**A lot of people have been asking me what I’m using in that workout, its a TRX suspension trainer and it worked pretty well for me while I was over there. Click here to get one!
At the end of the season every year I tally up my Aeroplan points and jump on an airplane somewhere warm and reap the benefits of flying all the time for bobsleigh. This year, with a little top up, I was able to come all the way to Australia to visit my mom’s side of the family who live in Sydney. It has been a few years since I’ve seen any of them (they came to the Olympics) and five years (way too long!) since I’ve seen my Grandma as she is 89 and doesn’t travel much anymore. I also got to meet a new addition to the family, my baby cousin Sophia. She is absolutely beautiful and is the first baby I’ve ever held (no no I didn’t drop her), we got along pretty well.
Of course jumping on a plane for sixteen hours warrants a bit of an extended holiday, right? Right. So, I decided to travel up the east coast to Byron Bay, Surfers Paradise, Noosa, Rainbow Beach, Fraser Island, Airlie Beach, and the Whitsundays. Right now I’m in Airlie Beach about to board a sailboat and cruise around for a few days checking out the islands, diving, and spending a day on the ‘whitest beach on earth’ (I don’t know how they determine that either but I’ll post a pic…).
I know what you’re thinking right now: “Shouldn’t this guy be training?” Yes, I should be and I am. I stuffed a TRX in my bag when I came here and if you don’t know what that is go find out. Its an unreal training tool for when you’re on the go and don’t have access to a gym. I’ve been using it to do modified versions of my workouts and its working great! That and sprinting down the beach (people look at you funny when you do that, but that’s just a good opportunity to show off your speedo.)
I’m going to do individual posts about all the cool places I’ve visited and I’m using my GoPro video camera a lot so I’ll put together a video of the whole trip. Internet is tricky right now though so that will have to wait. For now, I’ll leave you with this sunset I captured in Noosa.
Here’s to another season in the books. At the start of every season since I began this crazy sport I’ve found myself saying in one conversation or another “this will be an interesting season.” Holy smokes was this one ever!
Mid summer I had a phone conference with the high performance director Nathan and the development head coach Pierre Lueders. We outlined our goals for the season and came up with two main ones: 1) Head over to Europe to slide on the German and Austrian tracks to get more experience 2) Get enough points between Americas Cups and Europa Cups to qualify Canada a third sled on the World Cup circuit.
The travel and race schedule was sure to be intense… but I had no idea the season that lay ahead of me!
Including both 2man and 4man I competed in 23 International races and raced in 9 different sleds, 8 of which I hadn’t ever used in the past. For a bit of reference, a normal World Cup pilot would race in 18 races and use 2 sleds!
We started off with a bang teaming up with James McNaughton, Luke Demetre and Jesse Lumsden in Park City where we earned 3 gold medals, 1 bronze and broke the 9 year old 2man push-start record that has stood since the Olympics were held there in 2002.
Straight from the last 4man race in Park City James, Luke and I struggled with a brutal travel plan to get to Igls, Austria where we would be learning the track and competing in less than a week. Our flight: Salt Lake City-Las Vegas-Heathrow-Frankfurt- Drive 6h to Igls.. Best case scenario- 24h of travel time. Reality- 30h travel time and $700 in overweight baggage. Oh, and there are direct flights from Salt Lake City to Innsbruck, Austria which takes 9h… Hopefully our flights were really cheap!!
We arrived at 4:30am, 6h later we headed to the track to learn all the corners and do some sliding! It didn’t go well, I was pretty much asleep and ended up crashing in one of the easiest corners in the world on the easiest track in the world! oops!
We spend 4 weeks in Europe learning the German and Austrian tracks, the rest of the trip was pretty uneventful, lots of fatigued athletes, no days off for me and a whole lot of races. No amazing results over there in the Europa Cups, but we gained some valuable experience that will serve us well when we race across the pond again.
I spent Christmas in Whistler driving tourists down the bottom half of the bobsleigh track as a pilot in the new Bobsleigh Experience in Whistler. Had some fun, met some really excited fans of the sport and made a couple extra bucks to help out with the season, I can’t wait to go back this spring!
