Welcome to another edition of GDHL news! I know skiing isn't top of mind for everyone at this time of year, so I hope you'll forgive me if I remind you of a few things that are worth attention.
First, we have pretty much reached our minimum numbers for the discount at Michel Pratte's camp in Sun Peaks, but there is room for some more skiers to join in the fun and training. Although the camp doesn't start until 23 November, you need to sign up with us by the end of September to qualify for the discount. Details are on gdhl.org here. (By the way, links don't seem to be differentiated in the text on some displays of this newsletter, so hover in the vicinity until it pops up.)
Speaking of Michel's camps, here is some video of the Canadian ski team training in Zermatt. This is the same space where Michel's camp is held. At this year's Calcutta, we will be auctioning a space at his 2014 Zermatt camp. (Usually the Swiss team is training in the speed lane at Zermatt then.)
If you can't fit in a trip to Zermatt, maybe this video of the Swiss team will inspire your dryland training.
Can't find a truck to drag? Here is Ivica Kostelic sort of using a skipping rope on top of a high bar.
And another proprioception exercise you might try at home, if you're pretty good.
Back to reminders. Remember how you've always complained about that sandbagger who somehow managed to get a start number 20 places ahead of you or that woman or old guy who somehow always finished 0.3 ahead of you but you never see in the starting area? In our inaugural newsletter, we introduced our survey about different methods of bib allocation. Now's the time to see how you can give yourself a fighting chance! Complete the survey here. If you're interested, Rob Mathers has compiled a bunch of samples here, showing how things would look under the different options presented in the survey, based on last year's results. Note however, that the bib numbers aren't quite comparable to last year's ones. The samples omit all of the snowboarders and anyone who didn't complete four races last season, so there would be more bibs to add in the real world. You'll see however, that the different options result in quite different outcomes. This subject provoked lively debate at the first meeting of the new GDHL committee, much of it centering on how much deference should be shown to local heroes as they age, especially given that so many of them are approaching or past the traditional age of deference without showing much sign of slowing down.
And one more video. My wife complains about me publishing sexist jokes in these newsletters. Others report that they enjoy them. This video is not gender-neutral. Since it, like most of the jokes I've published, was supplied by women who didn't seem to object, I will take my chances, and will happily publish material with a different gender bias should it come my way. Those of you who ride in fast groups will know the importance of keeping close to the wheel ahead of you. Mark Cavendish has said that losing the wheel is like falling through ice - you've got five seconds to save yourself or you're done. So when you need that extra burst of energy, maybe you can imagine that this is the wheel ahead of you :)
That’s enough for now. We’ll be back soon with more news!