Colorado Regional Race Series: Pine Creek Race

Yesterday was the Pine Creek Race on the Arkansas River. There was a pretty good turn out for an evening race in crummy weather--a total of 10 raft teams, a lone shredder team, a duo-duckie, and a few kayaks. These races always come with a surprise and this year was no different. The start of the race took place under a low footbridge above Pine Creek rapid. Each team lined up under the bridge facing upstream with one team member standing in the middle of the boat, holding the bridge. At the start whistle, there was a mad scramble to turn boats around and jockey for position before heading down the longest stretch of continuous class IV-V whitewater on the Arkansas. The battles for position up top were intense and the team from Breckenridge got out in front with the US Men's Team in hot pursuit. Teams from Granite, CO and a Timberline Tours team from Vail stayed hot on the tails of the leaders. The front two boats were neck-and-neck down Pine Creek and were surprised to find themselves in a barrage of water balloons (courtesy of some Lakota Guides) just as they approached the crux move. Half way down Triple-Drop rapid, the Men's team made a pass on the right and got out in front. The grind began at the bottom of the rapid as all teams pushed across a large stretch of flat water. Time gaps grew and by the time the race ended at Rapid #5 in the Numbers section, the men had a clear lead. The Breckenridge team finished second, and an AVA team finished up in third.

Final Day Downriver

The downriver event on the Dutch Water Dreams course was bound to be an interesting event, based on the round and round nature of the water park. The women went off at exactly noon. We were in the second heat of women's teams; luckily the faster heat. Eight teams, side by side, against the shore. We got a decent lane pick by default and got out in front, however, had to navigate around several buoys along the way, getting edged out on the corner. We finished the first lap in third place. We battled for the next four laps against the Brits, bouncing off the back of their boat, coming up alongside them a few times on the flat water, but having to drop back to get around the buoys each time. Anyway, the USA women finished with a BRONZE. We had great crowd support from our family of spectators and our mens team. Women finish top five overall!!!

The US Men's downriver event went off right after ours. The heat was stacked; Brazil, Japan, Czech Republic, USA...... first lap put the Brazilians out in front; there they stayed. The boys had a decent start, fought hard and came around the first lap in fourth. A few bobbles by some men's teams put the USA in second by the third lap. The fourth lap Japan charged back and took over second from the men. That's where they stayed, however, the New Zealand men from an earlier heat stole the third place position from the men by 30 seconds or so. Fantastic showing from our USA men. Men finish top four overall; 1 bloody point out of third place overall!!!!

Both teams had some great successes on this journey; fun was had by all. Thanks to everyone for their support; spectators and sponsors. Tonight we mingle with teams from all over the world as we eat, drink, tell stories and finish our trip in the Dutch land; a friendly, warm, beautiful place I might add.....

Slalom Day

Slalom is one of the most challenging events of a competition. The course here in Zotemeer was no exception. The eddies were strong, the current fast, and the gates were set in a way that only the best teams in the world were going to make it through the course with a completely clean run. The men began the competition with the US team set to start late in the day. This allowed us to watch other teams move through the course and learn from their mistakes and successes. Our first lap through was pretty good. We cleaned most of the course and had only two gate touches, giving us a 10 second penalty and putting us in the top ten as we moved into the second round. On our second lap through, we sped things up a bit, had only a single gate touch, and improved on our overall time. This was one of our best slalom showings ever, but not good enough for the podium. The men finished in fourth for the day with the Czechs, Brazilians, and Japanese in the top three. On a bright note, we were one of only two teams able to clean the course with only a single touch. The women began their day with a brilliant run in the top of the course. They were the only team to clean the top five gates, but disappointingly missed gate number seven. The second run through for the women was a great showing. They had more gate touches, but made every gate and improved on their raw course time (one of the fastest for the day). It was a good day for both teams. Overall standings put the men in sixth and the women in eighth. It all comes down to the downriver race this morning. If either team can podium, then we are guaranteed an Overall medal. Wish us luck!

Head-to-Head

After satisfactory finishes in the time trial, both teams headed to the start gate for the head-to-head competition. The men raced first and were able to beat Bulgaria to the finish line in the first heat. It was a close match, with Bulgaria attempting a nearly successful pass at the end of the race. In the second heat, it was the US against Germany. The Germans are a strong team, but we pulled out ahead early and they weren't able to make up any ground. The men's team then advanced to the quarter finals and came up against Japan, one of the very best teams in the world. We were confident at the start, but did not win lane choice and immediately had difficulties in matching the speed of the Japanese. We engaged them briefly for a battle above the first move, then attempted a risky pass on the right that didn't pay off. The Japanese won the heat and advanced to the semifinals. The men's team finished the day in fifth place. The women then headed up to the starting line for the first round of head-to-head. They were matched against a very strong Czech team. The women beat the Czechs off of the starting line and were looking strong down the first straight away. The Czechs, never a team to give up easily, attempted the dangerous pass on the right around the first obstacle and were successful. The US team was not able to pass the Czechs lower in the course and did not advance. They finished the day in ninth place. Tomorrow is the slalom, so tonight we rest and refocus.

Time Trial/Sprint

It is a windy day here in Zoetermeer. This morning was the Sprint Race (a.ka. Time Trial) The Women took 3rd place and gathered some points towards the overall title. The Men took 6th place which puts them in a fantastic position for the head to head this afternoon. Both teams will head back out to the course and the wind shortly fort he Head-to -Head Sprint.

Rest Day

Today we took a day off of the course. A group of us awoke, had some breakfast and headed into Amsterdam. Some of the Men’s s team headed to the beach near Den Haag. It is a little over an hour by train with one transfer to Amsterdam from Zoetermeer. The weather was nice and cool due to some clouds and rain, which was a nice change. We arrived at Amsterdam Centraal, the main train station and headed on foot to the Van Gogh Museum about 30 minutes away. It was an impressive museum with about 200 of his original pieces. It was a great way to learn about the artist, and the ten years he drawings and paintings. His paintings are even more beautiful in person. After the museum some headed back to the train station and some of us headed towards the Anne Frank house. We wound our way through the streets lining the canals to get there. Many of the buildings are leaning and tilted. The canals were lined with houseboats and most of them had large colorful gardens on their roofs. The line for the Anne Frank house was too long, as expected, but it was an honor to even walk by it and see the area. We made our way back to the train station and headed back to Zoetermeer. Tomorrow is Sprint practice!

Official Race Course Set

We completed our first two days of practice on the course set for recreational use. Incredibly, the only six people working in the Netherlands while the World Cup final game was being played happened to be the ones setting the official course for the WRC races. The course looks meaty and we are almost guaranteed to see some carnage. This is the first course set in the way it will be when rafting makes it to the Olympics, so we're excited to see what happens. We headed out for a night on the town last night in the Haag. There were orange shirts and beer everywhere you turned. The night went well until the Dutch lost in double overtime, then we made a bee-line for the train before the streets turned ugly. Today, we have a rest day before the official practice days start. Some of us will be heading down to the beach, and some to the museums of Amsterdam.