Alanna Columb on Tour

Howdy everybody!

Guest blogger: Alanna Columb

I'm going to be guest blogging on the Atlas news page over the next few weeks, keeping you update with my MTB races in North America and Europe.

Well, I have been abroad now for three weeks, I have raced my first two World Cup events and have just arrived in Whistler for the week of Crankworx.

So I’ll start with my first race in Monte Sainte Anne, Canada - a track well renowned for being one of the hardest on the World Cup circuit. On the Wednesday leading into it we did a track walk, it was everything I thought it would be and then some. Rough, fast and long! On the first day of practise I set out to find flow and learn the track as much as I could to bring me up to pace. As this track has been around since the early 90's many of the other competitors have had a lot of experience here. I got two flats in practise which made things a little more difficult. Qualifying day, I headed out for a practise needing to dial in a few lines and determined to hit the final jump that only one girl was hitting, the current World Cup leader.
First time I hit final jump was nice and smooth, the second time into it I squashed the first jump and had a better landing allow me to pedal into the final 45ft double. This however caused me to lose my flow; I didn't pop off the lip enough and cased the landing giving me a hell of a fright – I thought I had injured my ankle. I headed back to my room to check out the damage, put the ankle up and iced it. Luckily there wasn’t any instant bruising or severe swelling so I was just dealing with a tweaked ankle. 

Track at Monte Sainte Anne

I went out in the qualifying just wanting to put together a clean run and protect my ankle. My run was smooth, I caught with the girl in front of me which held me up a little but hit the final jump cleanly and qualified 8th. I was feeling good as I knew I had easy seconds up my sleeve. Back home I iced up my foot and got ready for race day. Because I had qualified in the top ten it meant I was on live stream coverage. This was awesome as it meant everyone at home could watch my run. Unfortunately though in my run I picked up a front flat in the fast open section. It was just 30 seconds before the TV picked up my run. I was devastated, to say the least, I was on form nailing my lines and riding fast. That was the end of my first world cup this season . . . DNF. I was gutted.

We left Canada and drove the seven hours into the New York state, and arrived in Windham for my second World Cup. Windham track was fast and one lined with big jumps, also running about half the distance of Monte Sainte Anne track. I had heaps of fun in practise going fast and jumping big. About half way down on one of the fastest parts of the track was a fifty foot road gap into a step down. Oh, it had you smiling all the way down! I went out into qualifying with the same game plan as Monte Sainte Anne - just to ride smooth and consistent to see where I was at. This didn’t pay off however on such a short fast track times were super close I had a far too cruisey run, qualifying me in 16th. I knew in my race run I had to let her get loose, ride fast and smooth. Feeling super good going into the final I knew I had the speed to be on the podium. But this didn’t prove in my race run. I was fast in sections but coming in too hot and losing speed and that proved to be too costly on this track. I had a disappointing run landing me 12th for the Windham world cup.

Ready for the Red Bull Berm Burner

After the race I was feeling frustrated and needing to blow off a bit of steam so I borrowed a bike, helmet and stole my friend Jarna's shoes off his feet and entered the Redbull Berm Burner (a pump track race). I thought I had entered the pro women’s class turned out to be the pro men! Still, I qualified for the finals but was bumped out by the former and current champ. After competing in the pro men class I went on to win women’s field.

I’m here now at Crankworx and I will be competing in three races, the dual slalom, pump track challenge and the Canadian Open DH. I will use this week to work on bike set-up, focus and prepare for the final World Cup in Meribel, France.
Thank you to everyone for your support so far and I’ll be updating you all with my next instalment soon.

Checking out the track at Monte Sainte Anne

Track walk at Monte Sainte Anne

Checking in with the Atlas Athletes - Alanna

Alanna (right) enjoys one of her podium finishes

We were stoked to be one of Alanna Columb's sponsors for her Northern Hemisphere 2013 season. It was Alanna's first time racing in European and World Cup events and she scored some solid results in what was her inaugural season - and she hasn't even been riding downhill for that long!


Hello Alanna, how are you?

I'm really well, thank you!


Give us a little summary of your European Season. 

