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WMSC alumnus Risler tested at Lake Louise

Whistler Mountain Ski Club alumnus Christina Risler is one of 10 Canadian women who will get a shot at the Lake Louise Winterstart World Cup races this Friday and Saturday.

Many of the Canadian skiers are returning after being sidelined with various injuries.

Melanie Turgeon, the winner of the 2003 World Championship downhill title will also make her comeback, after spending most of last season rehabilitating her back after a training injury.

Anne-Marie Lefrancois of Quebec City, a two-time Canadian champion in downhill and super G, is looking to make a comeback after being injured in 2003 and making a slow comeback last season.

Nanaimo’s Allison Forsyth, who is better known as a technical skier, is looking to get some more World Cup speed experience at Lake Louise. She is still rehabilitating from a severe case of tendonitis in her hips, which caused her to miss most of her starts last season, and avoid events like the slalom.

Risler is also a comeback athlete, after an illness and injuries forced her to miss most of the 2003 season.

Other athletes in the gates include:

Kelly VanderBeek of Kitchener Ontario, a silver medalist in the 2004 national downhill championships; Fernie’s Emily Brydon, who was fourth at Lake Louise last season as well as the national downhill and super G champion; Genevieve Simard of Val-Morin, Quebec won a World Cup super G in Italy last season; Sophie Splawinski of Montreal, Quebec, the overall Pontiac GMC Cup winner from last season; and Sherry Lawrence of Calgary, who was seventh in the Pontiac GMC downhill championships.

Training started on Tuesday and continued through Thursday. There are two women’s downhill races, on Friday and Saturday, followed by the super G on Sunday.