Monday, May 20, 2013

New Websites

We have decided it is about time we split up our website into individual pages, so please check out our new websites at www.jamieprebble.com and www.nickprebble.com

From now on we will be posting from these pages, please subscribe for our email updates on the new websites to get all the latest information on what we are up to!!!

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Jamie- Change to HEAD!

Time for Some exciting news....

I am stoked to officially announce that I have made the change to HEAD skis and boots!!
I am very excited about this change for the upcoming Olympic season and beyond! I feel it could give me that small boost I need to shave of those 10th of seconds. 
My new kit @Åre, Sweden
Head skis are proven as the fastest on the world ski tours with numerous wins in ski cross and winner of the alpine brand ranking for the last 3 years. 


Before I left Europe I visited the HEAD factory in Austria to pick out the new skis, I will have a range of both the new and old dimensions. I also received my new boots and had them perfectly fitted by the pros at HEAD. I even tried on Aksel Svindal's boot shells as our feet are supposedly similar :)
It is an amazing setup at the factory, the number of race skis is mind bobbling and the picture does no justice. 

Boot grinding
Special thanks to HEAD NZ for the support and be sure to check out www.head.co.nz to find that perfectly matched equipment to get you charging around the slopes this winter. In the last couple of years the new technology and development in equipment is huge and is making a considerable difference to enjoyment on the hill. Time to freshen up those skis and boots!
Endles skis. Row after row after row.

For me it is straight into an intensive dry-land training block and keep ticking along my university study. Not long now until the NZ ski areas start opening!
Stay posted for updates. 

Bode Millers wooden leg mould.

Alignment with laser beams



Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Jamie- Home


My first season of Ski Cross has been an amazing journey. 

I have learnt a huge amount, visited some extraordinary places and am now mastering the skills required to become one of the worlds top skiers. I am really looking forward to being able to have some time during the NZ season to improve the new skills.  

It has been a long season and not easy at times being a solo athlete, with no coach up against the best in the world, who have endless coaches, physio's, ski technicians, logistics staff, even cool Audi transport. It has been the most stressful season by far, hugely rewarding but challenging at the same time. 

My top results of the season in the Audi FIS World Cup include; 
-38th place at Nakiska, Canada. 0.07sec from qualifying to finals. 
-World Championships, Voss, Norway- 0.3sec off finals. 
-Åre, Sweden -0.3sec off finals. 
-European Cup, Switzerland - 11th place. 


Special thanks to;
-Formthotics- ensuring my feet have the top foot beds, ensuring comfort, precision, alignment and warmth. 

-Shred and Slytech- unbeatable looks, safety and protection. 


-Leki- easiest and most comfortable ski poles trigger system that are strong and lightweight. 


-Helly Hansen- keeping me perfectly dry and warm in all conditions while looking great. 

-Toko- ensuring I can tune / wax my skis precisely.  
Mmm shinny

-Australian SX team- adopting me like a teammate. 

AUS team and I,  (missing 3..)
World Ski Connections- the best kiwi ski base in Europe. 
Brunnen- The lake beside WSC base
My family- endless support!

And many thanks to all other supporters. 

This season I have been away for 5 months and have literally not stayed in the same place for more than 4 days in a row. Endless packing and living out of my bag.  It will be great to finally unpack my bags and there truly is nothing like 'home sweet home.'

Stay tuned for some video edits as I find some time to put them together.

I have just made it back home to Christchurch and it feels great to get back into the dryland training, although the legs are not loving life currently..

Audi S5 Driving experience- Åre Sweden- Could not quite hold the drifting...

Swiss Alps
Think I covered central Europe pretty well.
Journey home, flight #5/5- Back in NZ skies

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Nick- Home.

I have now returned home in Christchurch and am back into the books studying 2x Level 3 finance papers, making progress towards my Bachelor of Commerce degree.

My NH campaign is over and it was not the ripper one I was hoping for. Simply put, I did not perform in my races. It is tough when I give 100% effort and don't come away with the results I am capable of. I remain totally motivated to achieve better than before.

