Whitewater is only half the story
Below is a short video on dryland work filmed by Kelly on her Canon 7D, a quick view of the other side of slalom training.
Whitewater…is only half the story from Kelly VanderBeek on Vimeo.
London Test Event – One Year Countdown
This is one of my race runs from the London Test Event which was part of the One Year Countdown celebration for the Olympic Games. The course for next years Games is tough with consistent whitewater that just keeps on coming at you. There is no doubt that this course will be a great test for those fortunate to qualify for next years events.
National Team Selection Event
After competing in the Team Selection events for Australia, the US, Spain, Italy and Slovenia in countries around the world, I was ready to head to Jonquiere in Quebec for our own Team Selection event. Unfortunately Mother Nature had other ideas for us and unexpected high waters forced the event to be moved to a much smaller venue in Valleyfield just outside of Montreal.
The race organizers, faced with a tough last minute change, did a fantastic job of getting the venue ready and the races were run professionally and with a precision what would be impressive at any level of competition.
I felt like I raced well all weekend, and kept things very much within what was necessary to qualify for my 28th consecutive year on the National Team. This years World Championships have the added pressure of being the first step in the qualifying process for next summers Olympic Games in London.
The real news of the weekend was the impressive performances from some of the younger athletes new to the top of the leader board. Racing for many of the spots on the team including the second and third spots in my event went down to the last run and I was heart broken when my training partner Chris McTaggert came up in 4th spot, narrowly missing the team by one time penalty on the last run of the day. This kind of effort from all of the competitors required full concentration as the times were extremely tight and consistent. Congratulations to everyone who made the team.
With my 8th and 6th place finishes in World Ranking events in Australia and Spain this spring and a solid Team Selection event, I am optimistic and looking forward to a great summer of racing in Europe.
Charlotte Races Spring 2011 – Taking My Lumps
Sometimes to take a step forward you first need to take a step back, and sometimes that includes a stumble or two.
The 2011 US Team Selection event in Charlotte was a great opportunity to get on the start line and feel the jitters before the season starts in ernest. I am leaving for Europe on Friday and wanted a chance to mix it up a little but I have learned once again that arriving late in Charlotte for a competition is a very bad idea. This course deserves all of the respect you can give it and learning the nuances is key to top performance.
Parts of my runs were very good and I am happy with my fitness. The technique I worked on in Australia this winter is becoming automatic and I am having fun in the boat. The US athletes were very impressive with tight and fast racing all weekend, young Michal Smolen served notice that he is going to be an athlete to watch for the US, especially on this course in Charlotte.
Next up are some world ranking events in Seu and Tacen and a good long camp on this years World Championship course in Bratislava.
THE RIGHT STROKE
I recently had the opportunity to try the PaddleOne Kayak ergometer and I was very impressed with the unit. Extremely well built and designed to fit in a small space this ergo is smooth and quiet and simulates the stroke very well. The Kayak erg is an essential tool for any paddler in North America and the PaddleOne has by far the most bang for the dollar. I am looking forward to adding this to my regular training regime.
Visit www.paddleone.com for more information.
Live Stream Interview with Sportscene
Recently I sat down with Kelly VanderBeek who is reporting for the International Canoe Federation and Sportcene productions here in Penrith Australia. Above is the interview, stay tuned for more live streams including dinner with World Champion Daniele Molmenti which will air live on Monday Feb. 7th.
Go along to Play along
This is the 12th January I have spent down here in Australia and it has arguably been the best January of training I have ever had. I owe a big thanks to Peter Kauzer and Americans Brett Heyl and Jim Wade as well as Italians Daniele Molmenti , Zeno Ivaldi and his father Ettore for allowing me to train with them and for making the sessions entertaining and challenging.
Even after all of these years on the river I am constantly amazed at how much we can learn from each other.
Tune in to Sprotscene on Facebook this Thursday February 3rd at 1 pm Pacific Standard Time for a live broadcast interview with Peter Kauzer followed by myself. If you have questions for Peter you can post them on the Sportscene Facebook page and he will answer your questions on camera.
http://www.facebook.com/sportscene
Three weeks done, six to go.
The first three weeks of training here in Australia are in the log book and banked away. The weather has been very good for training and most sessions have seen no fewer than four past and current K1 World Champions on the course. This kind of fantastic technical training that comes with the Olympic course here coupled with the hard physical work makes for productive early season training. Something that I hope will pay dividends later in the year.
A big thanks to my Australian family the Buckleys, they have made me feel right at home as usual and settling into the routine of training has been very easy.
I am also happy to report that Kelly’s recent surgery was a great success and she is already spinning on the bike. It is never a great option to have a surgery like this but the long term benefits will make this a great step forward.
As for me, I have been working extremely hard down here, trying to use this time to get in as much volume as possible before the hoards arrive in February. Attached is some video from the last session from this past week, I was a little tired from all of the volume but still having lots of fun out on the course.
One more week of heavy volume and then it will be time to switch gears with the arrival of the rest of the Canadian Team and the start of the race season.
As Kelly likes to say, bring it!
New Year, New Sponsor, New Website, Same Old Australia!
With the Olympic cycle quickly heating up I find myself in Australia for a couple of months of warm weather training and racing. It is only a year and a half until the Games in London and it is time to get serious about preparation. There is nowhere in the world at this time of year that is better for training and many of the worlds best have relocated to the southern hemisphere for as many as four months to benefit from a great course, great weather and top notch competition on a daily basis.
My big news for the New Year is a new sponsor. Quantum Pacific Capital has signed with Kelly and I and will be a big boost to our respective programs. For me, with a potential for eight months on the road this year, having this kind of support will make a huge difference. Thank you Greg for your support of the dream.
I have also finally after six years of laziness done something about my painfully out of date web site. Glenn at Internal Wealth Studios did a great job in updating the look and getting some up to date content posted. Stay tuned for regular updates and blogs from around the world as I prepare for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
