Kiwi star gets up
Alice Robinson is about to add a ton of speed to her skiing. New Zealand’s teenage slalom star starts her World Cup season in Austria tomorrow night (NZ time) and is set to go a lot faster.
Robinson has so far made her mark as one of the new Giant Slalom sensations on the World Cup circuit, but is also aiming to feature in the Super G and Downhill disciplines as she works towards the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
‘‘Giant Slalom is kind of my speciality, what I’ve had all my success in really,’’ Robinson told Stuff yesterday.
‘‘Super G, which I’ve started to branch out into, is a speed discipline. It’s a lot faster, the distance between the gates is a lot further ... you can get up to 130kmh, whereas with Giant Slalom, your top speed would be around 80.
‘‘I had one top-10 in the World Cup last season, so I’m starting to chip away at it, but the speed disciplines need a bit more time to crack into; it’s a lot about experience and learning the different hills.’’
Robinson said she was also aiming to compete in some Downhill events – the fastest discipline.
The 19-year-old feels she’s primed to build on what she’s already achieved in a short time, with three World Cup circuit GS victories; the most recent at the end of the 2020/21 season in Switzerland in March.
Robinson arrived home in New Zealand in April after being in Europe since August 2020 and spent much of her off-season getting stronger and fitter.
‘‘I did a lot of strength training in the gym, about three months of strength and conditioning and then about six weeks of on-snow training.
‘‘I was skiing from mid-august to end of September, but obviously missed a couple of weeks due to lockdown. It would have been good if we hadn’t missed those two-and-a-half weeks because of lockdown as that was a pretty incremental part of my buildup, so that was a shame.
‘‘I pushed a lot harder in the gym this year than I ever have so I’m in good physical shape. With what I have I’m feeling pretty good and hoping for some top results.’’
Robinson admitted it was hard saying goodbye to family and friends in Queenstown as she prepared to spend another lengthy stint overseas.
‘‘With the uncertainties of Covid it’s a lot harder because you’re so much further away than normal. I don’t know when or if
I’ll be able to get back – I’m hoping
for things to get a bit better over the next few months.
‘‘In Austria at the moment, things are pretty like pre-covid, as normal – if you’re vaccinated then you don’t have many issues.’’
Robinson will compete in the World Cup season-opener in Solden this weekend – the venue where she scored her maiden victory in 2020 – then will have a month of training and rest before she races almost every weekend from the end of November.
‘‘We start in Europe then go to North America for six weeks, then back to Europe. We’re heading to China in February, then back to Europe, through until the end of March.’’
Atop that schedule for Robinson will be the 2002 Beijing Winter Olympics in February, where she seeks to contest the GS and Super G medals.
‘‘Beijing’s what I’m trying to peak for and my biggest priority this year is probably the Olympics, but then the World Cup circuit is a big deal for us, so I’m focusing on that every weekend and trying to get top results.’’
But first, she’s keen on creating more success in Solden.
‘‘It’s got some fond memories and is a really great opener for the season, an exciting race and a good atmosphere as well and a pretty epic hill.
‘‘I’m trying not to have too high expectations, but I think if I ski my best then I can be right in there. So my goal is to ski just the best I can and then hopefully the results will show that.’’
‘‘You can get up to 130kmh [in Super G], whereas with Giant Slalom, your top speed would be around 80.’’ Alice Robinson