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Written by Brian Olsen
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Monday, 11 December 2006 00:00 |
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Location: Obertilliach, AUT
Stream of bad luck seems to have befallen the early season for me. First, in the Austrian Cup, there was that little episode with malfunctioning equipment. Last week, we were just skiing on a 2.5-km loop of man-made snow. The snow was out; it was warm. Then, it began to rain. For two or three days, it poured. The morning of the sprint race, on Saturday, it was still raining. But by the time we arrived at the venue two hours later, the rain had changed to snow, and two inches had fallen. No problem. Except that our van wouldn't budge from the parking lot, so the waxman didn't make it back to the venue in time for my start. So, with little else to do -- I had already zeroed and was standing in the start area ready to go -- I just grabbed my training skis, missed my start by 20 seconds, and headed out on course for a nice workout. Shooting went well, considering the circumstances, and I missed only two shots out of ten. Now, I am in Hochfilzen, two hours north of Obertilliach, near Salzburg, for World Cup 3, which starts on Thursday. There will be a sprint on Thursday and another sprint on Saturday -- a sprint race is only 10-km. I feel good, so it will be great to see how I do! Wish me luck.
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