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The second leg of the Pontiac GMC Cup Race Series got underway Tuesday, February 3rd at Apex Mountain Resort amid overcast skies, occasional light flurries and temperatures that hovered just below freezing.
Speed is the name of the game this week, with Super G on the calendar for Tuesday and Wednesday, Downhill training on Thursday, Friday and Saturday followed by Downhill races scheduled for Sunday and Monday.
Tuesday's Super G action saw some outstanding results for our BC Athletes!
On the men's side, Graham Kraft of the Silver Star Ski Club and the BC Ski Team was second for the day in one minute, 18.52 seconds, beat out only by Calgary's Brett Haney, whose winning time of 1:18.41 landed him in the top podium spot. Trevor Conroy of the Whistler Mountain Ski Club and the BC Ski Team clocked the third fastest time at 1:18.71.
''The top section was very good and I was pretty smooth most of the way down, but I have to be more aggressive.'' said Kraft, generally pleased with his run and glad to be adding to a second place finish in a slalom event earlier this year.
Conroy, who lives in Invermere with the Men's BC Ski Team, told us the hill advantaged the gliders. ''It's not a very difficult hill, but there's a lot of terrain to cover. I simply made too many mistakes today,” he said, though thrilled to be sitting in the number three podium spot.
BC men numbered 7 in the top 15. Ben Chaddock (Whistler Mountain Ski Club and BC Ski Team) just missed the podium with his fourth place finish, ahead of fellow BC Team member Dustin Fraser (Mount Washington Ski Club) who finished 5th. Robbie Dixon, also of the BC Ski Team and the Whistler Mountain Ski Club came in 9th and was followed by Chris Colpitts (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) who grabbed 10th place. The 15th place finisher for the day was Joel Taylor of the Sun Peaks Alpine Club and the Okanagan Ski Team
In the women's super-G, Janelle Miller of Lethbridge, Alberta was Tuesday's winner with a time of 1:21.29. Charlotte Whitney of the Whistler Mountain Ski Club was close behind, finishing second in 1:21.80. Alison Leighton of Whistler and the BC Ski Team stood third to take BC's second bronze medal of the day with her time of 1:22.14.
Whitney raced despite a sprained ankle suffered two weeks ago in training. ''In the race I made some big mistakes such as dropping my hands down,'' she said. ''But I still ended up with a good result. I'll clean up my skiing and give a little more tomorrow (Wednesday) which can hopefully put me on the top step on the podium.''
Leighton demonstrated why she won the Canadian Junior Super G title last week at Apex with another solid performance. ''I was pretty good at the top but arrived too late on the steep sections and had to let it run out on the flats,” she said. ''I'll definitely have more to give tomorrow.''
Rachel Nixon of the Cypress Ski Club and the Vancouver Ski Team had a great start to this speed series with a 5th place finish in Tuesday's Super G. Kali Flick of the Prince George Ski Club was the only other BC woman to take her place in the top 15 with a fabulous 13th place finish.
The Pontiac GMC Cup circuit was conceived 35 years ago, first as the Pontiac Cup
Series from 1969 to 1981 before it was rekindled and renamed in 1998 as the
Pontiac GMC Cup. It is a developmental circuit for Canada's young alpine skiers who aspire to compete at the World Cup and Olympic level. This year's crop is expected to be in its prime for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
There are 16-races in across Canada this season culminating with the Pontiac GMC Canadian Championships March 16-24 at Le Massif and Mont Sainte-Anne, Que. More than $50,000 in prize money is up for grabs.
Competition continues Wednesday with the sixth race in the series, another Super-G for men and women.
Tuesday's leading results at a Pontiac GMC Cup:
MEN
Super G: 1. Brett Haney, Calgary, 1:18.41; 2. Graham Kraft, Vernon, B.C.,
1:18.52; 3. Trevor Conroy, Truro, N.S., 1:18.71; 4. Ben Chaddick, Richmond,
B.C., 1:18.95; 5. Dustin Fraser, Quathiaski Cove, B.C., 1:19.05; 6. Momotaro
Kagitani, Banff, Alta., 1:19.64; 7. Brady Leman, Calgary, 1:19.73; 8. Cameron
Stuart, Calgary, 1:19.77; 9. Robbie Dixon, Whistler, B.C., 1:19.87; 10. Chris
Colpitts, Whistler, 1:20.95.
WOMEN
Super G: 1. Janelle Miller, Lethbridge, Alta., 1:21.29; 2. Charlotte Whitney,
Whistler, 1:21.80; 3. Alison Leighton, Whistler, 1:22.14; 4. Emily Hamill,
Calgary, 1:22.56; 5. Rachel Dixon, Whistler, 1:22.61; 6. Victoria Hockley,
Calgary, 1:22.78; 7. Carmel McElroy, Calgary, 1:23.16; 8. Kristen Tarchuk,
1:23.27; 9. Allison Empey, Calgary, 1:23.55; 10. Taryn O'Flynn, Beaumont, Alta.,
1:24.25.