BANFF, Alta. – Matt Leduc of Comox, BC and the Mount Washington Ski Club earned his first career victory and medal on the GMC Cup circuit on Saturday at Mount Norquay, winning the men’s slalom race. Tianda Carroll of Edmonton took the women’s slalom.
In the men’s slalom, Leduc clocked a two-run time of one minute and 35.16 seconds. Cody Pedersen of Banff was second at 1:36.62 and Michael Law of Cochrane, Alta., third at 1:41.45. Leduc was first after the opening run.
“I am pretty excited about the win,” said Leduc, 19. “I have never been first after an opening run so I was pretty nervous for the second. The course was a good fit for my skill set. You had to be aggressive and you had to know how to negociate the problem areas.”
It was also a first medal on the circuit for Pedersen.
“On the first run, I made a costly mistake and was lucky to finish,” he said. “The second run was better and I skied smart and fast. I will try to clean up my first run tomorrow and challenge for first spot.”
Law was fifth after the first run.
“I skied really well,” said the 16-year-old celebrating his first medal on the circuit. “I really had to hold on in places and the course was pretty tough. I thought fifth after the first run was great since a lot of skiers were not able to finish.’’
In the women’s slalom, Carroll continued her solid skiing since the New Year clocking 1:41.88. Sarah Freeman of the BC Ski Team and the Fernie Alpine Ski Team was second in 1:42.18 and Celine Ritz, also of the BC Ski Team and the Fernie Alpine Ski – downhill winner at the previous stop at Apex Mountain last monthw – was third in 1:42.71.
‘’It feels great to get the win,’’ said Carroll, with top-10 showings in her last seven races including three wins. ‘’The courses really suited me and I had fun. I was able to stay focused and it continues a good season for me.’’
Freeman overcame a very painful sore throat to nab the silver.
‘’I’ve raced with pneumonia before so I wanted to race today no matter what,’’ said Freeman. ‘’I was sipping tea at the start gate and just barely had enough energy to make it down. I’m a little surprised to get second place.’’
Rytz leads the Western GMC Points contest for the season so far.
"My first run I started number 1 with the points leaders bib," said Rytz. "It was a huge confidence boost because I knew I had to prove my bib number and my leader bib. I think my first run was really great, but my second run was very safe. I have been struggling with acceleration in the turns on the flats in slalom. Today I really did not push to my potential , but I know what I want to change to win for tomorrow."
Jocelyn Ramsden of the BC Ski Team and the Whistler Mountain Ski Club finished third on the J1 Podium Saturday.
"I had an awesome first run, some of the best slalom skiing I have ever done putting me less than two seconds out from the leader Tianda Carroll," said Ramsden. I have never been that close to the winning time in slalom before so I was pretty excited! Before second run I had a nice surprise, my sister Calindy and my mom had finally arrived for the day to cheer me on. Second run was alright considering I had a large mistake at the top of the pitch, I ended up 7th, less than 4 seconds out from the win another personal best in slalom. It has been hard work getting my slalom to this level but the work is finally beginning to pay off!"
Be sure to also check out the Coupe GMC Cup website (www.gm.ca/cup) which features new Canadian Alpine Ski Team bios, videos from Erik Guay (Mont-Tremblant, QC), Janyk, Kucera and Osborne-Paradis as well as other exciting new features.
Complete Official Results (when available)
Saturday, February 6 Slalom, Men
1 LEDUC, Mathieu (Mt Washington) 1:35.16
2 PEDERSEN, Cody (BAR) 1:36.62
3 LAW, Michael (Banff) 1:41.45
4 MCKILLOP, Curtis (Banff) 1:42.35
5 LAW, David (Banff) 1:46.34
6 COOMBE, Brydon (Pano) 1:47.28
7 SWETTE, Ford (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 1:47.34
8 DOYLE-BAKER, Douglas (Sunshine) 1:49.00
9 WYCLIFFE-JONES, Alastair (Sunsh) 1:49.34
10 TWEED, Connor (Lklse) 1:49.67
Men’s J1 Podium
1 LAW Michael 1993
2 MCKILLOP Curtis 1993
3 LAW David 1993
4 COOMBE Brydon 1994
5 SWETTE Ford 1993
Saturday, February 6 Slalom, Ladies
1 CARROLL, Tianda (Easa) 1:41.88
2 FREEMAN, Sarah (Fernie Alpine Ski Team) 1:42.18
3 RYTZ, Celine (Fernie Alpine Ski Team) 1:42.71
4 BARAHONA, Noelle (La Parva) 1:43.28
5 MICHALIK, Victoria (Banff) 1:44.02
6 YOUNG, Mackensey (Fernie Alpine Ski Team) 1:45.37
7 RAMSDEN, Jocelyn (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 1:45.58
8 GIBSON, Kaitlyn (Fast) 1:45.90
9 WOOD, Catherine (Banff) 1:46.06
10 ORDMAN, Hannah (Natc) 1:46.09
Women’s J1 Podium
1 CARROLL Tianda 1993
2 MICHALIK Victoria 1993
3 RAMSDEN Jocelyn 1993
4 GIBSON Kaitlyn 1993
5 DOYON Lou 1993