There was however some success in amongst the not so successful racing. I placed 11th in the Nor-Am finals Super-Combined at Nakiska, Canada. Placing 30th after the Super-G leg, I skiied the fastest Slalom run to finish in 11th, scoring a 37 point result and gaining valuable Nor-Am points.

Looking ahead, I will have some time away from it all before getting back into the gym and will begin planning my approach for the SH season.

Thanks to everyone who supported me this season, it really is appreciated. I am fortunate to have a good team around me. 

See you next season!


Warm up at the top of Schladming


Flying around the Rockies with the Alberta Team Boys

The Kiwi lads at our home base- Leogang


Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Jamie- Ski Cross World Championships

My first Ski Cross World Championships in Voss, Norway are over. We had great weather, great snow and it was cool to have the other freestyle ski disciplines around. I finished in 38th position, narrowly missed out on making the finals only 0.4sec shy! I desperately wanted more. The technique required for ski cross is getting better and better and I am really starting to bring through the skills required to be fast in this sport.

My qualification run had some small errors that I need to iron out, especially when the pressure comes on to lay down the run, only one chance, one opportunity.

It was great to have 2 training sessions on the track which has been non existent for us this season. The Audi World Cup Ski Cross tour has been unlucky with weather this season and several races we have had to settle for just 1 training run!  (not making it easy for the rookie on the tour!)

I am now up in Åre, Sweden for my last two World Cup races of the season. I am really excited to give it everything, execute my new skills and to put some fast runs down and get in the mix of the finals. Stay posted for results!

Enjoy the photos below, and have a look at the video of my perspective down the course! (training, following the Germans)
Flying into Norway,
Islands on the coast of Norway-  Bergen.



Start number

Swix man helping to make my skis rockets! 
Photo Credit- Yannick Enting

Entire Track- Photo credit -Anton Grimus athlete page-
Finish area of Ski Cross/ Slopestyle


Video-
If received by email click on the link to view the video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyhYWw1JQwg

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Nick- World Champs tech

A very disappointing tech series for me at Schladming. However (without trying to make a bad series sound too glamorous) still a good learning experience.

The GS quali race I started bib 12. It was a race I really should have been shooting for the podium. But... the whole situation of having to finish inside the top 25 to make the main race got to me way too much! I skied stiff and on the back foot and eventually paid the price, crashing out 4 gates till the finish on my second run. I was guttered.

The Slalom qualification ended up being a short day for me coming out on the top pitch. A good couple of turns at the top but obviously that is not enough.

It was great to watch the main races and see Ted Shred arc the crap out of the GS! He is the man.


Ted Ligety, WINS!!!
Austrian lad sending it hard.

Parent support crew for the Quali races at Reiteralm



Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Alpine World Ski Champs Super-G

Serious face shots- Nick on the right,  Jamie Left
Jamie joined us for our last few days of preparations before World Alpine Champs... However....They did not quite go as planned with the heavens opening up and dumping half a metre of snow on us, so instead we enjoyed an epic powder at Leogang before heading to Schladming in the afternoon.

Opening Ceremony


We arrived in Schladming to a vibrant town and we joined a packed stadium for the opening ceremony. It was a great show and we were all buzzing to get out on snow the following day to see what challenges would face us on the super-g track.

The next day we were allowed 2 free skiing runs down the super-g track to get the feel of the terrain in the course. In both runs we had dense fog which obviously made it difficult to see where the hell to go.

That night we spent hours trying to file down the edges on our skis so they would comply with the maximum width regulations. The amount of rules and regulations we had to fulfil to make sure we didn’t get disqualified was a new experience for us. From ski heights and widths right down to the minor issues of logos on helmets and goggle straps being too big. It was endless!

