Kelly Vanderbeek of Canada races down the course on her way to 13th place in the Lake Louise Women's World Cup Downhill skiing race in Lake Louise, Alta. on Saturday December 5, 2009.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
Austrian ski coach Kurt Mayr, best known for grooming Renate Goetschl into one of the world's best speed skiers since the millennium, has taken on the challenge of being head coach of the Canadian women's team in speed events..
Mayr, a 10-year coach, 41, has the responsibility of upgrading the results of Canada's best female downhill and super-G skiers.
He's already planning to work with Larisa Yurkiw, Marie-Pier Préfontaine' multi-discipline rising star Marie-Michèle Gagnon, as well as veteran downhiller and super-G skier Kelly VanderBeek.
"I was looking for a change – the chance to do something different – and I was always a big fan of Canada, .said Mayr, a married father of three who's coming off a stint with Austria's Europa Cup team.
"If you are going to make some changes and work on development that takes time but we have some really good skiers."
Canada's ladies' team for 2012-13 features a deep pool of up-and-coming talent in the technical disciplines, particularly slalom. However, there's less experience and depth on the speed side following the retirement of veterans Britt Janyk, Emily Brydon and Shona Rubens.
Yurkiw and VanderBeek returned to the World Cup circuit last year following long-term injury layoffs.
Madison Irwin is new to the team, while Préfontaine and Gagnon, who recorded her first career World Cup podium in slalom last season, are better known as technical skiers.
To help accommodate a small group of skiers who compete in different disciplines, Canada's speed group will train alongside the Norwegian and Swedish teams, while Yurkiw will also spend time training for giant slalom alongside Gagnon and Préfontaine.
"We have to train all the speed elements and we will see what happens then. We will begin with some GS [giant slalom] and super-G training," said Mayr said.
Hugues Ansermoz, head coach of the ladies' alpine team, said Mayr brings a great deal of experience and insight to his young team and has the connections to make the partnership with Norway and Sweden a success.
Yurkiw, who suffered a serious leg injury in 2009 and has shown great perseverance to battle her way back to competitive racing, is looking forward to working with Mayr.
"I'm really excited," said Yurkiw, who is from Owen Sound, Ont. "It's funny because when I found out about it I Googled him. I read that he and Renate Goetschl worked together for a long time and she's a superstar. I'm used to change and sometimes you can benefit so much from new opinions and ideas.
Yurkiw occasionally found herself in the unusual position of being the only Canadian speed skier racing World Cups.. VanderBeek came back for a block of races including the Olympic test event in Sochi, Russia,
"At one point I thought, 'I'm going to have to come back and have to be a leader for the first time in my career.' I've always been the rookie who everyone sends down first," said Yurkiw, who had the likes of Janyk and Brydon showing her the ropes prior to her injury. "After a year on the circuit you learn how to bring people around you to help you out.
"When I train speed I will be with the Norwegians and Swedish. I was really sad to hear that [Swedish star] Anja [Paerson] left."