With less than 4 months to go, the Canadian Para-Alpine Ski team (CPAST) is well underway in their preparation for the 2010 season. Under the guidance of head coach Jean-Sebastien Labrie, the 13 athletes have been on snow since September where the team started training in Valle Nevado, Chile for 12 days of skiing, focused on speed and giant slalom.
After 3 months of intensive physical training, the athletes and coaches where anxious to be back on snow and for Chris Williamson (Markham, ON) this would be his first time since the injury he suffered to his neck at the World Cup downhill event in Whistler last March.
After a strong start in Chile and three more weeks of physical training, the team headed to SaasFee, Switzerland to start an intensive block of training where the main focus would be aimed at slalom and giant slalom events. Two and a half weeks of incredible training would confirm that this year’s team promises to be more competitive than ever. As for Chris, his strong performances continued to show that the injury was behind him and that he and his guide Nick Brush (Panorama, BC) where back on track for the 2010 season.
All the athletes on the CPAST World Cup team participate in all 5 events, downhill, super G, giant slalom, slalom and combined. The team travels with additional support staff to optimize training quality. Besides the 13 athletes and four coaches, the team staff consists of physiotherapists, ski technicians, doctors, sport psychologist and strength and conditioning coach that bring their expertise to help the team perform at a high-performance level. In 2009 the CPAST team won the 2009 Nation’s Cup title and 16 medals at the World Championships.
On November 24th the team ended its preseason training in Panorama, BC, with one of the strongest camps to date. Race simulations and high intensity training in all 5 disciplines confirmed that everyone is ready. Opening races are both in Colorado and Europe. Early January the team will travel for three weeks in Austria and Italy for the first part of World Cup Season and continue its ongoing preparation en-route to the 2010 Vancouver Paralympics games.
Sébastien Michel
CPAST World Cup Coach
