Sunday, December 8, 2013

Lindsey Vonns Comeback in „Lake Lindsey“

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At the begin of the week Lindsey was cleared for the Downhill Training in Lake Louise. She trained the weekend before Super G in Vail and her knee felt stable. Her Trainer Alex Hödlmoser said: "She's trying to come back as quick as possible, and it just happens to be that Lake Louise is on the (schedule) right now." It's a very good place for her to come back and try because she's very familiar with the course and had success here." Her surgeon, Dr. Bill Sterett, felt "her knee is stable."

Lindsey started as 10th in the 1st Training Run in Lake Louise and skied solid she got 22nd out of 65 racers. For her 1st time back in the World Cup since 10 months it was a good way to start.

After the training run she said: "Happy to be out there. And, yeah, I'm looking forward to improving for the races, hopefully. It was my first run, so I was, of course, a little bit nervous. First training run. First kind of real race situation since February. So it's been a long time, and I'm really happy. Knee feels good. Feels stable. I'm just trying to make sure things are good with my knee, and build confidence every day, and right now I'm focused on this particular moment. Yeah, Sochi is obviously quite a way's away. Just trying to stay focused and focus on my knee and get my confidence back.“

On Thursday she decided to race on the weekend but not to race in the final training run to rest and be ready for the races on the weekend. She made her decision already Wednesday night. She had no swelling in her right knee after the training run which was the main factor of her decision. 

"You kind of know if your body is ready or not, and I feel ready," she said. She said she was able to ski her race line in the 1st training run and so she didn’t have to take another one. "If I can accomplish that in one run, I don't need a second run. I know this course so well. I don't need to take a bunch of runs for it. To make sure my knee is ready to go for the weekend, it's just a smart choice not to ski today and to go tomorrow.“

In Facebook she posted: “Feels great to be back on the World Cup tour! After some good training at home in Vail and a solid downhill training run yesterday I've decided to take today as a "rest day" but I will be racing tomorrow. I can't wait for my first race!!!“
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1st Downhill (Friday):

It was sunny day unfortunately they had some problems with the snow guns which caused some fog and so they had to postpone the start time for 1 hour. Lindsey came with start number 18 & she had a good Comeback run. She came safe to the finish & everyone was just happy to have her back in the World Cup.

Lindsey herself said: "It was really great to be back. I was really nervous at the start. It was 10 months that i didn't race. I was just too nervous. I was really tight, and I skied that way," she said. "I wasn't in a really deep tuck. I wasn't pushing the line where I could have. And I just kind of skied it, and that's not my style. That's not how I attack a race."
Lindsey also said that her self confidence isn’t as it normally is…"It does take a little time to build the confidence back up. It's been a long time."

She’ll try to risk more in the Downhill on Saturday and hopes to be a bit faster then. 



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2nd Downhill (Saturday):

It was another sunny day with freezing temperatures. Lindsey skied a great run much more aggressive & she pumped her fist in the finish! She made a great 11th place and improved a lot from the 1st Downhill on friday! She came safe to the finish which is the most important thing & it was a great performance. Everyone was happy to see her race again & it's inspirational to see how she always builds herself up again and never gives up!

She said: "Yeah, that was much better. A lot more like it. I'm just really happy with the improvements that I made from yesterday. And just in general my whole body language was different. I was more aggressive and just more confident and comfortable."
"You know, yesterday, it felt rusty. Just hadn't done it in so long. I was too nervous. And today it was much more like myself. I still made mistakes and it wasn't my best skiing but it's a long way from where I was yesterday. Hopefully I can continue to improve."

Next up is the Super G in Lake Louise! Let's hope for another sunny day an hopefully a bit warmer temperatures!

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Super G (Sunday):

It was sunny again today and Lindsey had bib 18 again. She had really a great run only one mistake at the Fallaway. She got 5th and made progress again. It's incredible how quick she improved on the weekend and it was a great SG race today of Lindsey.

She said: "Huge step in the right direction," Vonn said Sunday. "A perfect way to end the weekend. I have a lot of self confidence now. Every day I got more and more aggressive, more confident and I feel great. I know I can win again."
"It tells me that I do need a couple more stops. I want to make sure I at least get on the podium once, if not win before going into Sochi. For me mentally I really want to have that in my back pocket."

She will go home now for a few days and think about a plan for the Season with her coaches. "I’m going to be selective in my races this season and I’ll take a few days home, talk to the coaches and determine a plan."

When she isn't racing she'll train in the gym to work on her muscels. "I'm gonna be getting buff. I mean, I lose weight throughout the season, I feel I've already lost some muscle mass so I'm really going to hit the gym hard. That is something I can do with my knee as long as everything is in a straight plane. I can do it, squats, deadlifts. I can really hammer and get some mass going because I'm a little bit on the light side so that's going to be my focus until my next race.

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I'm and i guess all fans are really happy with her results this weekend. It was a great Comeback and I just can't wait to see her race again! I wish her all the best for the next months & just wanted to say all your fans always believed in you Lindsey that you will come back! We knew you would make it & are really proud of what you achieved this weekend! GO LINDSEY GO ;)
xoxo Marion