Successful start to the season for the British Team in Hintertux

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Last weekend the British Telemark Team were in Hintertux, Austria for the opening FIS Telemark World Cup of the 2015/16 season.

The team comprised of Louis Hatchwell, Jasmin Taylor, Jasper Taylor, Fred Thomas, Sion Bingham, Robert Houstoun, Alistair Cruz-Mermy and Colin and Alec Dixon.

Strong winds and heavy snowfall made for difficult racing conditions high up on the Hintertux glacier. The team competed in two Sprints and one Parallel Sprint over the course of the weekend. Jasmin Taylor took 5th in the Parallel Sprint and 6th in the second Sprint; she said, “I had such a great time racing in Hintertux, was awesome to have such a big British Team this year with so many British supporters there cheering us on. A very positive start to the season!”

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The British men achieved a number of top 30 finishes in the opening races. FIS World Cup commentator and ex-British athlete, Jack Harvard Taylor, commented, “I watched some really promising performances over the weekend. We have a number of younger British racers coming through the system and it’s only a matter of time before they’ll be pushing for top 15 positions.

“It’s always difficult to call these early season races, but we saw an exciting display of thrills and spills! Frenchman Philippe Lau and Switzerland’s Amelie Raymond dominated the opening races, however the new single run format introduced into the Parallel Sprint mixed things up with the young Charlie Fradet from France taking the top spot in the men’s race.”

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The team will now return to training over the Christmas period before the World Cup continues in La Plagne, France on 26th January 2016.

6 days until the opening FIS Telemark World Cup in Hintertux, AUT

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Preparations are underway for the opening FIS Telemark World Cup of the 2015/16 season in Hintertux, Austria.

Screenshot 2024-11-21 09.41.54Representing Great Britain in Hintertux will be: Louis Hatchwell, Jasmin Taylor, Jasper Taylor, Fred Thomas, James French, Sion Bingham, Alistair Cruz-Mermy, Robbie Houstoun and Colin and Alec Dixon.

It was in Hintertux two years ago Jasmin Taylor won her first World Cup podium in the Parallel Sprint, finishing in 2nd position. Speaking to the BBC earlier in the month, Jasmin said, “My goals for the coming season are ‘input’ goals rather than ‘outcome’ goals,” she continued. “But of course you always want to see an improvement in timings and results.

“I’m extra intent on improving elements of my technique, fitness and mentality, which should in theory improve results but without that being the immediate process.”

The British Team pre-season training in Tignes, FRA

The British Team pre-season training in Tignes, FRA

Louis Hatchwell, last year, archived his best World Cup finish in the Hintertux Parallel Sprint - gaining a creditable 17th position in what is considered one of the tougher race hills on the World Cup circuit.

Once again TELE HO productions will be bringing you all the live action throughout the weekend from Austria. FIS Telemark Chairman, Andrew Clarke and ex-British Team athlete, Jack Harvard Taylor will be commentating on this exciting opening race of the 2015/16 season. Watch the LIVE action here.

Indoor Series: Glasgow

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The British Team has just been competing in the third event of the Indoor Series. This was a great weekend organised by the Scottish Telemark Club in Glasgow. Athletes from France and Finland travelled to compete in the event but it was British Team athletes, James and Jaz that finished first!

On Saturday there was a training day where the team enjoyed coaching from Seb Mansart, the Biritsh Team coach. Over lunchtime there was a roller skiing taster session organised by John Mordue and a strength and conditioning session from Chris Stewart, a former Birtish Telemark Champion, who owns Leading Physique near Manchester. In the evening everyone got together for dinner which included a well fought jelly slurping race!

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The race on Sunday was very well attended, lots of new faces and the largest start list of the series so far! The times were very tight at the top, the podium places were separated by only 0.36 seconds. The full results can be downloaded here: Glasgow Results. Well done to the top 6 racers who are:

  1. James French
  2. Jasmin Taylor
  3. Antti-Pekka Auvinen (Finland)
  4. Seb Mansart (France)
  5. Sion Bingham
  6. Allan Stevenson

In the team event:

  1. Scottish Telemark Club A
  2. Crozets
  3. Marines

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Thank you so much the organisers, instructors, helpers, Snow Factor centre and the sponsors (Mountain Spirit, Ski Bartlett, Buff, Scott, Blues/Tiso and BASI). Thank you to Kevin McMurtrie sports event photography for the shots. It was a great weekend!

Last event of the series is in Hemel on 22/23rd August where the racers will fight it out for the overall series title!

Indoor Series: Tamworth

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The second event of the British Telemark Indoor Series was held in Tamworth at the weekend. On Saturday there was a telemark festival day with instruction from top BASI instructors. Ben and Nicko from Telemark Tracks brought NTN telemark equipment for people to try as well. Check out their website for photos and more event information. A huge thank you to them and Ian Acey for organising a fantastic day!

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On Sunday morning, Anne Ford and John Mordue organised a roller skiing taster session on the nearby cycle track. The importance of the skate section is often forgotten in the racing so it was great to get the opportunity to learn to roller ski as this can be used in summer training.

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On Sunday afternoon the second race of the series took place. The full results can be downloaded here: Tamworth results. Congratulations to the following who placed at the top:

  1. James French
  2. Sion Bingham
  3. Colin Shepherd
  4. Jasmin Taylor
  5. Allan Stevenson
  6. Patrick Mitchell

Again, a huge thank you to all those who helped gate judge, run the race and donated prizes (Buff, Ski Bartlett and Scott)! It was a fun weekend, next stop GLASGOW on 11/12th July.

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Indoor Series: Manchester

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The first race of the indoor series kicked off in Manchester last weekend. The Manchester Cross Country Ski Club organised a great festival on Saturday which included instruction from top BASI instructors and a strength and conditioning presentation given by Chris Stewart, owner of Leading Physique and three time British Telemark Champion. Everyone got together on Saturday evening for the now regular curry night!

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This was followed by the sprint race on Sunday, organised by British Telemark. Congratulations to the top 5 overall individuals:

1st: Sion Bingham
2nd: Ian Acey
3rd: Allan Stevenson
4th: Dean Gillon
5th: George Herd

In the team event:

1st: Scottish Telemark Club
2nd: RAF
3rd: Tamworth
4th: Royal Marine Reserves

The full Manchester Results can be downloaded. It was great to see some new faces again, we hope to see these races continuing to grow.

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A huge thank you to everyone who helped out from Chill Factore , everyone who marshalled the race, Ben Langridge and Danny McCabe for bringing Scott NTN equipment, Caroline Brown and Buff and Ski Bartlett for the prizes. We are looking forward to the next event in Tamworth on the 28/29th June.

See you there!

French Cup Finals - Les Contamines

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The British Telemark Team was well represented at the finals of the French Cup in Les Contamines FRA over Easter Weekend.

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Bad visibility made for tough conditions on Sunday for the first of two Sprints. Following the course inspection - the start of the race was delayed by over an hour which gave the athletes time to warm up thoroughly before the race got underway.

Results (by category):
1st Jasmin Taylor (U30)
4th Ollie Wotton (U16)
4th Jack Harvard Taylor (U30)
5th Sion Bingham (U18)

Congratulations to all on such fantastic results!

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Ollie Wotton

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Jasmin Taylor