A quick hello and thanks for your support.

Hi Snowheads,
Admin and Kiwi1 have asked to do a short resume on myself for your website before I meet you at the EoSB so lets hope I dont bore you all to death ! lol .
Anyway here goes , my name is Marc Poncin and I am a member of the British speed ski team. At the age of 41 I am the old man of the circuit having competed now for 27 years on the FIS and world cup circuit . I am currently the British and commonwealth record holder with a speed of 245.891km and have been British champion for 8 years . I have competed at the highest level of the sport including the world championships gaining 5th place in yllas (finland) ; 5th place in Idre (sweden) and winning bronze medal for 3rd at Salla (finland). The other 2 world championships in Verbier and in Cervinia, I made the top 10. I also competed the olympic games 1992 in Albertville (France) missing the finals by 2 places .
As for the world cup i have over 26 world cup podiums and for the last 4 years I have finnished in the FIS world cup points rankings in the top 5, last year gaining my best finish of 4th overall in the world cup 2007 .

Speed skiing is the oldest alpine discipline. It started in the late 1870s with Colorado miners racing from A to B in a straight line with 4 metres skis with handles on them to keep them in a straight line coz of the extreme length of the skis. So before gates and poles were invented speed skiing is the original form of ski racing! Speed skiing is the fastest non mechanized sport in the world, with the world record standing at 251.40km in 2006 in les arcs (France), we can accelarate faster than a formula 1 car. On a course in Vars in france we go from 0 to 200kmh in just under 5 seconds. Sometimes I am asked what's the best way to describe what speed skiing feels like? Well I guess it feels like taking an elevator to the 50th floor and once there, opening the trap door and free falling down to earth. But even that wouldnt be correct as free falling has a maximum terminal velocity of 217km unless you go into a bomb shape.
I guess I am an adrenelain junky, seeking the ultimate speed rush all season, I personally love the feeling of speed if its on a bike or in a car but even better on a pair of skis as then it's purely me generating the speed and its me open to the elements, the wind resistance, the the course terrain, the snow and you can feel the the full affects on your body as you struggle to keep an aerodynamic position and your skis in a straight line!

Speed skiing is an extreme sport and sadly, in my racing career, I have witnessed 3 deaths. The last one was the tragic and sad loss of Catlin Tovar a team mate of mine who died while competing in the world pro mondial race in les Arcs last year (2007). This deeply affected me as she was a great friend of mine and I found competing this season difficult. The result of this tragedy was for me to enter for the first time this year into the SD class of speed skiing in also known as 'production class'. This means you compete in downhill equipment and not in the S1 speed category equipment (with the rubber suits and Darth Vader helmets). This is like going from formula 1 to formula 3, but i needed this change to regain my hunger and my confidence. Losing so many friends begins to affect your mind and the love you have for the sport! But this season switch has had a very positive affect for me: I have won 4 world cups races so far in the Production SD category and finished 3rd in the other 2 world cup races so far held this season. I have another 3 to go and am in the overall lead with a commanding lead in my category. I hope to take the title by the time I am in Verbier for the world cup finals and win the Crystal Globe for Britain (all of this despite missing the first race).

Thanks all for the support you've shown me guys. I will keep you in touch with any further news on the racing front as we are now leaving sweden for the next leg of the world cup tour for Cervinia (Italy).
Marc