South Korea World Cup Olympic Test Event!

South Korea! I arrived over a week ago now for the Pre Olympic Test event, with no real expectations, from the minute we landed we were greeted by smiling faces and friendly people. The Koreans are excited to be hosting in 2018 that's for sure. We headed up to PyeongChang county and rode the resort of Bokwang Phoenix Park "보광 휘닉스 파크"

The site for 2018 Olympics and the crazy course! 

Me and Silje Norendal on the first day of training! COLD + Snowy..

Photo - Jenny Bletchler. Snap shot from the TEST! Cab Underflip Nose grab.

The World Cup went down on Friday, with 28 girls competing. It was a strong field, with riders from all over excited to scope the location for the Olympics in 2 years time. The course... is definitely unique and gave the riders a really good opportunity to express creativity, with so many rail options, side hits, and banked take off's! I did like all the options, it's definitely different and challenging but fun to ride. The features aren't huge, they are all just very close together and it's fast, a lot to think about, riding from one feature into the next. 

Qualis went down on Friday. The conditions were ruff, it was like a snow dome type sluff! However I enjoyed the challenge and managed to put down a run, I landed my first run, which sat me in 7th place overall. So a decent start for the first World Cup warm up! But it's just made me super hungry, I wasn't happy with the result and really wanted to make the top 6. It's just a motivator, and I'll be back in 2 years to ride the finals ;) 

I was surprised at how popular snow sports are over here, at the weekends the resort was buzzing, with 5 chairlifts and surprisingly a large amount of terrain! On Saturday I got to explore the mountain range. It's a good place to ride! The locals love CARVING and the mini shred park is on point. Here is our new local shred buddy, Choi Hyeonpil, he gave us a tour of his home resort! 

I also got the opportunity to spend a night in Seoul - THE CAPITAL CITY. We got the tourist hats on and missioned hard. We got to visit 2 of the markets and a Temple! Enjoy the photos :) 

Namdaemun Market - the oldest and largest in Korea! Jamie Nicholls and I got involved with some cooking, in a box?! haha

Photo - Jenny Bletchler

Gwangjang Market - definitely one for the locals! Not sure I was too into the food, but hey I gave it a try.

Photo - Jenny Beletchler

Gyeongbokgung The largest palace of 5, pretty impressive, and it's been there since 1395! ha.

THANKS for having me South Korea! I hope to be back in 2018!