Race day. Getting to the finish area in itself was a challenge but both Jamie and I got there. I finished a respectable 42nd, however I was not super stoked with my skiing. Jamie was happy to get down and placed 63rd (not bad for his limited time on Super-G skis).
Nick- Finish area
Finish Stadium- 30 000 people

Jamie- During inspection, hard to understand the steepness/ icy-ness
Dropping into the final pitch with the crowd looming in the horizon was definitely the most amazing experience in my life. Your legs were starting to scream at you by this stage, the toughest section of the course was approaching and the snow was super slick and bumpy. You just had to grit your teeth and fight to the finish line.

Finish Stadium during inspection- is built moulded around the hill

It was an amazing experience and was great to have our Kiwi support crew in the finish arena (Mum, Dad, Sam, and the World Ski connection crew and a few drunk Austrians).

For Jamie, he heads off to Sochi, Russia, for the Ski Cross World Cup test event.
For Nick, it is a week’s training before the qualification race for the GS at the World Champs.

Eating dinner behind a live podium TV broadcast. Mum, Nick, Sam
We got swarmed by spectators trying to find our parents after the race, wanting photos/ Signatures .


Saturday, February 2, 2013

Nick- The Countdown

The countdown is on! Only 5 sleeps till the World Alpine Champs Super-G in Schladming, Austria.

We are trying to get 3 quality days of Super-G before we head to Schladming, however the weather has not been permitting so far...

Since my last post we had 2xGS races at Maria Alm, AUT. The first run on the second day was a great tactical break through for me in GS, resulting in placing me first for the run. In the 2nd run I went out trying to hold my lead however could not find the rhythm in the tight 22m set and finished up in a disappointing 4th. However a step in the right direction!

From there we moved into a Slalom block where I continued my great form in training. I was pumped to show off my newly found Slalom talent in races in Slovenia and Hinterstoder, AUT, Fair to say, I choked... I skied stiff and tentative. One of my biggest ethics in skiing is, 'there is no point skiing better in training than how you do in a race' because racing is where the skiing counts. I was extremely disappointed with how I performed and am determined to fix this in the next Slalom race.


We have just come back from 2xSG in Brigels, SUI. The race track there is an awesome fun track. Reasonably flat with excessive amounts of terrain and a decent floater of a jump in the middle. The 2nd day I tuned up my skiing from the first day and placed a reasonable 11th palce, scoring a 38 pointer. I was happy with the result, but need to improve the precision in the execution.

Next stop World Champs!


Maria Alm
Tuning set up at the Central Austria training centre in Hinterstoder

The gym at the training centre in Hinterstoder
A spin and the Aussie Open. Not bad..
The top of Brigels with aussie teammate Robo
Brigels Super-G
Mountain bike jump line on snow- Leogang.


Friday, February 1, 2013

Jamie- Europa Cup Result!

I am super happy with my 11th place at a European Cup race in Lenk- Switzerland. It was a strong field with 16 different nations represented. 
Final jump at Lenk- Me on the left in 1st.
After making it through qualifications, in the first round of finals, I won my first race after a solid run. In the second round I had a duel with two other Swiss skiers and got squeezed out on a jump feature, I then managed to fend off a Russian, having to settle for third.
Lenk EC Course
It feels great to be heading in the right direction and making some changes to my skiing- with the results starting to show. 

I am now in Grasgehren- Germany for the next World Cup SX and the weather gods are really not playing ball. 
We lost our official training day yesterday and Qualifications were suppose to be held today but have been delayed a day. It rained a heap and now has turned to snow, causing carnage to the track. We are suppose to have 2 races here but it is currently looking very unlikely.....fingers crossed.
No action today, Just groomers and TV Camera's waiting


Special thanks to Leki for my new gear!
After the Germany WC I drive straight to Leogang- Austria to get in some brief alpine Super G training  before the huge event of Alpine World Champs in Schladming where they expect over 30,000 fans to the event each day (is 2 weeks long).

Then it is straight off to Russia- Sochi for the test Olympic event, a SX World Cup race. It is a full on few weeks and I am extremely excited for the challenges and experiences.

Russian Vissa- Slight mission to get

Start training Switzerland
Stay posted for more updates and follow/LIKE my new facebook athlete page for regular posts. http://www.facebook.com/jamiepreb