Chamonix Cancelation to Tuscan Retreat: Inside the Stifel U.S. Ski Team’s Journey

“It sucks because we would have loved Chamonix,” said Stifel U.S. Ski Team speed skier Jared Goldberg from a beach in Viareggio, Italy. “But at least we got to come here to the beach, an Italian getaway,” Goldberg said jokingly. 

From the Alps to the Italian coast, how did the Stifel U.S. Ski Team’s speed men find themselves here? A question Bryce Bennett, Jared Goldberg and Ryan Cochran-Siegle, three team veterans, pondered as they strolled down the beach in Tuscany in late January.

After the first super-G in Garmisch, Germany, word got out that the organizers would cancel the upcoming downhill races in Chamonix, France, scheduled for February 2-3, due to lack of snow, and it was not rescheduled. The news marked the season’s fifth men’s speed race cancelation for the downhill men. 

“I felt complete devastation,” said Bryce Bennett, ranked sixth in the season’s downhill standings. “Knowing some of our alumni like Marco Sullivan and Steven Nyman have had success there, we felt pretty excited about it, so it was a big bummer.”

So, what now? While most World Cup teams would head home after a race cancelation, the U.S. is a little different, as traveling across the world on a day’s notice doesn’t always work out.

“I’ve been on the road since the beginning of December and I haven’t been home in a while,” said Bennett. “It’s tough because we are over here and we have to kill a week, so we came to the coast, but it’s still not the same as being home.”

A long haul in Europe isn’t new for the U.S. guys.  The ski team men will spend roughly 160 days in Europe this season.  Learning to adapt, pivot, and enjoy Europe are things this team has grown accustomed to as the weather evolves, forcing race cancelations. So, with this most recent cancelation, the men decided to refocus under the Tuscan sun on a beach.

“I think coming down here was a cool reset because usually we are in Central Europe in the Alps, and here it’s been sunny every day,” said Olympic silver medalist Ryan Cochran-Siegle as he took in the view of the sunset.

Formula Medicine

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Their Instagram stories of sunsets and beach time may be enticing, but don’t let them fool you. It has not just been a holiday in the sun for the ski racers. The primary goal of coming to the Italian coast was to visit the sports medicine facility Formula Medicine. It is a place frequented by many Formula 1 drivers to help athletes perform at their best mental capacity, a strategy they call “Mental Economy Training.” The Alterra Community Foundation enabled the Stifel US Ski Team to visit with a grant.

“Getting introduced to Formula Medicine and learning how to key in on our mental state and learning how to perform our best has been productive, and I hope everyone is able to take something away from it,” said Cochran-Siegle.

The whole team spent multiple days in the facility going through various tests. The tests aim to enable elevated performance standards with low brain energy consumption and better manage stress, emotions and psychological pressure.

“We are pivoting to something positive here,” said Goldberg. “This is something we can do to get out of ski boots in warm weather and can maybe help ourselves race better or do life better. It is a way to be progressing in a way we wouldn’t normally.”

In addition to their time spent at Formula Medicine, the team struck a chord of camaraderie with fun moments despite being together for so much of the year. The men played beach volleyball, walked along the beach during gorgeous sunsets and cooked food together.

This time together, off the snow and away from mountains, allowed the men to reflect on the season. The men started with a bang in Val Gardena, Italy, when Bennett won his second World Cup and took third place on the same track a day later. The speed men went on to score top ten results in Wengen, a top five in Kitzbühel and a few more top tens in Garmisch.

“Where our strengths have always been, I think we are good, but where we’ve lacked in the past, we have overcome,” said Cochran-Siegle. “Especially on the technical side, we are better at working with things more in your face and as a group embracing that challenge.”

This group, however, is hungry for much more, a hunger they plan to carry with them into Kvitfjell, Norway, for the final speed races before the World Cup Finals on Feb. 17-18.

“Our team is as good as any other team; it’s just a matter of putting it all together on race day,” said Cochran-Siegle. “I like Norway a lot, different snow, different vibe. It always feels like a nice springtime race,” added Goldberg.

The downhillers have faced a wave of emotions while on the Italian coast: disappointment from the canceled races and hope for a new perspective on approaching the additional free time abroad. Through it all, their American sense of humor shines through.

“Here is a pro move: Send your lady on a flight, then come down to Tuscany with the boys,” laughed Bennett, who dropped his wife off at the airport days earlier. “Nothing like wine tasting in Tuscany with the boys that you’ve been hanging out with for 170 days this year.”

After their time on the coast of Italy, the men will resume their World Cup program with the final regular season downhill and super-G in Kvitfjell, Norway. Downhill training begins on February 15th.