Macuga can’t wait to get the season started

By Published On: November 29th, 2022Comments Off on Macuga can’t wait to get the season started

Lauren Macuga, Photo Credit @jwalter1337 // @usskiteam

Few on this planet enjoy the amount of adrenaline required to be a World Cup speed event skier. But Lauren Macuga is one of them.

Every year the country celebrates the national holiday on July 4th, which also happens to be Macuga’s birthday. However, when you speak with her, you realize you are talking to a woman who celebrates her life daily.

A taste of the big leagues left her hungry for more

Lauren Macuga Photo: US Ski Team

Macuga got her first taste of the World Cup in Lake Louise last December. However, this season, she will experience the entire women’s speed tour. Because of Macuga’s outstanding NorAm downhill performance last winter, she earned a 2022-23 downhill personal continental cup start position in the World Cup.

Excited to start the year in Zermatt-Cervinia, Macuga looked forward to flying to Europe to race the inaugural edition of the international border crossing event. However, when the races were canceled due to lack of snow, she turned her attention to starting her season on a track she knows well. For decades North American speed skiers have cut their teeth in Lake Louise and Macuga is no exception.

Last season Macuga was on the D Team and was only one of two women in her group who truly wanted to ski speed events. This worked out to be an advantage for both. Being a small group, they could join the accomplished Women’s World Cup team for training in Zermatt, Sölden and Copper. Both women had great years. Because of their results, both she and Ava Sunshine earned spots in this season’s World Cup.

Macuga remarks, “Last year’s experience in Lake Louise was both exciting and inspirational. I was living a dream, racing against the best women in the world. I wore the same bib, stayed in the same hotel, and rubbed elbows in the athletes’ hospitality. I was an athlete in the World Cup. Even though I wasn’t fast, I came away wanting much more.”

Unique beginnings

Originally from Detroit, Macuga moved to Park City and learned how to ski in Utah. She comments, “We moved to Utah in 2007 and my parents got the whole family skiing as soon as we got here. We love skiing. I have three siblings, and two are also on the US Ski Team. My older sister Sam is a Nordic Jumper and my younger sister Allie is a mogul skier. Our youngest sibling is my brother, who is skiing alpine with the Park City Ski Team.”

Macuga also has a unique origin story in ski racing. In 2010 she attended the Nastar Nationals in Winter Park. She remembers winning the silver division there. Macuga says, “I went from there and told myself I’m going to be a ski racer.”

It was then she knew she was a ski racer

This eventually led Macuga to enroll in the Winter Sports School, a unique high school that begins the school year in mid-April and then ends in mid-November.

The late start had some advantages

Although Macuga started her progression to the elite level older than most, once she began FIS racing, she realized she wanted to be one of the sport’s best. She comments, “I always wanted to ski race, but I thought it would likely be for a college team. Then in my first year of FIS racing, it all came together. Suddenly I realized I could do this. I want to go to the Olympics. It was always a dream of mine to go to the Olympics, but now it seems like a realistic possibility.”

Macuga continues, “I think it was an advantage for me not to have many expectations when I was younger. It was nice to be on the podium every once in a while, but it was fun. I was motivated almost entirely by my love for the sport. I wanted to be the best, but I wasn’t and I was okay with that.”

Macuga made a point of saying she loves skiing gates. However, she explains that if there is powder to ski, she wants to do that too.

She enjoys the pace of the speed events

So how did Macuga become that special breed that wants to ski downhill? She shares, “I always liked doing Super-G. I love going fast. It is cool. The tempo of skiing speed events is something I enjoy; it feels flowy.”

However, she reflects on her first NorAm experience in Sugarloaf, Maine. “I was so scared. I skied the first training run in pants and a jacket and was 21 seconds out. But I enjoyed it so much. I was able to overcome my fear.” Her results at those races landed Macuga on the US development team.

This past season her Sugarloaf NorAm races earned her the personal continental cup spot she will use to access the World Cup. When asked about how she felt when she accomplished that significant step in her journey, Macuga says, “There are no words to describe my emotions. It was just the most exciting thing.

She explains that last year when she went to Lake Louise, it was exciting and a bit overwhelming. This year she is going to compete.

Most valued contributions of the Stifel US Alpine Team

Lauren Macuga and expert ski serviceman Tadej Kunc both cheer for the Denver Broncos

When asked about the top three most beneficial parts of being a member of the Stifel US Alpine Team, Macuga’s answer is clear.

The team atmosphere is number one. She comments that the women are very competitive, but they clearly want everyone to succeed.

Second is the coaching and ski service. Macuga says they provide so much valuable information and insight. She comments, “They make you feel confident; you realize you are getting the information and ski tuning needed to succeed.”

Finally, Macuga talks about the level of expertise she experiences in the design and execution of her fitness program. She is very impressed with the skills of Bob Poehling and Zach Gray. Additionally, she commented on the fantastic condition of the USANA Center of Excellence.

Macuga says she has experienced the best prep period of her life. Then she adds that she is more prepared for the season than she has ever been before. One thing is sure—Macuga is excited to experience her first full year in the World Cup.

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About the Author: Peter Lange

Lange is the current Publisher of Ski Racing Media. However, over 38 seasons, he enjoyed coaching athletes of all ages and abilities. Lange’s experience includes leading Team America and working with National Team athletes from the United States, Norway, Austria, Australia, and Great Britain. He was the US Ski Team Head University Coach for the two seasons the program existed. Lange says, “In the end, the real value of this sport is the relationships you make, they are priceless.”