Aspen: Laurel Carter savors first WC start

In the finish arena with cheering teammates and supportive fans, Laurel Carter had nothing but smiles of relief as she put her first World Cup start under her belt and gained visions of hope for her season to come.
ASPEN, Colorado — In the finish arena with cheering teammates and supportive fans, Laurel Carter had nothing but smiles of relief as she put her first World Cup start under her belt and gained visions of hope for her season to come.
    “I was definitely nervous,” said Carter, who, although she didn’t qualify for a second run, showed great sportsmanship when she hiked after being thrown off course. “The crowd, all the people were great. I was definitely glad that [the race] was in the States.”
    Carter said that even though she didn’t have many expectations for the slalom, she was excited not to be starting last.
    From Burke Mountain Academy, and only 20 years of age, Carter posted some strong results last season with numerous gold and silver medals in GS and slalom on the FIS circuit, two top-10 finishes at nationals in GS and slalom, and a couple solid top-five finishes on the NorAm Cup. With this year being her third season on the NorAm circuit, Carter hopes to make a name for herself on the World Cup this year.
    Training over the past couple weeks for the tech events this weekend, Carter was feeling confident and elated to be able to be in Aspen with the rest of the women from the team.
    “I feel like I really belong here a little bit more that I ever thought before,” Carter said of her place on the circuit. “That’s really important to me.”
    Qualifying for the World Cup is most racers’ dream and something that when accomplished, can be quite overwhelming.
    “When I was standing at the start, there were definitely a few times when I was like, ‘Oh my gosh this is a World Cup!’ ” Carter said. “But then I just tried to put that out of my mind and when I got into the starting gate just looking at the gates, I got totally pumped and just ready to kill those gates.”
    Qualifying for Aspen Winternational was a last-minute announcement that was made after the time trials and came as a surprise to Carter.
    “No, I definitely did not expect it,” she said. “I never thought I would be racing a World Cup this early in the season if at all this year. We found out two days before the time trials that there was going to be a time trial and then two days later I made it. I didn’t really believe it.”
    Carter looked to the veterans of the World Cup for some guidance.
    “I watched Jenny Lathrop before me,” Carter said. “I know how she skis and how I am compared to her, so watching her go down was really helpful at the top.”
     Carter said that after this weekend she is confident and excited for the NorAms this week in Winter Park and hopes to qualify for more World Cups in the near future.
    “I just wanted to go out and give it my all and where I end up I end up,” Carter said. “I’m just really glad to be here.”