Bow Valley skiers crack top ten in Aspen

After a roller coaster season that has seen her post results all over the map, Tess Davies picked up her first medal of the season, winning a bronze in the women’s downhill in Aspen Colorado.

“It was a nice surprise. I’ve been skiing well all week, but hadn’t put it together yet,” said Davies, who had two DNFs at the hill. “That was the confidence boost I needed.”

The 19-year-old Canmore Alpine skier hasn’t had the consistent results she wants this year, but felt great this week, having learned a great deal during a mini-development camp in Europe with a handful of other Canadian skiers – Jenn Saunders, Stephanie Irwin and Madison McLeish.

She followed up the bronze medal with a fifth place finish in Aspen.

“It felt like a good downhill run should – you’re skiing to the point where you don’t feel comfortable. You feel like anything can go wrong at any minute,” Davies said. “Whenever I’ve done the best, it has been the runs I’m not worried about it. It’s when I put everything on the line – they’re fun to watch.”

Davies performs well on technical courses, and was pleased with the Aspen run.

“This year, they put it on the World Cup track. It has a really steep breakover, similar to Fall Away on Lake Louise,” Davies said.

“Tess’s result in Aspen were exactly what I expected of her and right in line with the goals she had set for herself. Aspen was the first NorAM DH and SG that had at least some degree of technical difficulty. It is the type of track that Tess excels on,” said her coach Mike Necesanek.

Davies is a member of one of Canmore’s most prolific sports families. Brother Macx is a top performer with the Canadian national junior development biathlon team, while younger sister Nicola is an emerging junior cross-country skier. Mom is a coach with the Canmore Nordic Ski Club, while father Ken is president of Biathlon Canada. That means they’re rarely home together, and are busy with their own sports.

“Since Christmas, we’ve all been the house together for about 24 hours. It’s kinda nice no one is competing against one another. We all have our own field,” Davies said.

The young skier has Olympic dreams, and has been skiing competitively for six years. But she knows her hardest efforts lie ahead.

“The closer you get, the harder it seems. You see how hard the people work to keep on the World Cup circuit. It’s motivating,” Davies said. “This year I’ve had a little more time to train, have a better base and am not coming off an injury. In the back of your head, it’s knowing you can do it and slowly committing to become that world cup skier.”

Given those Olympic dreams, she spends a great deal of time on her skis – with the occasional venture onto the Nordic Centre trails.

“Whenever I’m home, I spend a lot of time cross-country skiing, and I spend more time on the downhill skis, wherever the snow is good,” she said.

Davies has worked on her racing technique over the past year, facing off against many top young skiers in Europe. While that meant posting some disappointing times, she picked up pointers in a very competitive environment.

“They really know how to race over there. You learn to put everything on the line,” Davies said. “One day you can be 80th, the next day you’re on the podium over there… the experience was fantastic.”

She’ll head to Red Mountain for a series of races before the Canadian Nationals take place at Nakiska from March 24 to 31.

Andy Trow placed eighth in the men’s downhill in Aspen and was also pleased with his result.

“It was a good race. It was sunny and warm. I had a good bib that helped. On both downhill days, I skied without mistakes,” Trow said. “It was good for me – it had a steeper downhill, which helps because I’m smaller.”

Confidence proved to be the missing ingredient for Trow, who hasn’t been pleased with his results to date.

“I was hoping for these results and knew I could do it. I had good confidence going into the downhill,” Trow said, who has a shot at qualifying for the Canadian national ski team next year.

He’ll stay in the Bow Valley to train for the next few weeks, and wants to peak for Canadian Nationals.

“I would like another tope five result, and a top five or medal at Canadian Nationals,” Trow said.