So I left NZ in the middle of May. First stop was the UK with my first race being in Scotland at Fort William. I then continued on throughout Europe, I entered a total of 12 races, a mixture of European and World Cup events and visited over ten different countries. Finishing up in Austria for my last race. I was based mostly in Morzine in France. I enjoyed Morzine - it's a great place with loads of options for riding. We had a bit of gypsy camp going on in the car park of the supermarket below the gondola!


So this was your first competitive Down Hill season, what was your highlight of the tour?

I've thought about this question for a while and not one thing pops up. The whole experience was pretty eye opening! I reckon if I have to say - the highlight of my tour was standing on the podium with Rachel Atherton (world champ) and Myriam Nicole, who was third overall at last year's World Cup. It was pretty cool to stand up there in my jeans and jandals with only two sponsors, Off Road Adventures and Atlas.


What was the low point of your tour?

Towards the end of my trip I ended up getting injured and not qualifying for a World Cup race - that wasn't too fun.


What's the vibe like on the DH race circuit? Is their a feeling of camaraderie or is it each rider to their own?

As it's an individual sport we all want to win - so I guess it's natural there's a bit of competition between us all. But on the whole everyone's really cool and it's a good vibe on tour.


Which was your favourite place to race and why?

Andorra! Without a doubt, the tracks were amazing there!


What's up next for Alanna Columb?

Home to work, save and train hard - ready for next year!


So, your stranded on a desert island you're allowed to take a food item, a luxury item and one album with you. What would they be?

Let's go with chocolate, a hammock and Florence and the Machine's Ceremonials. 

Checking in with the Atlas Athletes - AndieG

We've been proud to support emerging Queenstown ski-talent, AndieG this NZ Winter. As the season is now over and we are firmly in Spring we thought we catch up with Andie to get the low-down on this year's slope-time and see what the rest of 2013 has in store for her.

AndieG with this season's hardware haul

Hello AndieG,

Hi guys!

How are you? Jumped in the lake yet?

I'm pretty good thanks, a little tired after a Winter of early starts although I am missing the snow already! Labour weekend is usual my first jump into the lake. Although, I didn't go in on Labour weekend this year as it was cold and snowing and my Mum wouldn't let me!

So, tell us a bit about your 2013 season. Give a summary of your time on skis this Winter. 

The season started well with some excellent snow early on with allowed us to train five day a week on snow - so no complaints from me there! The snow got a little thin late July/early August and once the international teams arrived lane space got a bit limited at Coronet Peak. So we moved over to The Remarkables and it was really fun to have a change of scenery. Once some new snow arrived it was back to Coronet Peak to train alongside the international teams. It was so cool and inspirational to be training alongside World Cup legends like Ted Ligety, Mikaela Shiffrin and Julia Mancuso! 

September was a busy month with the Southern Region Inter-Field races; a SuperG speed camp at Mt Hutt; the National Youth Series and in October I returned to Mt Hutt for the South Island Champs. September especially was was full-on! Mid-week training sessions and racing all over the South Island meant lots of early morning travel and late-night ski tuning with my Dad! 

What was the highlight of your NZ season?

Meeting Mikaela Shiffrin, Ted Ligety and Julia Mancuso was pretty awesome and training alongside them at Coronet Peak was really inspiring. Winning the U14 National SL Title jointly with my QAST team mate Alex Hull was really cool. We finished on equal points so share the title together this year. Also the Atlas sponsorship was cool too, I blown away when Davey offered to sponsor me for the Winter along with Adam and Alanna, I felt pretty humbled to be in such great company.

And do you have an achievement that you are particularly that you are proud of?

I have two! Winning the U14 Ladies SL Title - really pleasing as I focussed hard on my Slalom this Winter. I was also awarded the QAST U14 Most Improved Athlete Trophy. It was nice to know that my coaches recognised my hard work and it made my Mum and Dad proud too!


What was your best run of the NZ 2013 season, doesn't have to be race one. Describe it for us?

That's a tough one. I'd probably say my first two SL runs at the South Island Champs at Mt Hutt. The conditions and course suited me well and I felt confident and strong in both runs. Unfortunately I was just pipped to the post (0.4 sec) by my awesome team mate, Alice Robinson, who is a phenomenal skier and my benchmark.

What's on for Spring?

