Sweden’s Alexander Koell – winner of men's FIS downhill among strong international field of racers
(Nakiska, AB) – High winds marked the first FIS races of the 2015/16 Alberta Cup ski racing season. The previous two days of training were held in perfect conditions, but on Wednesday morning an approaching Chinook wind had DH panels laying flat on the snow on the upper track. After a brief delay, the jury changed the original program, allowing the men to complete a race first, followed by back to back ladies' races. The wind abated completely for the early men but did pick up again at the tail end of the field. Fortunately as the ladies ran, the gusts were fewer and the track held up very well
Alexander Koell (SWE) won the men’s first race followed by Ivan Kuznetsov (RUS) in 2nd and Matej Prielozny (SVK) in 3rd. BC Ski Team's Sam Mulligan (Grouse Tyee Ski Club) was the top Canadian in the race finishing 10th overall. The second men’s downhill started at 1:15PM but by that time the wind was starting to squall again at over 60km/hr. After a few racers ran, it was clear that the conditions were deteriorating and the jury decided to terminate the race after just 11 racers.
In the ladies race, it was Georgia Willinger (NZL) in top spot with Katie Fleckenstein (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 2nd (TOP U18) and Emily Filed (CAN) in 3rd. DH #2 for the ladies was a little different mix in the standings with Katie Fleckenstein (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) moving into top spot followed by Michelle Rufener (SUI) 2nd and Gabrielle Smith (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) in 3rd.
Men's and women's super-G is on the schedule for tomorrow, December 3rd at Nakiska
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS WOMEN'S DOWNHILL #1
| Rank | Bib | Name | Team | Class | Result 1 |
| 1 | 3 |
WILLINGER, Georgia
|
NZL
|
U21
|
1:07.09 (1)
|
| 2 | 13 |
FLECKENSTEIN, Katie
|
CAN
|
U18
|
1:07.31 (2)
|
| 3 | 19 |
FIELD, Emily
|
CAN
|
U18
|
1:08.12 (3)
|
| 4 | 15 |
SMITH, Gabrielle
|
CAN
|
U18
|
1:08.44 (4)
|
| 5 | 20 |
BEZENAR, Sydney
|
CAN
|
U18
|
1:08.67 (5)
|
| 6 | 5 |
CHU, Sa-Rang
|
KOR
|
U21
|
1:08.84 (6)
|
| 7 | 23 |
RUFENER, Michelle
|
SUI
|
U18
|
1:09.00 (7)
|
| 8 | 1 |
LEE, Hyun-Ji
|
KOR
|
SR
|
1:09.33 (8)
|
| 9 | 16 |
CUMMING, Meg
|
CAN
|
U21
|
1:09.71 (9)
|
| 10 | 8 |
KAMACHI, Nakia
|
CAN
|
U18
|
1:09.77 (10)
|
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS WOMEN'S DOWNHILL #2
| Rank | Bib | Name | Team | Club | Class | Result 1 |
| 1 | 13 |
FLECKENSTEIN, Katie
|
CAN
|
|
U18
|
1:08.50 (1)
|
| 2 | 23 |
RUFENER, Michelle
|
SUI
|
|
U18
|
1:08.58 (2)
|
| 3 | 15 |
SMITH, Gabrielle
|
CAN
|
|
U18
|
1:08.86 (3)
|
| 4 | 3 |
WILLINGER, Georgia
|
NZL
|
|
U21
|
1:09.45 (4)
|
| 5 | 16 |
CUMMING, Meg
|
CAN
|
|
U21
|
1:09.48 (5)
|
| 6 | 20 |
BEZENAR, Sydney
|
CAN
|
|
U18
|
1:09.56 (6)
|
| 7 | 9 |
CLARKE, Nicole
|
CAN
|
|
U18
|
1:09.93 (7)
|
| 8 | 5 |
CHU, Sa-Rang
|
KOR
|
|
U21
|
1:10.36 (8)
|
| 9 | 1 |
LEE, Hyun-Ji
|
KOR
|
|
SR
|
1:10.64 (9)
|
| 10 | 8 |
KAMACHI, Nakia
|
CAN
|
|
U18
|
1:11.33 (10)
|
Nakiska Women's DH overall podium Dec 2015 (left to right: Michelle Rufener 2nd, Katie Fleckenstein 1st, Gabrielle Smith 3rd)
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS MEN'S DOWNHILL #1
| Rank | Bib | Name | Team | Class | Result 1 |
| 1 | 13 |
KOELL, Alexander
|
SWE
|
SR
|
1:01.27 (1)
|
| 2 | 12 |
KUZNETSOV, Ivan
|
RUS
|
U21
|
1:01.91 (2)
|
| 3 | 8 |
PRIELOZNY, Matej
|
SVK
|
U21
|
1:01.98 (3)
|
| 4 | 14 |
OLIVERAS, Marc
|
AND
|
SR
|
1:02.04 (4)
|
| 5 | 15 |
BORODAYKIN, Artem
|
RUS
|
SR
|
1:02.26 (5)
|
| 6 | 6 |
VERDU, SANCHEZ Joan
|
AND
|
U21
|
1:02.32 (6)
|
| 7 | 1 |
HVAMMEN, Kjetil
|
NOR
|
U21
|
1:02.41 (7)
|
| 8 | 2 |
MYAGKOV, Fedor
|
RUS
|
U21
|
1:02.52 (8)
|
| 9 | 10 |
STEUDLE, Roy-Alexander
|
GBR
|
SR
|
1:02.81 (9)
|
| 10 | 9 |
MULLIGAN, Sam
|
CAN
|
U21
|
1:02.82 (10)
|