“It sucks because we would have loved Chamonix,” said Stifel U.S. Ski Team speed skier Jared Goldberg from a beach in Viareggio, Italy. “But at least we got to come here to the beach, an Italian getaway,” Goldberg said jokingly.
From the alps to the Italian coast, how did the Stifel U.S. Ski Team’s speed men find themselves here? A question Bryce Bennett, Jared Goldberg and Ryan Cochran-Siegle, three veterans of the team, pondered as they strolled down the beach in Tuscany in late January.
After the first super-G in Garmisch, Germany, word got out that the upcoming downhill races in Chamonix, France February 2-3 would be canceled due to lack of snow and not rescheduled. The news marked the fifth men’s speed race cancelation of the season for the downhill men.
“I felt complete devastation,” said Bryce Bennett, currently ranked sixth in the downhill rankings. “Knowing some of our alumni like Marco Sullivan and Steven Nyman have had success there we felt pretty excited about it, so it was big bummer.”
So, what now? While most World Cup teams would head home after a race cancelation, the U.S. is a little different as traveling across the world on a day’s notice doesn’t always work out.
“I’ve been on the road since the beginning of December and I haven’t been home in a while,” said Bennett. “It’s tough because we are over here and we have to kill a week, so we came to the coast but it’s still not the same as being home.”
A long haul in Europe isn’t new for the U.S. guys. 160 days is about how much time the ski team men will spend in Europe this season. As the weather evolves and change, forcing race cancelations, learning to adapt, pivot and enjoy Europe is something this team has grown accustomed to. So with this most recent cancelation, the men decided to refocus under the Tuscan sun on a beach.
“I think coming down here was a cool reset because usually we are in central Europe in the Alps and here it’s been sunny every day,” said Olympic silver-medalist Ryan Cochran-Siegle as he takes in the view of the sunset.
Don’t be fooled by their Instagram stories of sunsets and beach time. It has not just been a holiday in the sun for the ski racers. The primary goal of coming to the Italian coast was to take a visit to sports medicine facility Formula Medicine. A place frequented by many Formula 1 drivers to help athletes perform at their best mental capacity, a strategy they call “Mental Economy Training.” This visit made possible by a grant from Alterra Community Foundation.
“Getting introduced to Formula Medicine and learning how to key in on our mental state and learning how to perform our best has been productive and I hope everyone is able to take something away from it,” said Cochran-Siegle.
The whole team spent multiple days in the facility going through various tests. The goal of the tests are to enable elevated standards of performance with low consumption of brain energy, and better management of stress, emotions and psychological pressure.
“We are pivoting to something positive here,” said Goldberg. “This is something we can do to get out of ski boots in warm weather and can maybe help ourselves race better or do life better. It is a way to be progressing in a way we wouldn’t normally.”
In addition to their time spent at Formula Medicine, the team struck a chord of team camaraderie with moments of fun, despite being with one another seemingly all year long. The men played beach volleyball, walked along the beach during gorgeous sunsets and cooked food together.
This time together off the snow and away from mountains also gave the men an opportunity to truly reflect on the season. The men started off with a bang in Val Gardena, Italy when Bennett won his second World Cup and took third place just a day later on the same track. The speed men went on to score top 10 results in Wengen, a top five in Kitzbühel and a few more top 10s in Garmisch.
“Where our strengths have always been I think we are good but where we’ve lacked in the past we have overcome,” said Cochran-Siegle. “Especially on the technical side, we are better at working with things more in your face and as a group embracing that challenge.”
This group, however, is hungry for much more. A hunger they plan to carry with them into Kvitfjell, Norway for the final speed races before World Cup Finals in March.
“Our team is as good as any other team; it's just a matter of putting it all together on race day,” said Cochran-Siegle. “I like Norway a lot, different snow, different vibe, it always feels like a nice springtime race,” added Goldberg.
The downhillers have faced a wave of emotions while on the Italian coast: disappointment from the canceled races and hope of a new perspective on how best to approach the additional free time abroad. Through it all, the American sense of humor shines through.
“Here is a pro move, send your lady on a flight then come down to Tuscany with the boys,” laughed Bennett who days earlier dropped his wife off at the airport. “Nothing like wine tasting in Tuscany with the boys that you’ve been hanging out with for 170 days this year.”