Saddleworth’s Erika Heginbotham is aiming to make a downhill splash on Wednesday after admitting she found her first races tough at the Delancey British National Alpine Ski Championships.
More than 100 skiers took to the sun-kissed slopes of Tignes on Monday for the super-G event, which had been postponed over the weekend due to poor weather conditions.
And 16-year-old Heginbotham was eligible for both National Championships and National Junior Championships races due to her age.
The Crompton House pupil finished 11th in the British overall national category but failed to finish in the junior classification after missing a turn.
However, Heginbotham believes she got better as the day wore on and is still working her way back to peak form after injuring her knee last season.
“It was quite bumpy, especially around the banana part of the course – you need to turn in early,” she said. “I think I could have taken a straighter line on the first run, but I though the second better even though I didn’t finish.
“I’ve not done much training, I’ve been out a lot mainly doing races. I’ve been trying to get back into it since the last British Championships because I had a knee injury last year in March – I tore my meniscus, but it’s fine now.
“My first race back was at the end of January, so I feel like I’m getting back into it.
“I’m looking forward to the Downhill, I’ve done it once before and I crashed and went through the gate! So to finish this time would be a start, it’s been great in Tignes so far.”
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Main image courtesy of urish via Flickr, with thanks.