It has been a hectic few years for Finlay Mickel, Britain’s number 1 downhill skier.  He has been a professional for over half a decade now, and in that time ‘Quick Mick’ has barely had a chance to draw breath. 

Having been bitterly disappointed at missing out five years ago to injury, in 2006 Mickel finally experienced the (literal) highs and lows of Winter Olympic competition in Sestriere Borgata, Italy.  Having initially placed eighth in his first run, unfortunate Fin eventually finished joint 22nd, after his original position was annulled due to bad weather.  His emotional slalom run wasn’t over however. The Olympics were closely followed by a personal best top 10 World Cup finish and, earlier this year, the arrival his newborn son.

Quite a lot to deal with for anyone, but this is nothing new to Finlay.  He is very much accustomed to all of life’s little surprises, whether they be moments of elation, or best forgotten flashes of frustration.  It is all part and parcel, and indeed much of the thrill of a career on the snowsport circuit, as he reminded In the Winning Zone when we caught up with him in Innsbruck, Austria, to talk about his 2007 season.

“It’s been a bit of an up and down season to be honest.  I got 15th place in the World Cup in Italy, which was a good result and personal best at that resort for me, just before Christmas.  But when we raced in Italy the next time I finished 46th and 31st, which was a disappointment.  I was testing new skis, which weren’t working out in those types of snow conditions.”

So far so (as usual) good and bad; but that’s only the half of it.  Finlay’s next stop was Wengen, Switzerland, where he achieved his (afore-mentioned) career best finish in last year’s World Cup.  So the omens were good on his lucky patch this time round, weren’t they?

“This year I was hoping to generate that again, but I had a real bit of bad luck.  The guy before me crashed, so I got flagged to stop after 2 minutes, (the course is two and a half minutes) so I had to be helicoptered back to the top and race again, which was disappointing because on the second run down I finished 28th.  That’s still inside the top 30, but I was disappointed that my first run didn’t count.”

To those who don’t know, downhill skiing is an event that needs to be seen to be believed.  And that doesn’t mean with a cup of tea in front of the telly on Sunday afternoon.  That means watching it live, in the flesh.  Only then can you get a perspective of the stomach churning speed, the head swaying height and the knee crushing landings required of a top downhiller.  These guys would overtake (most of) us on a motorway, and they don’t have the warm, secure shell of a car for protection.   And this is before they take off.  Not for the faint hearted.

So, as you can now envisage, skiing is a sport that places demands on every aspect of human functionality, and to be a winner in skiing this means a long, tough season in the snow, and just as much work in the summer months.  The physical fitness required, like any high level sport, is awesome.  The extra downward pull and low centre of gravity that a more relaxed, rounded midriff could achieve may be a tempting option, but these athletes are required to be in peak physical condition.  Not very many après-ski beers and pies for these guys.

Finlay also hastens to recall the injury risks of his job, and admirably manages to take a positive from a time that must surely rank as the most demoralizing of his career: “I missed out on the 2002 Olympic Games due to breaking my leg the week before, which was a huge blow.  So that was 6 months off skis, but I put myself into the rehab, and stepping back from the sport actually allowed me to realise how much I enjoy it and miss it.  I managed to iron out a few technical issues due to (basically) having to relearn how to walk, and making my muscles relearn everything. I used that to get rid of some old, bad habits.”

Of course, for Mickel, this is an expected occupational hazard which comes with the territory.  “No pain no gain” as the Americans like to say.  Canadians, on the other hand, keen skiers that they are, have their very own popular colloquialism, particularly suited to an event such as Finlay’s.  To encourage fellow speed demons to cut loose on the slopes, face their fears and go for it, they say “Give ‘er Buddy!”  As in, “Give her some, Buddy!”  And, faced with hurtling down a race track at up to 85mph, it is a fairly effective, if somewhat unsophisticated, mantra to live by.  To not be scared would be foolish, but backing out is not an option for the current generation of adrenaline junkies.  Finlay agrees that there is nothing else to do but “Give ‘er!”  It gives him the edge.

“I think fear is part of the game because it’s a very challenging and adventurous sport. Fear is something you just have to overcome, and if you do that do well, you enjoy the buzz.  Crashes happen, but I’ve not had a bad injury for a few years now.  I think when you are taking risks in a race in order to work out the right balance between aggression and technique, that’s when the best performances come.”

So the psychological and physical demands of skiing can often become a singular focus point for downhill racers like Finlay.  But, in his quest to be the best, he is often forced to make significant personal sacrifice as well.  The idea of mountain hopping between various world-class, luxury resorts may sound like fun, but the emotional strain of being away from your loved ones takes its toll.  Being a Scot, Finlay doesn’t have the same local luxuries as his mainland European and North American counterparts.

“It is hard spending time away from home, but I’m happy with the balance we’ve got at the moment.  You can definitely see the advantage to the guys who are skiing in the Alps and also living in the Alps.  They can go home for two or three days and come back fresh, whereby I have a different case, sleeping in hotels.  But I’ve become accustomed to it.”

And where does Mickel junior come into the plans?  “With a new family it’s definitely challenging.  We’ll just have to take it as it comes really.  You can only be as ready as you can be for a new person in your life, I don’t think you can cover all the bases.  I’m just looking forward to the excitement!”

Finlay is also aware of the financial strains that come with a career choice such as his.  Weeks at a time in high profile resort hotels don’t come cheap, and he is very aware of the problems facing Scotland’s younger skiers coming through the ranks today. “I moved away from normal Scottish skiing to go to a ski school in the USA which was a big change for me and great opportunity to get the amount of skiing that I needed.  But it was a challenge in Scotland, and I see it as even more of a challenge in Scotland today with the lack of snow.  It’s difficult now compared to the weekends I used to get when I was eight years old - consistent weekends of ‘winter’.”

So what parting advice would Finlay give to the many youngsters (some of whom are featured this month in The WinningZine!) who want to follow their dreams to be a top skier or snowboarder, but are finding the costs and lack of support tough to deal with?

“Finance is a big challenge in skiing because it’s an expensive sport.  My advice is believe in your dream, keep pushing towards it, do whatever it takes to be able to get that dream.  I appreciate the challenges you will have, but be wherever you need to be to get as much time on snow as you need.”

In other words, just Give ‘er!

RO

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