My plan for the second half of the season was to get a lot of extra practice runs in Whistler and Calgary and wait and see how my point total from the races I’d already done held up against the other nations in hopes of going to World Champs as a pilot. About a week into that plan we received some terrible news from the team over in Altenberg, Germany. The Canada 2 boys had been in a horrific crash in training and were in the hospital. As the news developed we learned that everyone was thankfully going to be OK but there were a few season ending injuries. I later got the call that I would be subbing in for Canada 2 and racing in the Whistler and Calgary Word Cup events as well as World Champs in Lake Placid. A great opportunity for me, but not exactly the circumstances I wanted to break into the World Cup under.
I ended up having an amazing time racing the second half with Derek Plug, Tim Randall and James McNaughton. Those boys stepped up HUGE and together we got team Kripps’ first ever top ten WC finish in both 2man and 4man at the Calgary race. We carried that momentum into World Champs, posting some boss start times including a third ranked start in the 4man, and a Bronze medal in the Team Race!
Unfortunately it wasn’t all rainbows and lollipops: as a new pilot I still make some mistakes here and there… we had a rocky start to the 2man but finished strong and clawed our way back up to 17th. In the 4man unfortunately after a #beastmode start time and a good run we ended up getting disqualified for being over the maximum weight. We were stunned as in the Calgary race only 2 weeks before we were 9Kg under. There were a lot of long faces after that but the boys and I ended up having a few beverages together and talked about all the amazing positives we had to take away from our month of sliding together on the big stage.
We did end up getting enough points to qualify a third mens sled on the World Cup next year for the first time in I have no idea how long. So me and the boys are pumped about that, we’ll probably race in the first World Cups in North America and then head over to Europe to learn the tracks I have yet to slide on before racing in some more World Cups and World Champs in St. Moritz. I’m incredibly excited to keep building Team Kripps and I’m inspired everyday by the teamwork, synergy and enthusiasm that we have on Team Canada these days, particularly Team Spring this year!
Huge thanks to Eurotech for putting me in some bomber sleds for the World Cup races, I can’t wait to use those sleds full time next year! Thanks to everyone for the support all season, stay tuned for off season posts about training, events and Team Kripps updates.
And for your viewing pleasure, take a POV ride down Calgary with me in my first ever video editing attempt!
Update: The winner is…..Darell Becker! Congratulations! You were drawn as the winner of two passes for the FIBT World Cup taking place February 2-4th courtesy of The Whistler Sliding Centre! Thank you to everyone who commented, “Liked,” and retweeted!
In partnership with the Whistler Sliding Centre, I’m giving away two passes for the FIBT World Cup taking place February 2 – 4th. As you may have heard, I will be making my debut as a pilot racing in the Canada 2 spot for World Cup in Whistler.
The tickets are good for all three days so make a trip of it! Take in women’s skeleton and women’s bobsleigh on Thursday, check out men’s skeleton and men’s 2-man bobsleigh on Friday, and cap off the weekend with men’s 4-man bobsleigh on Saturday.
Here is how you enter to win:
Become a fan of The Whistler Sliding Centre on FB (1 entry)
Post a comment below telling me what your favourite winter sport is (1 entry)
Follow @slidingcentre on Twitter and tweet: (1 entry)
I entered to win tix to the FIBT Bobsleigh & Skeleton World Cup in #Whistler from @justinkripps and @sliding centre! http://ow.ly/8zYQW
Contest ends Friday, January 27th at 12:00pm PST. Retweets are not eligible. Good luck!
Hey everybody! Sliding training is cancelled tonight due to extreme cold so I’ve got time for an update. Since the Christmas holidays I’ve been training like crazy in Calgary testing some equipment and getting the hang of some new sleds in preparation for my World Cup debut as a pilot in Whistler.
It will be a bitter-sweet race for me and the guys. I’ll be racing with Derek Plug, Tim Randall and James McNaughton – Derek and Tim normally race on Team Spring, who were involved in a brutal crash in training for the Altenberg World Cup. Thankfully, everyone is OK but Chris Spring, Bill Thomas and Graeme Rinholm are likely out for the season, Tim was also in the sled, but was able to walk away and is still able to race this season.
I’m excited to race in the World Cups in the Canada 2 spot, however, it was my hope at the start of the year to race alongside Team Spring in these World Cups, it sucks that he has had his season cut short like this. Chris is a hell of an athlete and a great guy and I can’t wait to race alongside him when he has recovered from his injuries.
Merry Christmas everyone! I’ve just arrived back in Canada after a long (and at times grueling) first half of bobsleigh racing in Europe and the US, boy is it good to be home!
