January 31, 2017 (Soldier Hollow, UT) – Julia Kern first joined the US Development Team for the 2015-16 season, after breakthrough performances on the US domestic circuit, as well as solid results at Junior Worlds and on the OPA Cup. At the 2017 US National Championships, Kern won the Junior 7.5km CL mass start, finished 7th in the open women’s CL sprint, and 11th in the open women’s FR sprint qualifier. She hails from Waltham, MA, where she grew up skiing for the CSU club. She now skis for the Stratton Mountain School T2 Elite Team. SkiTrax caught up with her after the opening CL sprint races at the Junior World Skiing Championship at Soldier Hollow, UT, where she finished 9th as the top North American.

Julia Kern © flyingpointroad.com

What race are you most excited for here at Soldier Hollow?
Julia Kern: I am so excited to have the Junior Worlds not only in our home country, but with plenty of snow, incredible courses, and an amazing fan club of family, friends and coaches!

How is it to race on home turf compared to traveling to Europe for these races?
JK: I think it is quite different to race on home turf. The Park City area feels like home to me since I have spent out so much time out here training and racing over the past five years and I feel comfortable here. I think we as Americans have a huge advantage to be the ones who don’t have to adjust to the large time change, the different food, and unfamiliar settings for once. One of the biggest challenges I have found at international races like these is to feel comfortable and confident. This year, I am more comfortable and confident because everything is familiar from the food to the courses to the time zone and I feel like we as team USA belong here and are more respected than ever before.

Talk about the CL sprint, the course, competition and conditions – any surprises?
JK: I am pretty excited about my races yesterday; my goal was to get top 10 and I achieved that. I was a little frustrated because I skied exactly how I wanted to ski but an unlucky crash out of my control took away my chance to make the A final, which I have always dreamed of racing in. It is easy to get wrapped up in the “what ifs” and beat yourself up about it, however I gave 110% and skied tactically how I wanted to and that is all I care about. It was definitely an adjustment to race in deep, hard tracks, which is something I haven’t done all season. I was surprised by how long and spread out the qualifier was. It is very unusual that the field is that spread out at this level of racing.

Did you have a specific strategy for the qualifier and/or the heats?
JK: In the qualifier my strategy was go hard from the start, but also remember to ski relaxed throughout since sprinting at altitude is a different kind of sprinting; you can’t thrash around in a hectic way or you’ll blow up hard.

In the heats I knew that I didn’t want to lead any of the downhills since the draft was fast. My tactic was to get out and sit behind the leader and relax and push really hard over the top of the hill to gain momentum for the “shake and bake” tactic on the downhill. My strategy worked out really well in the quarterfinal. In the semifinal I was positioned exactly where I wanted to be coming into the last downhill, but an unforeseen crash by a Norwegian in the tracked part of the downhill caused me to go down with her. My skis were incredibly fast thanks to our amazing staff so I knew I had the speed for the downhill and double pole into the finish.

How’s the recovery going – are you feeling good about the upcoming races?
JK: My recovery is going great! We are fortunate to have the Center of Excellence right here in Park City so we can use various recovery methods as well as the physical therapists there. I am feeling even more fired up for the races to come after yesterday’s sprint. The crash left me hungry for more and I am really looking forward to channeling that for the Skiathalon on Friday.

Congrats and all the best.
BH: Thanks