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Team Canada fourth in Whistler Cup

Quebec skiers strong in three-day international race Canada’s young racers showed that we are still one of the first nations of skiing, with strong performances at the ninth annual Whistler Cup against some of the best young skiers in the world.

Quebec skiers strong in three-day international race

Canada’s young racers showed that we are still one of the first nations of skiing, with strong performances at the ninth annual Whistler Cup against some of the best young skiers in the world.

Eighteen countries and 321 K1 (ages 11 and 12) and K2 (ages 13 and 14) racers competed in slalom and giant slalom events.

The top Canadian overall, in his third and last Whistler Cup appearance, was Louise-Philippe Therrien of Mont Tremblant, Quebec. Therrien claimed the bronze medal in the opening K2 giant slalom on April 6, finished sixth in the slalom on day two, and just missed the giant slalom podium on the final day of the competition by two one-hundredths of a second.

"I was very close," said Therrien, who will be moving up to FIS and provincial team competition next season. "I felt really good and had an awesome run. The conditions and the course were also good, so I skied hard, and I’m really happy with my results."

Therrien is no stranger to European racers, having won the gold in slalom at this year’s Trofeo Topolino races in Italy.

"They’re awesome skiers, really hard to compete against, but Canadian skiers are still in there," said Therrien. "We just have to keep training hard, train in the summer, and we’re right in there with everybody."

Christian Femy, Alpine Canada athletic director and Team Canada captain, felt that the competition had moved to a new level.

"It was a tough year this year, the field was really, really strong compared to other years, and we still did really well – fourth place overall, right behind the top nations in the world," said Femy.

"We appreciate this a lot. That’s why we have the Whistler Cup. When we go to Topolino, we can only bring 10 skiers, but here we had more than 100 Canadians in the races, so a lot of skiers get to experience the competition, to see that we have the ability to compete against the best in the world."

Gordie Bowles, Alpine Canada’s manager of communications and public relations, was amazed to watch Team Canada move up one spot after last year’s fifth place performance.

"We had three straight days of perfect racing conditions here, which is almost unheard of in this sport, and we made the most of them," said Bowles. "We had more racers in the top 10 then we’ve had in a few years – not as many podiums as we would have liked, but there were a lot of great performances and some great progress by our athletes.

"They get to compete against the best racers in the world, but I think the cup is really about the camaraderie, having fun. Theses kids are hard workers, but they have to know that this is a fun sport, too. Everywhere we looked we saw that kind of spirit."

When the Austrian team took to the podium to claim the overall K2 title, for example, skiers wore the U.S. Ski Team jackets to the podium – "That’s the kind of thing we like to see," Bowles said.

The Dave Murray Trophy, which is awarded to the best overall male Canadian skier, went to Simon Manella in K1 and Therrien in K2. The Nancy Greene trophy, presented to the best overall female Canadian skiers went to Larisa Yurkiw in K1 and Daniell Poleschuk in K2.

"Every year, the bar gets raised a notch," said Bowles. "I saw some amazing skiing out there. I was watching the K2 boys in the giant slalom, and some of these guys looked like mini World Cup racers."

Indeed, many Whistler Cup alumni, including Austria’s Benjamin Raich and Anja Paerson of Sweden, have gone on to win World Cup races.

K2 Results:

Giant Slalom – April 6

Men:

1. Michael Zach (Austria) 47.96 seconds

2. Giorgio Fantino (Italy) 48.39

3. Michael Sablatnik (Austria) 48.43

6. Louis-Philippe Therrien (Team Canada) 49.06

7. Guillaume Lefebvre (Team Quebec) 49.49

9. Stuart Cameron (Team Alberta) 49.59

Women

1. Alessia Segulin (Italy) 48.03

2. Martina Geisler (Austria) 48.22

3. Ana Jelusic (Croatia) 48.24

7. Anna Goodman (Team Canada)

9. Danielle Poleschuk (Fernie, BC)

Slalom – April 7

Men

1. Andrew Weibrecht (USA) 1:34.61

2. Michael Zach (Austria) 1:35.43

3. Louis-Philippe Therrien (Team Canada) 1:36.84

6. Louis-Pierre Helie (Team Canada) 1:37.08

Women

1. Michaela Smutna (Czech Republic) 1:32.41

2. Nicole Obmann (Austria) 1:33.03

3. Nadia Fanchini (Italy) 1:33.25

6. Shona Rubens (Team Canada) 1:34.02

Giant Slalom – April 8

Men

1. Andrew Weibrecht (USA) 48.25

2. Michael Zach (Austria) 49.01

3. Michael Sablatnik (Austria) 49.30

4. Louis-Philippe Therrien (Team Canada) 49.32

Women

1. Ana Jelusic (Croatia) 49.11

2. Chelsea Marshall (USA) 49.83

3. Nadia Fanchini (Italy) 49.92

4. Danielle Poleschuk (Team B.C.)

6. Shona Rubens (Team Canada)

K1 Results:

Giant Slalom – April 7

Men

1. Simon Mannella (Canada) 54.54

2. Maximilian Hammer (USA) 55.09

3. Stephan Salcher (Italy) 55.55

7. Olivier Coiture (Canada) 56.44

9. Matthew Holler (Whistler, Canada) 56.74

10. Trevor Rose (Canada) 57.27

Women

1. Nina Mihovilovic (Slovenia) 51.76

2. Larisa Yurkiw (Canada) 52.29

3. Hannah Cametti (USA) 52.48

6. Marie-Gabrielle Larose (Canada) 52.77

7. Caroline Brault (Canada) 52.92

Slalom – April 8

Men

1. Taiki Seo (Japan) 1:20.48

2. Matic Skube (Slovenia) 1:21.02

3. Primin Anstein (Italy) 1:21.40

8. Tyler Nella (Canada) 1:24.00

Women

1. Nina Mihovilovic (Slovenia) 1:20.25

2. Michela Basso (Italy) 1:20.38

3. Julia Wong (USA) 122.73

4. Kayla Leman (Canada) 1:23.71

7. Larisa Yurkiw (Canada) 1:25.17

9. Marie-Gabrielle Larose (Canada) 1:25.40