Now, I don't want to brag (or take too much credit for the results), but clearly our presence here in France made a difference to the Canadian ski team because Canadians placed 1st, 3rd and 5th in the Kandahar! Go, Canada! They haven't placed so well since the 60s or something like that. (And there were no French on the podium at all... there was quite a lot of chat about that, as you can imagine.) The general consensus was that the conditions clearly suited the Canadians - very cold, hard snow etc. The kind of conditions they must be used to. At least, that was the French excuse.
We were so excited and of course we had to go down for the medal ceremony in the main square and join in the party. It was cold, but it really just felt like Canadian cold, and the girls wore the great Maple Leaf headbands Lesley and Pete gave us for Christmas just to make it clear we were on the winning side. We made a point of singing the national anthem very loudly when it was played for the winner, Jan Hudec. We also managed to get the girls right up to the corridor where the racers ran in to go on the podium, and the girls loved holding out their hands for the victory sweep. (The girls did appear on the big screen they had up rather a lot as a result of their headbands.) We were impressed with the organization, they really put on such a good party - lots of torches for atmosphere, a warm tent with vin chaud and hot dogs (forget hot dog buns here, they just put a hole in a baguette for the sausage), and a big stage with the big screen for the awards and give-aways etc. And a big fireworks show at the end to finish with a bang.
Torchlight atmosphere courtesy of the local ski school
Of course, we now can't wait to be casually smug about the results in the schoolyard on Monday morning...
You all look radiant. I'm enjoying your stories!
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