I'm back in the gym twice a week with my personal trainer, the awesome Braden Lee at Fight Science, focussing on mainly speed and cardio work. I'm also enjoying doing CX Core, RPM and Body Combat classes with my Mum at the Events Centre. I'm just making sure I'm getting plenty of rest, eating well, building strength and dropping a little weight before heading away to Squaw Valley in December. Just the usual conditioning stuff and, of course, dreaming about skiing again in a few weeks!

So you are heading North in December to train with the Squaw Valley ski team again. Tell us a bit about that?

Yes, we are going to Tahoe on December 20th for a White Christmas which is really exciting as I've not had a one before. I'm really looking forward to seeing the Olympic Village at Squaw Valley dressed up with lights and decorations. I'll be training 4/5 days with the Squaw Valley Ski team for 6 weeks and doing plenty of free skiing with my parents too, which will be really nice... if my Dad can keep up!


What's on your iPod at the moment?

Like everyone I'm pretty fixated on the success of Lorde so she's on high rotate. Then there's Taylor Swift who I've liked for a few years now. Then now and again I squeeze in a bit of Macklemore's Thriftshop to annoy my Dad or that crazy song - What does the Fox say?.


What's your favourite thing to eat in the States?

My favourite thing to eat anywhere is steak (Especially at Atlas) but I do like a classic North American Caesar Chicken Salad and a sneaky Oh Henry chocolate bar now and then. 

So you're off to Atlas with your folks for a steak and fries meal, who would be your four dream people to accompany you to dinner? Can be anyone. 

Mum and Dad so they can pay for dinner because I won't have enough money!
Mikaela Shiffrin, World SL Champion and my absolute idol and inspiration; Julia Mancuso, Olympic Gold Medalist and the person I respect the most in skiing; Ivan from Outside Sport, because he's known me since I was small and started skiing and knows everything about skiing and ski racing; Davey from Atlas so he can meet my idols and understand what motivates me.


Good luck with your training  and races in the States, AndieG! We're pretty envious. 

Thanks, I'll keep my blog updated every few days so you can check out my progress over the Summer. I hope you guys enjoy the Summer here in NZ and thanks again for the support and help this Winter!

Catching up with Alanna Columb

On tour - Alanna in Austria

Our sponsored MTB downhill racer, Alanna Columb is still in Europe competing in the World Cup races as well as the European Cup. She's going great in what is her first European season finish with a 13th in the World Cup in Andorra and a 5th place in the European Cup last weekend in Pila, Italy. 

A result which currently has Alanna standing in 4th place in the iXS European Downhill Cup. And she hasn't even been riding downhill for all that long! 

We had a couple of questions for her and here's what she had to say.

Where are you right this second?

Sitting in a cafe in Morzine, France.


Tell us a bit more about what got you into downhill racing and what you love about it and what inspired you to go enter the World Cup?

I was living in Lomond Crescent a couple of years ago and was watching all the bikes go past and I thought it looked like fun. And I'd talked about doing it enough! One day a friend of mine, Dave, rounded me up and got me on the hill and that was that. MTB-ing is something new in my life and I'm enjoying the learning and progression. I guess the thing about racing is there's no feeling like winning! As for what inspired me to compete at the World Cups... it's the dream! I want to make a life out of this - it's my favourite thing in the world to ride and race bikes.


Having visited a few countries this (Northern Hemisphere) Summer, what has been your favourite place on your race circuit and why? 

Andorra for sure, the track was unbelievable! It was pretty hard to race - the track was super gnarly. But it was so much fun to ride!


Lots of athletes have their little pre-race/match rituals, how do you prepare for a race and do you ever get nervous?

To prepare for a race I listen to music, skip and stretch and do a wee dance whilst I visualising the course. I get a little nervous a few hours before a race but before the run I am fully relaxed and I'm focussed before setting off.


Any lucky charms?

I'm not a superstitious person - the outcome is down to you on the day.


What's on your iPod at the moment?

Lykke Li is on my iPod at the moment.


Can you cook and if so, what's your signature dish?

I can't really cook. My signature dish would be bacon and eggs! I do those pretty well.


Pilsner or IPA?

Pilsner.


How do you like your Atlas steak cooked?

Medium rare!


Tell us a secret.

A secret. [laughs] Well, it wouldn't be a secret anymore if I told you!