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There was plenty of success for BC athletes Thursday on another perfect race track. The artificial snow is ideally suited to racing because it creates a surface that is firm and icy, yet 'grippy' at the same time. The racers love it! With the added cooperation from Mother Nature, who has provided blue skies and temperatures hovering around -5, conditions couldn't be better.
Taking her place on the third podium step was BC Ski Team's Danielle Poleschuk of Fernie, BC, who completed her two runs in two minutes, 22.61 seconds and achieved her goal of improving on Wednesday's 10th place finish. “I'm getting the race feeling back in the GS,” said Poleschuk, a third-year B.C. Team member who suffered a season-ending knee injury last February. “I know where I made the mistakes and where I can pick it up more. I prefer the speed events but the technical races here are fun.”
It was Victoria Glowczynski of the Sun Peaks Alpine Club who stood proudly on the J1 podium after Thursday's race. Her overall 13th place finish made her the second fastest J1 of the day, with a combined time of 2:26.61.
BC girls filled 7 out of the top-15 spots, with Canadian Alpine Ski Team member Christina Risler of Vancouver finishing 6th, Anastasia Skryabina of Whistler in 9th and BC Team's Danielle Robson (Whistler) taking 10th place. BC Ski Team members Jenni Graham (Mt. Washington) and Alison Leighton (Whistler) held onto 12th and 13th (tied with Glowczynski) respectively.
Gordie Bowles, Program Director for BC Alpine, is hill-side in Panorama this week. “This event is an important development race for our BC athletes,” Bowles told us. “So far, I'm really impressed with the performances I'm seeing from both Club and Provincial Team athletes.”
The Pontiac GMC Cup series features 32 races in four provinces before the national championships in March. The kick-off event at Panorama Mountain runs until December 20. The series culminates with the 2005 Pontiac GMC Canadian Championships at Mont Ste-Anne and Le Massif, in Quebec, from March 17-22, 2005. The best young athletes from Canada compete head-to-head against athletes from the Canadian Alpine Ski Team in speed and technical events.
Competition continues through to Monday. Men and Women race Slalom on Friday and Saturday.
CHECK RESULTS OF THURSDAY'S GIANT SLALOM RACE