MOGULS:

Bilodeau ratchets up intensity in pursuit of Olympic gold

Jan. 8, 2010 — The Canadian Press          ►Photo: Alexandre Bilodeau (Mike Ridewood, CFSA)

A baby-faced Alexandre Bilodeau was oozing with confidence as he stood atop the Olympic moguls run in Torino.

About a month before the 2006 Games, the teenager had become the youngest man ever to win a World Cup moguls event. He captured a second gold only days before the Olympics.

With only a handful of World Cup competitions under his belt, Bilodeau had quickly surged to No. 2 in the world and was a genuine Olympic medal contender.

It all happened so fast it almost seemed easy, he now admits.

Almost.

"My run was great, I had just one mistake, which cost me a lot,'' said Bilodeau, now 22, who missed his second jump in Torino and tumbled to an 11th-place finish.

"I will always remember the mistake and I won't do it again.''

Today, the reigning World Cup champ isn't exactly grizzled, but he is wiser and even more accomplished than the self-described "young pup'' version of himself that competed in Torino.

"Before 2006, I didn't know what the Olympics were all about,'' said Bilodeau, whose eyes widen when he starts talking about the Games.

"You've got four years to train for one thing.''

The Rosemere, Que., native is now gunning for that next shot at an Olympic medal.

Since his first Olympic appearance, Bilodeau's career has soared in a judged discipline that awards points to athletes based on their technique for navigating the moguls, their execution of two aerial tricks and how fast they can tear down the hill.

Bilodeau finished the 2005-06 season ranked second in the world and was named FIS rookie of the year. The following season he finished at No. 3, and in 2007-08 he was No. 4.

Last season, he exploded on the World Cup hills, winning five golds and three silvers in nine starts en route to the championship.

Fellow Canadians Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau of Drummondville, Que., and Vincent Marquis of Quebec City joined Bilodeau on the podium twice last year, making them only the second team to pull off such a feat on the World Cup circuit.

This year, Bilodeau will face tough competition from his teammates — Marquis finished third overall in the 2009 World Cup moguls standings and Rousseau was fourth — and from international stars, especially with the return of Canadian-born 2006 Olympic champ Dale Begg-Smith, who skis for Australia.

Begg-Smith, winner of the 2006, 2007 and 2008 World Cup titles, suffered a season-ending knee injury in January 2009.

But even with Begg-Smith back on the moguls tour, the scrappy Bilodeau says he's ready to fight.

"Bring it on!'' Bilodeau wrote in a recent blog posting on his Web site in response to an Australian report that says Begg-Smith plans to take back his world title.

"I know that there's a lot of guys coming back from injuries,'' Bilodeau said at a Montreal gym, the scene of many of his grueling off-season training sessions that he shared with 2006 women's Olympic gold medallist Jennifer Heil.

"It's an Olympic year, so they all want to be on top and I know they're all going to come back strong and stronger than ever, and I need to improve if I want to even think of staying there.''

Bilodeau's coach said the skier has come a long way since Torino, especially in developing the mental strength necessary to win a championship.

"He's matured in a great way since 2006, he learned to learn from his mistakes, he now is a lot more patient,'' said Dominick Gauthier.

"He knows he was young and relying on his talent and his basic skiing skills.''

Gauthier said he has put Bilodeau and Heil through eight months of "incredible training'' in 2009.

As a result of their intense stationary-bike sessions, Bilodeau and Heil even share a "puke bucket'' at their gym.

Heil and Bilodeau proudly scrawl their name and the date on the can each time they use it.

Bilodeau dedicates much of his life to mastering the moguls, but that hasn't always been the case.

He was more of a rink rat as a little kid growing up in Rosemere, north of Montreal.

Bilodeau played lots of hockey with his closest neighbourhood pals, who happened to be the sons of the legendary Olympic speedskater Gaetan Boucher.

But in 1994, his mother had grown tired of dragging Bilodeau's older brother, Frederic, and younger sister, Beatrice, from arena to arena for his hockey games.

She decided it was time to take up a more family friendly pastime: downhill skiing.

Bilodeau agreed, but on the condition that she sign him up for moguls, a sport that had left him mesmerized just days earlier when he watched Jean-Luc Brassard win Olympic gold in Lillehammer.

"That was a start of a new beginning,'' said Bilodeau.

"I was hooked right away on the freestyle club.''

While he has long looked up to Brassard — who has since become a mentor — Bilodeau's brother, who has cerebral palsy, has been the most inspiring person in his life.

"I never heard him once in my life complain about his condition — never,'' he said of Frederic.

"He accepts it and he's done his best with it.''

When Bilodeau was young, he often visited his brother's school for children with special needs and was struck by the students' courage.

"Where's my limit if those guys don't find any limit to what they can do?'' Bilodeau asked. "That's a great inspiration.''

Bilodeau's enthusiasm for the sport has also influenced sister Beatrice, 16, an up-and-coming mogullist on Canada's national development team.

He believes she has what it takes to make a run at the 2014 Games.

"I try to help her as much as I can and I'm always there for her, she's my own princess,'' he said.

This season, Bilodeau finished third and fourth in two World Cup races in Suomu, Finland, on Dec. 11-12.

He has all but locked up a spot on the Canadian Olympic team, which will be announced Jan. 25, but he hasn't taken anything for granted.

"I've had four years to prepare for [the Olympics], compared to 2006, when I had one summer — which is a big difference,'' said Bilodeau, who would love a chance to compete on home turf at the Games.

"The pressure comes a bit from everywhere but ... the main pressure is from me. I really want to perform for me in 2010.''  SRC