by Sue-Lynda Bate | Feb 25, 2003 | Member News
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Michael O'Flynn of Beaumont, Alta., and Kristen Tarchuk of Banff, Alta., won the opening downhill races Tuesday at the fourth stop on the Pontiac GMC Cup alpine skiing circuit.
In the men's downhill, O'Flynn clocked first in 1:18.19 edging Sean Cochrane of Prince George, B.C., second in 1:18.25. James Finlayson of
Whistler, B.C., back on the slopes after a two-year hiatus, nearly fell at the top but recovered to place third in 1:18.41.
The 20-year-old O'Flynn knew he had to change his race strategy after placing fifth in both training runs.
“I took off a lot on the line that I had been skiing in training and went for it,” said O'Flynn, a member of the Alberta Ski Team. “I am extremely pleased because I've had a really up and down season.”
Cochrane, 22, was closer to winning than he expected after a difficult run.
“I need to clean up my act,” said Cochrane, who won both training runs. “I made mistakes throughout the course and it just added up. The conditions were perfect. I'm not sure what went wrong.”
In the women's race, Tarchuk, a 16-year-old grade 11 student, clocked one minute and 23.33 seconds for the victory. Charlotte Whitney of Whistler, B.C., was second at 1:23.41 and Megan Kidston of 100 Mile House, B.C., was third in 1:23.63.
“Everything just came together for me in today`s race,” said Tarchuk. “It was a great course to race on. I hope to get some experience here and
head to the Pontiac GMC Canadian championships with some confidence.”
Whitney, 17, appeared on track for a great race as well but ran into trouble in the second half of her run.
“At the bottom I got off line with the sun and shade affecting my vision,” said Whitney, who is headed to the Canada Games after this competition
ends on Friday. “It's a very technical course and to be successful you have to ski well.”
The Pontiac GMC Cup Series is a developmental series for Canada's young skiers who aspire to compete at the World Cup and Olympic level. It
returned in 1998 and was formerly the Pontiac Cup Series from 1969 to 1981 which produced such champions as Ken Read, and World Cup champions
Laurie Graham, Steve Podborski, Todd Brooker and Kathy and Laurie Kreiner.
In recent years, the Pontiac GMC Cup has seen the success helping build Canada's development system. Every woman's champion since 1998 – Christina Risler, St
by Sue-Lynda Bate | Feb 25, 2003 | Member News
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The Men's Varsity Team took the top spot at the USCSA Western Regional Championships last week in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, with the resurrected Women's Team also qualifying for the National Championships for the first time in five years.
The Ski-Birds success was not without adversity. After two days of race training under sunny skies, Saturday's Giant Slalom event was held in blizzard conditions. Kim Webber started the team off well placing ninth, but the questionable disqualification of second seed racer Joanna Rosenfeld left the Women's team in sixth place, one spot out of qualification for the Nationals. The Men's team had a better day with Trevor Bruce taking the silver and leading the team to the top spot in the team standings. Alexander Boedtker and Brian Hikisch had career-best results placing sixth and ninth respectively, while Graham McLorie rounded out the Men's season-best performance with a solid finish.
On Sunday, the UBC Women had their backs up against the wall with their season hanging in the balance. Team Captain Stephanie Rodenkirchen seized the opportunity to lead her team back, placing .02 of a second off the podium in 4th. With another solid top-ten finish from Kim Webber and solid performances from both Joanna Rosenfeld and Kait Jones, the Women completed their comeback, placing fourth and earning a ticket to the Nationals in California.
With the Women safely through, the UBC Men made Sunday a day to remember. The day started off well with Paul Boskovich, Alexander Boedtker and Trevor Bruce all sitting in the top six after the first run. But when Giant Slalom hero Brian Hikisch crashed in the first run, the remaining guys knew that a second run disqualification would mean the end of UBC's season, as three team members are required to finish the race. In the end the Killer B's
by Sue-Lynda Bate | Feb 24, 2003 | Member News
From all reports, the athletes, coaches and Chief of Course Lou Cook and his extraordinary course crew have outdone themselves once again.
The course crew spent the better part of two days preparing the Juniper / Old Mill track coordinating a “super-human” effort to get the course ready for two downhill and two super-G races beginning this Tuesday and Wednesday.
A huge thank-you and well deserved GOLD MEDAL goes out to the athletes, coaches and Chief of Course Lou Cook and his course crew for their non-stop dedication to these races at Apex Mountain Resort.
The Pontiac GMC Cup race results will be posted as available. Stay tuned!