When Team Kripps embarked on our race tour this year we had two major goals in mind: Learn the European tracks (I’ve raced them as a Brakeman but never as a Pilot) and accumulate as many points as possible in hopes of qualifying for World Champs in Lake Placid and qualify a third mens sled for next years World Cup season. The second goal is a bit lofty as the majority of my points would be coming from Europe Cup races on tracks that I had no experience driving right in the backyard of some of the world’s bobsleigh powerhouses.
In order to give ourselves a chance to accumulate the most points possible, the coaches at Bobsleigh Canada decided to send us to Park City, Utah for a week to compete in two 2man and two 4man races there before heading to Europe since I had driven in Park City before and done well.
Pierre Lueders and the rest of the Europe Cup team were already in Europe, so it was my first time racing without Pierre there as a coach. It was all good though because Helen Upperton was racing in the women’s events so she helped me out on track walks and gave me a secret line or two through some of the corners.
We kicked the season off with a bang, Jesse Lumsden and I took the Gold medal in both of the 2man races breaking the 9 year old push-start record from the ’02 Olympics in the process. Helen made a video about it! You can watch it here: Park City Record
James McNaughton and Luke Demetre joined Jesse and I for the 4man races, which also went well, with Team Kripps taking a Bronze in the first race and Gold in the second. Everyone was pretty fired up about the week and the good start to the season, but we didn’t have much time to celebrate; James, Luke and myself had a flight to catch as we were heading to Europe right after the 4man race.
Flying to Europe is always a bit tiring, but this really was the trip from hell… instead of flying direct whoever had booked our flights had us going Salt Lake – Las Vegas – London Heathrow – Frankfurt and then driving for 5 hours to Innsbruck! Best case scenario = 24 hours of traveling. Reality = 30 hours of traveling with 3 bags not showing up.
The really good part is we arrived in Innsbruck at 4am and had to be on the ice for the first day of training at 1pm, on a track that I hadn’t driven before! It was a bit of a nightmare and I ended up crashing on my first run in corner 6, which I don’t think had ever been done before in the history of the sport because it has got to be one of the easiest corners in the world!
Anyway, we regrouped and Derek Plug had been sent over from the World Cup team to push with me for the first few races because Jesse had gone back to the World Cup team to push for Team Rush. It was great having Derek, he added some fire to the team and we pushed very well together. Unfortunately, almost half of the World Cup pilots were using the first few Europe Cup races to tune up their skills before the World Cups started so we were racing against a really strong field of over 50 sleds. We squeaked out a Top 10 finish and remained in the Top 15-20 for the rest of the 15 races we competed in over there.
Full results can be found by following the links to ‘European Cup’ or ‘Americas Cup’ here.
Not all of our results in the first half were as good as we wanted, some exceeded our expectations, but all things considered we went out and did our best and now we wait and see how the World Cup plays out and how the rankings change to see if I get to drive at World Champs or not (fingers crossed!). For now, I’m going to enjoy seeing family and friends while I’m home in Canada, have an eggnog and rum (or two) while I relax and get ready for the 2nd half of the season.
Oh right, I’m also going to be driving tour sleds up at the Whistler Sliding Centre over the holidays so if you’ve ever dreamed of taking a ride down a bobsleigh track come see me! More info can be found here.
Happy Holidays!
We’re nearly a third of the way through Movember and my Mo’ has been growing fiercely, but I’m not the only one on the team growing a charitable ‘stache. No, I’m not talking about the other guys on the team, thats a no brainer, I’m talking about my sled.
That’s right. My sled has started to grow a Mo’ for Movember and it’s well on it’s way to a glorious duster. This right here is the first ever (and the only) Mo’ Sled in the world. Gosh darn it thats beautiful.
We’re in Park City, Utah racing in the Americas Cup this week and the Team Kripps Mo’ Sled made it’s debut in the 2-Man race on Wednesday. Jesse and myself placed 1st with a time of 1:38:70 and crushed a 9 year start record with a time of 4.77 seconds! Here we are posing with the Mo’ Sled after our win:
Of course, every sled needs a name, and this Mo’ Sled needs a special one, so I’m looking to my fans and readers for some help!
What do you think I should name the Team Kripps Mo’ Sled? Leave a comment below with your suggestions! I’ll review them over the next few weeks and announce my final choice.
If you haven’t already, check out my Mo’ Space here. I’d love to raise as much money as possible for this great cause, every little bit helps!
