Kaillie extends World Cup streak
Bobsledder wins her fifth race in a row
VANCOUVER – Anybody want to rethink that Canadian athlete of the year thing?
OK, OK, there’s no doubt that women’s soccer star Christine Sinclair was an inspired and worthy choice as the first soccer play to capture the Lou Marsh Trophy.
But Olympic gold-medal bobsledder Kaillie Humphries’ late-year run of brilliance in the oh-so-precise sport of driving a steel-and-carbon-fibre missile down an ice-covered concrete chute is certainly showing that a sliding sport star could have been equally as deserving.
Humphries, a Calgary native who won the final two World Cups of last season and then the world championships in March, won her fifth consecutive World Cup of the 2012-13 season on Friday, finishing ahead of a pair of American sleds at La Plagne, France.
“I really have never seen anything like this in the sport,” said Canadian head coach Tom De La Hunty.
“The Germans have dominated in the past, but never just one athlete. It was always two or three of them. It really is impressive.”
Humphries has won this season at Lake Placid, N.Y.; Park City, Utah; Whistler, B.C.; Winterberg, Germany; and now La Plagne.
Physically gifted and a tremendous tactician at the delicate controls of her sled, Humphries has used three different brakemen during the eight-race win streak, the last five coming with World Cup rookie Chelsea Valois of Zenon Park, Sask., in the back.
“We definitely had some of our fastest starts of the season today,” Humphries said from La Plagne after posting the two quickest runs for a combined time of two minutes, 3.30 seconds on the circuit’s longest track. “It’s nice to know all the work and effort we’ve put in to build a strong team is paying off.
“It wasn’t perfect driving, but it was two consistent runs and I was confident that this was possible. The pressure was a little higher just to keep the streak alive and, after winning here last year, trying to make sure I could do it again.”
She was 0.27 seconds ahead of Jamie Gruebel of the United States, 0.51 ahead of Elena Meyers of the U.S. and 0.80 in front of German Sandra Kiriasis, the 2006 Olympic gold medallist whose streak of six straight wins was broken by Humphries.
While Humphries’ driving ability is unsurpassed and Valois has proved to be an explosively powerful pusher, the 27-year-old pilot says the other key ingredient in her run is her two-year-old Eurotech sled.
Dutch firm Eurotech Viking Engineering provides sleds just to Canada and the Netherlands.
“They’re the best in the world,” says Humphries, although neither the Dutch sliders nor the other Canadians are enjoying her unprecedented level of success.
“They feel very different to any other sled I’ve been in. It took us pilots some time to get used to them, but now it just feels so comfortable. You can live on the edge because you know they’re going to react. It’s really helped me with my consistency.”
Eurotech engineer Mark Van Den Berg and his wife, Sonja, travel with the team on the World Cup circuit.
“Mark spent all summer fixing mine up from last year,” Humphries says. “I can’t tell you all the ins and outs, can’t give you all the secrets, but certain parts were made stiffer, more carbon fibre was added to specific areas, different mounting systems and rubber added.
“There was just little things we found from last year and I’m sure we’re going to find things throughout this year that we’ll definitely want to change for next year to ensure Eurotech stays ahead.”
Humphries says the Van Den Bergs have become “the heart and soul of the team.
“Sonja is like the best friend and the mom and the counsellor. She bakes us pies and cookies and helps Mark with waxing the sleds and all the little stuff. We feel a lot of love. They’re a huge part of the Canadian team.”
Humphries and the rest of the Canadian bobsleigh/skeleton squad will return home early next week for a Christmas break before returning early in the New Year to Altenberg, Germany, for the next race.
Humphries won her first World Cup race at Altenberg in 2009, but sat out last year’s race after De La Hunty pulled his squad following Chris Spring’s horrific training crash in a four-man sled.
“I was very upset,” said Humphries. “The circumstances were understandable, but it was the hardest thing I ever had to go through. I love Altenberg. It’s one of the three most difficult tracks in the world … and it scares a lot of people.”
It is also the home track of German Cathleen Martini, who won there last year.
“She usually kills it,” said Humphries. “I know I’m going to have challenges to keep the streak going. I’m really going to have to rely on the equipment and our pushing because she knows how to drive that track better than anyone.” START GATE: Martin Dukurs of Latvia won the men’s skeleton Friday for his fourth victory in five races this season. Eric Neilson of Kelowna was eighth, just over two seconds back, while Jon Montgomery of Russell, Man., was ninth.