Birds of Prey – A Delicious Euro Experience

BIRDS OF PREY – Men’s Downhill – A few fun facts about this hill – Birds of Prey course starts at 11,427ft and the finish is at 8,957 for a total vertical drop 2,470ft over 1.52 miles and the ALL THE RACERS including 21-year-old Andreas Zampa of Slovakia who placed 47th completed the course in LESS than 1 minute and 48 seconds. WTF!

The Birds of Prey course is so steep that sections never hold snow (it slides off) and is generally a sheet of ice. Imagine the speed … intimidating. These racers are bad-ass, crazy speed freaks. Amazing!

The Winner – Aksel Lund SVINDAL of Norway finished in 1:42.34!
Out of nowhere, Andrew WEIBRECHT was the top finisher for US with 1:43.31 (less than a second behind the winner) for 5th place. This kid was born the year I graduated high school!

Where are the Women? I think we would all like to see the Women’s Downhill on Birds of Prey. That would be a very interesting race. Hmm …

There is a delirious European vibe at these events. Ski racing is much more upscale then mountain biking and running. You won’t see any Bud Lite or Red Bull banners here … its Korbal, Audi and GoPro. It’s a lovely affluent escape that leaves you with dreams of driving through the mountains of Austria in your swanky Audi wagon to a romantic ski vacation … oh yeah, sign me up!

Can’t wait for next year!