have a lot to learn.”

Simard has scored three times in downhill this season so she will be shooting for more top-30 in the coming races here. “I don’t have a number in mind I just want to ski well,” she added. “It sounds like a cliché but this is what I think about, I just have to do my job, and that is to ski, to score points, to reach the top-30 and improve my rankings in downhill. The good thing about downhill is that the time spent on the mountain is also good for the super-G which is my main event.”

Back at the bases

Her win in Cortina d’Ampezzo helps her regain some momentum before this important Austrian weekend. “It helps a lot with the motivation,” she says. “It was a really good feeling that day and I want to have it again. I learned a lot from it, mostly that my race plan has to be really simple and clear! I proved that it worked for me to keep it simple and clear. At the race before Cortina, in Veysonnaz, I went back at the ABC’s of ski racing and did some real simple things like skiing without poles at the inspection. I’m looking to get back some basic feeling for racing. It helps when you get confidence and you can give full gas for the race. Something clicked for me after Veysonnaz. I started to improve from race to race. I learned a lot this winter and it’s as if all the pieces of the puzzle came together. I don’t have to think so much when I am on course. It’s natural and this is a good feeling.”

Mélanie Turgeon back on skis

An established world champion will be a big supporter of the Canadian team which won gold here in 1982 thanks to Gerry Sorensen – the winner in St Moritz Mélanie Turgeon! The skier from Quebec travelled to Europe to check the women’s course of the 2005 World Championships in Santa Caterina, Italy. “It was nice to be back on a race course for a few hours,” Turgeon said. “I smoothly slid it down, it was really great. It’s good for me to be here, it gives me a lot of momentum for my comeback. I feel better thanks to strong therapy. In a way, this break could be a chance for me, it can help my back to recover. I remain very motivated and I’m very impatient to come back. I’m really envious when I see such a nice course like here. I reached the podium twice here in 2001 you know.”

The best Canadian, Emily Brydon, was 15th today. She aims for more on Friday and Saturday.


Patrick Lang