Canadian skiers all but dominated the most recent NorAm Cup series at Lake Louise, Winter Park and Beaver Creek, with races taking place in conjunction with the men’s and women’s World Cup events at all three mountains.
Whistler’s Britt Janyk won on the first day of NorAm slalom competition Nov. 30 at Winter Park, Colorado, followed closely by Jenni Lathrop of the U.S. Brigitte Acton of Montreal was third.
In the second slalom, on Dec. 1, Acton moved up to second place, while Janyk settled for third after being tied for the lead. The win went to Silke Bachmann of Italy.
Also for Canada, Emilie Desforges was 10 th , Anna Goodman 19 th and Maris Lush 27 th .
The third day of racing, a giant slalom, belonged to members of the development team. Christina Lustenberger of Windermere finished second, wedged between Jessica Kelley of the U.S. and Ana Jelusic of Croatia. Emilie Desforges was fifth, Brigitte Acton eighth, Britt Janyk 10 th , and Anna Goodman 18 th .
The fourth and final day at Winter Park was also the Canadian team’s best day, with Lustenberger winning gold in the giant slalom, and Janyk taking the silver. Emilie Desforges was seventh and Brigitte Acton 10 th , giving the Canadian four spots in the top-10 of a very international field with American, Italian, Norwegian, Croatian and Russian skiers competing.
In the first men’s NorAm GS at Beaver Creek, Colorado, on Dec. 6 Ryan Semple of Calgary finished second, behind Chip Knight of the U.S. and ahead of American Tom Rothrock. Francois Bourque was fourth, John Kucera eighth, Brad Spence ninth, Whistler Mountain Ski Club Alumnus Manuel Osborne-Paradis 16 th , Trevor White 21 st and Whistler’s Scott Hume 25 th .
In the second GS on Tuesday, Tom Rothrock moved into first, Francois Bourque moved into second, and James Cochran of the U.S. was third. Ryan Semple was fifth, John Kucera seventh, Tevor White 18 th and Paul Stutz 22 nd .
Moving on to Lake Louise following the women’s World Cup speed events, a NorAm downhill and super G series got underway on Tuesday.
In the first downhill, American national team skier Stacy Cook finished a full second ahead of the competition to win gold. Sherry Lawrence from Calgary was second, and Christina Risler, a Whistler Mountain Ski Club alumnus, was third. Shona Ruens was seventh overall, and third among the juniors. Gail Kelly was eighth, Emilie Desforges ninth, and Jessica Dakers 15 th . The Lake Louise NorAm series will continue through the weekend.
