Red Bull Huetten Ralley

by teresabrenner at Thu, 6th Jan 2011

On Tuesday the 21th of December I went to St. Anton (Arlberg) with Marc Kuenkele, to participate at the Red Bull Huetten Ralley.

What was advertised as an off track race where the competitors wore on the demo video ABS backpacks, was a kind of a mix between Super G and skier cross with 30 meters wide jumps over and through huts.

The gates were wooden and the track was extremely icy.

Not a good location for serious falls.

The start was with six people who had to start sitting on a wooden bench.

After everyone strengthened with Red Bull, the qualification for the finals on the next day started. After a good ride, where I won in my Heat I was qualified for the finals the next day. I did have concerns about the high, wide jumpas where you were not allowed to make any mistakes.  The non-landing onto the roof of the hut or beyond would surely have been quite painful. Daron Rhalves made the jumps even a little bit smaller, after several riders said they wont start.

Even FWT riders had respect and were skeptical about the huge jumps in the finals the next day.

I did not even had the pleasure to take part in the final the next day.

Not even the driveway with a snow cat in the evening, the food at restaurant, and the ridersledding for all finalists. Namely after the last rider is down, I wanted to gaze with Ane again the jumps. Strange guys who did not want us, to got down these part of the track, said we have to go down somewhere else. So we went off about heavy wet and pressed snow on a off piste track. Almost at the bottom was behind a shoulder, a small stream across the slope. In which my right foot went in, get template, go with alpine skiing, the binding to 14, then again pushed back and my whole weight against the knee. ZACK there was this unhealthy sound.

That was my cruciate ligament.

The fact that I am not able to ski for six months not, was much more worse then the pain and the fact that I spend christmas at the hospital…

But I’am looking forward, doing a lot of physical therapy, so I am good in shape when I go to Chile in July!!!

Teresa