In the season of the alpine indie darling, Larissa Yurkiw grabbed all the headlines, finishing the season as the fastest female skier in the world not named Lindsay Vonn.
However, not to be forgotten in Canada’s collection of non-national team success stories is 24-year-old Erik Read, who laid down the best results of his career one year after getting cut from the Canadian program.
Not only did he record the first world cup points of his young career, he also captured an NCAA title.
“It was tough being dropped from the Canadian team. I still feel like I moved forward. I knew I could keep building if I had the proper support,” he said.
He sat down with his father, Canadian ski legend Ken Read, and formulated a plan for the upcoming season, building on a schedule he received from the University of Denver. As one of a growing number of Canadians to take the NCAA route to the world cup, Read had to balance studying with his ski career, which required a great deal of planning. He had to take care of his own itinerary, ski tuning and other trials of the road.
“One of the approaches I had when I sat down with my dad is to do everything properly. The university provided a baseline program and we built from there,” Read said.
Read felt the sting of independent racing early on. In Beaver Creek, he cracked the top 30, but was later disqualified when officials ruled his ski setup was illegal. His toe height was 0.16 millimetres over the FIS limit.
“I was using different skis and took a tape measure to check it. But it wasn’t precise enough. It was one of the times a gap was identified in my program. I was trying to do it all on my own,” Read said.
Instead of dwelling on the mistake, Read drew from the positives.
He knew he could ski fast and he received tons of support from fellow skiers after the incident. He crushed a series of NorAm and university races, and whenever he got called back up to the world cup, he showed great speed, even when posting DNFs.
In Wengen, Switzerland, he proved world cup success was no fluke, and finished 23rd – the best slalom result of his young career.
“In Wengen, we were on a different slope,” Read said. “The top guys don’t have the same experience there. There were great conditions, and I was able to charge it for two runs.”
He followed it up with two more strong world cup efforts. His split had him in third place in Kitzbuehl before he went off course, while he showed top five speed in Austria.
“These first world cup competitions show I have the potential to be competitive,” Read said. “It is just another ski race. That is how to treat it. It is something you learn to deal with, and that is the approach I took.”
After his world cup stint, Read then switched back to the NorAm and university circuit. His technical races at the NorAm level were the best of his career, and his performance at NCAA championships led to a convincing team title, which proved to be one of the highlights of his young career.
“I was most nervous in the college races. In that environment, the race had team implications. But it’s important to bring that intensity to all races at all different levels,” Read said.
“I worked a lot with a sports psychologist this season. The big part is having a plan, whether it’s a FIS, world cup or NCAA race; it all boils down to the next run. That’s all that matters. Focus on what you have to do and take the edge off.”
Growing up with a world cup skier for a father also helped. Ken Read helped manage his son’s career, helping him get in touch with sponsors, suppliers and officials. Since he didn’t have Alpine Canada support, the extra help was appreciated.
“Dad has always taken the stance that he’s not a coach. He trusts the pros to do their job. He doesn’t give advice on the technical aspects other than give tips on a tuck. On management, he’s taken an active role,” the younger Read said.
Read has been added to the team for next year and, by winning the NorAm title, he earned a start in every world cup race this season. That gives him even more flexibility for next year, where he will once again balance school and high performance sport. It will be his last year balancing both skiing and school.
“It’s a good opportunity. I don’t have to worry about qualifying and can pick and choose what races I want to do,” Read said. “Everyone is in a unique situation. We respect that. We are all doing thing differently and it’s awesome for the sport and individuals to see success when you’re not on a normal path.”
“I’m still committed to college skiing. As far as the world cup, I want to be fully on the circuit and ultimately my goal will be to be in the top 30, competitive day in and day out. I also want to qualify for world championships and have a top 10 or top 15 result. I’ve had three second place runs on the world cup. I’ve had three races with top five splits.”
Down the road, he wants to become a speed skier, which is where he had more success as a junior. He’ll join team Canada for a camp at Sunshine later this month, and plans to train on snow in Colorado in May and June.
“In Colorado at Loveland, they open up in two weeks. I can train all of May and June on really good snow. Last season, I was training with Mikaela Shiffrin, it was her and I going head to head. She’s awesome, super competitive and extremely focused. We were both testing equipment and had a fun rivalry. She’s so deliberate with everything she does.”
Back in the Bow Valley, he does want to take time to say hello to those who transformed him into the skier he is today, namely the Banff Alpine Racers and Alberta Alpine.
“They were always reaching out to see if I needed anything, especially Alberta Alpine. The families in those organizations are incredible.”
