January 8, 2009 – I have been back in Europe for a week now preparing for the Oberhof, Germany World Cup. Oberhof is one of the biggest world cup race series that we have, with over tens of thousands of fans showing up for each race. The atmosphere in the stadium at race time is absolutely electric and the enthusiastic fans make racing that much more exciting.

Unlike last time I was here, the tracks in Oberhof are perfect now. They have plenty of snow and the cold temperatures have made for some really hard tracks. Training over the last week has gone well and I am super excited to get racing again with the relay tomorrow. After a disappointing start to the season, I feel like this is kind of a second start for me and I hope to make the most of it!

Happy New Year!