Helen also made an awesome video of our record push. Check it out here
Update: The winner is…..Doug Rogers! Congratulations! You were drawn as the winner of a Movember Prize Pack courtesy of Movember Canada! Thank you to everyone who commented, “Liked,” and retweeted!
Last week, I announced that I would be taking part in Movember this year and growing a serious moustache. You can check out my Mo’ Space throughout the month of November as I post progress pics of my Mo’. Donations are greatly appreciated and go towards a very worthy cause, help spread the word!
Today, I’m excited to announce that I have teamed up with Movember Canada for a great contest!
Movember strives to change the face of men’s health by raising vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer. For the entire month of November, selfless and generous men, known as Mo Bros, groom, trim and wax their way into the annals of fine moustachery. Supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas, Movember Mo Bros raise funds by seeking out sponsorship for their Mo-growing efforts.
Up for grabs is an exclusive Movember Prize Pack! Included in the prize pack is a Bread & Butter facial cleanser, Schick Shave Pack, and SPY sunglasses.
Here is how you enter to win:
Become a fan of Movember Canada on FB (1 entry)
Post a comment below about why you love Movember. (1 entry)
Follow @Movember_CA on Twitter and tweet: (1 entry)
I entered to win a Movember Prize Pack from @Movember_CA and @JustinKripps! http://ow.ly/7dtx7
Contest ends Monday, November 7th at 12:00PM PST. Retweets are not eligible. Good luck!
Selection Races
Canadian bobsledders kicked off the season in early October with the Canadian Selection Races where the top pilots and brakemen in the country were invited to Calgary to race for spots on the National team. There were two 2-man races and two 4-man races with points awarded by position and bonus points for finish times faster than the average of the top 3 sleds.
Team Kripps had a great showing and came out ranked 3rd in the nation and are set to head off with the National Development tour to the US and Europe. Team members include James McNaughton, Luke Demetre, Pat Szpak, Chris Korol, and special appearances by Derek Plug and Jesse Lumsden for a couple of races. Right now the team is out in Whistler getting some runs on the fastest track in the world before our race season starts. In November, we’ll be travelling and racing all through Germany and Austria – I’ll be posting pics and updates so stay tuned!
Check out the view from the start house in Whistler:
Mo’ News
November isn’t just about racing though. Team Kripps, being of the rugged and charitable variety, has decided to grow some dusters in the spirit of Movember. We are officially partnering with Movember Canada to raise money for prostate cancer research and will be launching a contest next week for my readers, so stay tuned for a big announcement about that! Special shout out to Matty and Jesse for making this all happen.
Besides the contest, we’ve got another surprise to announce next week – one hint: my teammates aren’t the only ones growing a Mo’…
You can check out my Mo’ Space here and I would greatly appreciate it if you help me spread the word. Every donation counts no matter how small or how large a sum.
Check out my Mo’ from last year:
I’ll be tracking my progress everyday on my Mo’ Space, so be sure to keep checking back in November. As always, you can follow me on Twitter @justinkripps or “like” my Facebook page to stay up-to-date. If you have a Mo’ Space or are raising money for Movember in your own way, let me know below in the comments section!
The first few weeks in Calgary have been great and I’m excited to be back on the ice and in the sled. All the off-season training has been great and I can’t wait until we get racing. If you’ve been following my training on this blog, or on Twitter, or on Facebook, I’ve been sharing training photos, videos, photos of what I’m cooking up, and bits and pieces of my everyday life as a bobsleigh athlete.
With the season right upon us, I’m in top shape and am pushing harder everyday to perform better. When I really kill it in the gym or at the bobsleigh track, you hear about it via Twitter with a #beastmode hashtag.
I came across a company, 22Fresh, that came out with some dirty “BEAST MODE” tees. They saw me talk about how much I liked the look of their gear and the next thing I know I’ve got a BEAST MODE tee in the mail. Of course I threw it on and headed to the track for some night sliding. First 22Fresh shirt to go down a bobsleigh track? Probably. Felt great too.
22Fresh is an apparel company from Saskatchewan that grew out of CEO and President Kip Simon’s desire for professional pants for athletes. He has since developed a full line of baseball apparel ranging from Custom Maple bats to T-Shirts and hoodies. Check out 22Fresh’s other selection of great apparel on their website here. They’re also on Twitter @22Fresh and you can “like” them on Facebook.