It was touch and go all morning as one delay after another had athletes, coaches and course workers wondering if there would be a race at all on Friday at the Apex Mars BC Cup. Preparations were in place for day two of super G competition and the final race the event. It seemed like another perfect day on the mountain, but gusting winds at the top of the course brought the safety of the race into question. Finally, at 11:30 AM, the track was deemed safe by jury and the racers took their places in the start.
National development team athlete Larisa Yurkiw from the Georgian Peaks Ski Club in Ontario started early and came out charging. She conquered the course in one minute, 18.36 seconds earning a gold medal and securing a 1.53 second lead over the rest of the field. “It’s been a while since I put a super G run together like that – it was wild, but lots of fun;” declared Yurkiw. “The wind was strong in the start, but calmed right down after the second gate and really wasn’t a problem all the way down. I had a little trouble seeing the bumps on the course because it’s quite shady in places.”
Kate Williams of the USA wore bib number 32 and clocked the second fastest run of the day, coming in at 1:19.89. Alberta Ski Team’s Anya Holinski finished third with a time of 1:20.12.
Elli Terwiel of the BC Ski Team and the Sun Peaks Alpine Club was BC’s top finisher in 1:21.47 – good enough for 6th place. When asked about her run, Terwiel replied; “It was a bit of a ride, but I made it down and I’m happy. The snow was grippy around the gates and I had a pretty good head wind, so I tried to stay aerodynamic and supple on my skis.”
Congratulations to five other BC ladies who joined Terwiel in the top-15:
Sandra MacDonald (Apex Ski Club) – 8th
Victoria Glowczynski (Sun Peaks Alpine) – 9th
Lauren Stuart (Smithers Ski Club) – 11th
Julia Peters (Mt. Washington Ski Club) – 12th
Shannon Smith (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) – 15th
Because of the delay in the start of the women’s race, the men were running late into the afternoon after the sun had disappeared behind the hills. Visibility was hampered as darkness appeared to be creeping in.
Once again, the men’s super G race was dominated by Canadian Alpine Ski Team athlete Jeffrey Frisch of Mt. Tremblant, Quebec who stopped the clock at 1:11.61, a full 1.64 seconds ahead of the second place time of 1:13.25 set by Jonathan Robert of Club Edelweiss in Quebec. “That was gnarly!” Frisch said as he caught his breath in the finish. “You really have to be on your skis the whole time to ride the bumps because it’s kind of hard to see them. But this is nothing compared to how dark it can get in the afternoon in Bormio, Italy – they often have to turn lights on!”
For the second day in a row, third place honours went to Alberta Ski Team’s Travis Dawson of Calgary and the National Alpine Training Centre. Dawson completed the course in just 1:13.37.
Kudos to the following four BC men who took their places in the top-15:
Conrad Pridy (BCST/Whistler Mountain Ski Club) – 7th
Ben Thomsen (BCST/Windermere Valley Ski Club) – 8th
Stan Rey (BCTG/Whistler Mountain Ski Club) – 12th
Cory Canart (Windermere Valley Ski Club) – 15th
A real bonus over the two days of super G racing at the Mars event was the on-hill presence of a number of national team racers who were racing in preparation for the upcoming Nor Am series. They took time to share course reports and offer guidance and encouragement to younger athletes. As well as being impeccable role models, they demonstrated some downright amazing skiing!
As a very successful 2007 Mars BC Cup Speed series draws to a close at Apex, we must acknowledge and thank the hundreds of volunteers who make it happen every year. Many of them will stay on to work the Nor Am races beginning Sunday, February 4th.
Top-15 Women and Top-3 J1’s
1 (3) YURKIW Larisa [GEORG] [CAN] – J2 1:18.36
2 (32) WILLIAMS Kate [USA] – J2 1:19.89
3 (4) HOLINSKI Anya [EASA] [CAN] – J2 1:20.12
4 (10) MCKENNIS Alice [USA] – J2 1:21.13
5 (15) VANWAGNER Jennifer [USA] – J2 1:21.41
6 (8) TERWIEL Elli [SPAC] [CAN] – J2 1:21.47
7 (21) COLLINSON Angel [USA] – J1 1:22.91 (FIRST J1)
8 (30) MACDONALD Sandra [APEX] [CAN] – J2 1:23.25
9 (50) GLOWCZYNSKI Wictoria [SPAC] [CAN] – J2 1:23.43
10 (25) EVES Nicola [NZE] – J2 1:23.71
11 (85) STUART Lauren [SMTRS] [CAN] – J1 1:23.82 (SECOND J1)
12 (45) PETERS Julia [MTWAS] [CAN] – J2 1:23.92
13 (11) HARRIS Amy [USA] – J2 1:23.96
14 (47) PALMER Sophie [BANFF] [CAN] – J1 1:24.59 (THIRD J1)
15 (39) SMITH Shannon [WHIST] [CAN] – J2 1:24.63
Top-15 Men and Top-3 J1’s
1 (8) FRISCH Jeffrey [TREMB] [CAN] 1:11.61
2 (5) ROBERT Jonathan [EDEL] [CAN] 1:13.25
3 (3) DAWSON Travis [NATC] [CAN] 1:13.37
4 (13) DONALDSON David [GEORG] [CAN] 1:13.48
5 (11) LEMAN Brady [CARC] [CAN] 1:13.62
6 (12) BREWINGTON Cam [CARC] [CAN] 1:13.90
7 (14) PRIDY Conrad [WHIST] [CAN] 1:13.92
8 (4) THOMSEN Benjamin [WINDR] [CAN] 1:14.43
(1) COOK Dustin [MARIE] [CAN] 1:14.43
10 (2) CRETE Belzile Philippe [ORIG] [CAN] 1:14.78
11 (9) STUART Cameron [NATC] [CAN] 1:15.02
12 (23) REY Stanislas [WHIST] [CAN] 1:15.41
13 (25) TIMMONS Curtis [BANFF] [CAN] 1:15.96
14 (16) ATKINSON Paul [NATAC] [CAN] 1:15.99
15 (19) CANART Cory [LKLSE] [CAN] 1:16.09
13 (25) TIMMONS Curtis [BANFF] [CAN] 1:15.96 (FIRST J1)
17 (49) LEDUC Mathieu [MTWAS] [CAN] 1:17.01 (SECOND J1)
19 (78) READ Erik [BANFF] [CAN] 1:17.35 (THIRD J1)
COMPLETE OFFICIAL FIS RESULTS