VAL DI FIEMME, Italy – Kris Freeman (USA) started off stage 8 of the 2012 Tour de Ski, a 20k classic mass start in Val di Fiemme, with a bang. He was skiing at the back of the tight lead group. He looked strong and smooth. He reported that “I didn’t…feel like I was going out too fast…the first lap felt easy.”
But then something happened, and he was gone. Each lap he fell farther and farther back, and would start herring-boning earlier on each of the huge climbs. He finished the day in 55th place of 57 racers, almost 6 minutes behind the leaders.
FasterSkier caught up with Freeman after the race, and he articulately described his race in the context of his life at the moment. For him, now, it all comes down to his emotional state.
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/01/men-bird-1-web.jpg" "Freeman navigating a fast descent.")
“I’ve gone through a lot in my career—a couple [of] surgeries, [and] diabetes management. I’ve never dealt with an emotional issue, and I have just been completely unpredictable to myself this year. Some days I’ve had it, some days I’ve not had it, and it’s had nothing to do with how much effort I’ve put forth.”
The emotional issue to which Freeman referred was the recent parting of ways with his girlfriend of the past 10 years.
Notably, it was his inability to recover in today’s race, rather than slick skis, that unhinged Freeman’s race.
After dropping down a hill, “I got to the bottom, and I couldn’t move. I pretty much duck-walked the rest of the race. My skis were fine. I lost all my strength out there, and when you’re racing against the best in the world, you can’t fake it.”