Last Saturday was probably my last comp of winter. A blend of missing a few comps at the start and then other commitments have meant the Quallifer season hans't quite gone to plan for me this winter, but it just means i can get read for next year.
St Foy - Probably one of my favourite places to ride. Stunningly beautiful, incredible freeride terrain and barely anyone around....its the perfect place. The main face, Folliet, is where the FWTQ is held each year and it never disapoints. Its such a fun face loaded with features and a good gradient, last year we have a fresh 20cm before comp day.....this year we wern't quite that lucky but it was a blue bird day, albeit the snow was very very firm. It had been upgraded to a 3* event this year which meant more terrain was open and a higher class of competitor. I had a really solid line picked out with 2 smaller drops and one large one, mixed with a few technical sections. There's always a good atmosphere at St Foy, Evolution 2 do a great job of organising it and there was more going on then at the Les Arcs comps. Start time was 11am to let the snow soften a little bit, i was bib 62, which actually meant i was the 100th person to drop in. The hike up from the chair takes around 35 mins and it gives you a great view of the top section of the face...meaning any last minute changes to your line can happen. I stuck with my choice and began the long wait until my number was called, which turned out to be around 2 hours of chatting to to other riders and sun bathing. All of a suddenly my number is called and i am not ready, i think the order had changed slightly so i rushed up to my start point at got myself setup. I then get the 3 second countdown and drop, its always a good feeling when other riders are cheering you on. I stomped my first drop and made my way over to the steep rocky section where my second drop was, i missed the entry into it but managed to find an untracked couloir. I carried way to much speed out and approached my big drop a little out of control, i sent it off the rock but knew it wasn't going to end well. I had gone big but landed on my back, the force smashed my knees into my face and disintegrated my goggles lens. I bounced up and carried on riding, i knew i had messed it up so just tried to claw some points back by finding a smaller drop to finish my line. It wasn't until getting to the bottom i realised my eyes were watering due to having no lens left. Feeling bruised, battered and a bit concussed i lay down at the finish line to watch the rest of the riders. I felt i had let myself down a little as i knew i could have done a lot better. But thats all part of freeride, you get on chance to impress......and it doesn't always work out.
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