Freestyle.ch
Well, just woke up at the Sheraton four points in Zürich with a subtle hangover and an amazing café latte.
Yesterday was the first day on snow for me since may (!!!), so just being able to land some stock tricks and not looking like an idiot was easily good enough for me to call it a weekend. It would have been great to make it to finals, unfortunately I was edged out by Markus Eder’s perfect rodeo 5 in his last run, putting me behind 8th spot by 1 point. Oh well, I guess.
7th year I see this city big air setup. This year the jump felt a little bigger, unfortunately speed was an issue in the 20°C weather we were blessed with.
720 tail in the first run (style category), excellently captured by photographer Oscar Bakke
Stoked for my friends who made finals, Jossi Wells, Kai Mahler, Elias Ambuhl, Tom Wallisch, Andreas Håtveit, Alex Schlopy, Gus Kenworthy and Markus Eder (in no respective order).
Going to spend the day in the sun today with a cold beverage and try to bring you all some action from the event. Unfortunately the internet in the rider’s area won’t work so there will be no instant video blogging like last year.
Jacob
skiing, travel
Jacob, I don’t get how you’re so relaxed about not doing well in one of the major competitions of the year. Surely in every single event you enter you should be trying your absolute best, not only for your fans and your sponsors, but mainly for yourself!
Imagine if every skier entered Freestyle.ch with the same “Even though I’m a pro skier, I haven’t been on snow for a while so if I don’t ski well, then oh well I guess” attitude! The event would be a sham! I just wouldn’t be able to enter any competition in my life with such a halfhearted attitude, and YOU are supposed to be a professional athlete.
I know for a fact that so many other people, including people reading this, would have given their absolute all if they were given the amazing opportunity to be a pro skier, participate in the sport they love for a living, travel the world and compete in events such as Freestyle.ch. It’s like a professional footballer playing in one of the most important games of the season, and after he lost saying “I haven’t played football on grass in a while, so I wasn’t too bothered about winning or not” – if that footballer was playing the sport I love as his living, and for the team I love I’d be absolutely livid!
If your lifestyle and the opportunity you have right now was just taken away from you, would you really be happy with looking back on this event for example, and feeling content with yourself and your career? Just remember there are thousands and thousands of people who would love to be you, please don’t take that for granted.
You do realise that Jacob has been at this for many many years, even pioneering a few aspects of what we call newschool freeskiing. In my opinion taking it easy for one competition is perfectly fine when you’re in that situation.
sam – interesting point of view for sure. I think you are misunderstanding me though. in ten years, i will look back at these days as a time of my life i got to have fun with friends doing what i love, not how much money i managed to scrap together as a skier. winning this event wouldve been awesome but i was not feeling ready to risk it all with tricks im not yet comfortable with. even tthough i havent skied this summer i still cant turn down an invitation to one of the best comps of the season. relax a little bro, life isnt about going a 100% all of the time.
I didn’t say life is about going 100% all of the time. Relaxing is one of the things I love to do. I just think when it comes to your job, representing sponsors, progressing your career, progressing events such as Freestyle.ch – then I find it hard to see athletes not giving it 100% and not caring. How boring would it have been for the events sponsors, the guys who paid money to go to the event and for all the viewers if Elias, Tom, Andreas etc all said they hadn’t skied all summer so they weren’t too bothered where they came in the event. I own and run a cleaning company, so that’s why I’m not just looking at it from a fans point of view, I’m looking at the business side too. I know if I sponsored the competition or any of the skiers who couldn’t be bothered I’d be a little annoyed. Maybe the guys who don’t want to push themselves or go all out at an event should just not enter, and let progressing skiers or kids who want to prove themselves and give it their all step up.
Sam, do you realize that jacob hasnt been skiing this summer because his knee is sore?
Sam ,u douche, ur going over the top with ur critisism. Didn’t u just read Jacob’s post saying he did not feel ready to “risk it all” due to not skiing during the summer.
Erik, ‘you douche’, and ‘anonymous’ – that’s exactly my point! Why enter if you’re not completely fit or feeling ready? Why not let someone else have that spot who may be able to break through and make a name for themselves, rather then a big named pro not bothering about where he finishes?? If Jacob knew he didn’t want to risk anything, why even turn up? He could have just waited for the next event to be 100%, he would have cared then.
Sam, he finished 9th. His halfheartedness landed him above Jon, PK and Rolland. Chill