If the New Year can begin anything like 2011 ended, then Kelsey Serwa will have absolutely no complaints.
The taste of two wins in the first two World Cup ski cross races of the season last month in San Candido, Italy has the 22-year-old from Kelowna hungry for more of the same in 2012.
“If I can keep it going like I did in Italy, that would be great,” said Serwa from her parents’ home in Kelowna prior to leaving for Europe on Tuesday. “I never set my goals to finish second, so that’s how I approach every race, hoping I can finish first. At the same time, I have to be realistic, I’m not going to win every time. But I’m going to go out there and give it my best shot.”
Serwa and the Canadian team resume the World Cup season this weekend with a race in St. Johann, Austria, kicking off a busy month of competition.
World Cups will follow Jan. 11 and Jan. 15 in France, before Serwa heads to Aspen, Colorado Jan. 29 to defend her X Games ski cross title.
Last year, Serwa won the 2011 X Games in spectacular fashion, crash-landing her way to the gold medal, while sustaining a battery of injuries that would take her the rest of the season to recover from.
Still, the annual North American showcase of extreme sports continues to stand alone as the most anticipated event of Serwa’s entire season.
“It’s still the big one,” Serwa said of the X Games. “It’s the highlight for me, it’s the race of the year for me, the one I look forward to the most.”
Following the X Games, there are four more World Cups on the international circuit—in Canada, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland.
Serwa, who was third in the overall World Cup standings last year, has established herself as the early favourite to capture the coveted Crystal Globe.
But as as much as her expectations are high, Serwa hesitates to look too far ahead.
“I try to look at the little things, each run, each race just one at a time,” Serwa said. “It’s better to take it in small pieces, otherwise it can be overwhelming. I’m just trying to enjoy the experience as it happens and not get too far ahead of myself.”
Serwa credits much of her early success in 2011-12 to preparation. Never has the 22-year-old KSS grad been more physically ready for the start of a season.
“I just focused on my training this summer. Mountain biking, gymnastics, I worked hard at those, and I feel it’s brought me to where I am. My physical fitness has been big for me.”
And as her opponents can attest to, Serwa has never looked better on the slopes or harder to catch.
In addition to being fit, Serwa admits she’s is in a good head space in just her third full season on the international ski cross circuit.
Being somewhat of a natural hasn’t hurt her progress either.
“When I first changed to ski cross, I picked it up pretty fast. I learned from the other girls on the Canadian team, and I think I’ve just come into my own the last while,” said Serwa, who gave up alpine skiing in 2008 to take up ski cross.
“It feels good when you’re skiing beyond you competitors, to be the one to beat.”
In a recent email, Serwa summed up one of her reasons for success this way:
“When I start racing, things just feel easy. Not easy as in I don’t have to try, but easy as in natural. All the hard work I have done over the last summer and years before is falling into place. This sport was made for me, and I was made for it. It’s as easy as that.”
Serwa will wrap up the 2012 season at the Canadian championships March 10 and 11 at Nakiska.
