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Whistler skiers in action at Copper Mountain

The Canadian Alpine Ski Team warmed up for the upcoming events at Lake Louise Winterstart by competing at Copper Mountain in Colorado last week, taking part in a series of FIS races that included a giant slalom, super G and downhill.
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The Canadian Alpine Ski Team warmed up for the upcoming events at Lake Louise Winterstart by competing at Copper Mountain in Colorado last week, taking part in a series of FIS races that included a giant slalom, super G and downhill.

In the opening giant slalom the top Canadian was Tyler Werry in sixth place, followed by Whistler Mountain Ski Club (WMSC) alumni Ford Swette in seventh place. Morgan Pridy also made two runs of the course to place 21st overall. In the second race, Morgan Pridy was the only Canadian to finish both runs, placing seventh overall.

In the opening women's super G, Marie-Pier Prefontaine was the top Canadian in 14th place, moving up to 12th in the second run of the course.

In the men's downhill, Benjamin Thomsen of the national team managed a seventh place result, while Robbie Dixon was 12th (before his injury). Brothers Conrad and Morgan Pridy also cracked the top 30 in 25th and 28th respectively.

From Whistler, Broderick Thompson with the provincial and national development team, placed 45th, while Brodie Seger was 50th.

In the second downhill event, where Dixon was injured, Benjamin Thomsen moved back to 15th, while Jeffrey Frisch jumped 15 spots to 16th overall. Dustin Cook was 18th for Canada, and Morgan and Conrad Pridy were 23rd and 25th respectively. Tyler Werry also cracked the top 30 in 30th. Brodie Seger was 40th, while Manuel Osborne-Paradis was disqualified.

In the women's giant slalom, Marie-Pier Prefontaine was second overall for Canada, while Larisa Yurkiw placed eighth.

In the first men's super G, the top Canadian was Jeffrey Frisch in 18th, with Dustin Cook placing 20th, Benjamin Thomsen 25th and Morgan Pridy 29th. Manuel Osborne-Paradis, who is making his comeback after missing all of last season with an injury, was 33rd on the day, while Conrad Pridy placed 38th, John Kucera was 43rd, Brodie Seger 53rd and Ford Swette 56th.

In the second super G, Jeffrey Frisch was ninth, Conrad Pridy 28th, Ford Swette 39th, Broderick Thompson 42nd, Brodie Seger 45th and Morgan Pridy 57th.

The FIS races were only a warm-up event for the team, a chance to try new equipment and get a feel for racing before the speed season gets underway with Lake Louise Winterstart. The men compete this weekend, Nov. 24-25, and the women race Nov. 30 to Dec. 2.

Alpine Canada released the national team roster for Winterstart, nine men and three women.

The men's team includes world downhill champion Erik Guay, Jan Hudec, Benjamin Thomsen, John Kucera (the world champion from 2009) and Whistler's Manuel Osborne Paradis. Other skiers in the mix include Whistler skiers Conrad and Morgan Pridy and Quebec's Dustin Cook.

On the women's side, the team is to be led by Marie-Michele Gagnon, who competes in all four disciplines and has been the team's most consistent racer the past few seasons. Other skiers include Marie-Pier Prefontaine and Larisa Yurkiw, who is still on the comeback trail after a knee injury.

"Lake Louise is always the best place to get my season going," said Hudec. "Just to have the home race advantage for the first race is perfect. It's a great way to kick off the season and hopefully I'm going to start with a win."

John Kucera, who missed almost three seasons with leg injuries after crashing at Lake Louise in 2009 and then missed part of last season with back issues, wants to turn the page and start over.

"Things have been going really well," he said. "We had an awesome summer prep — both in the gym and on snow. The body seems to be holding up and everything feels good. Things are looking up and I'm looking forward to Lake Louise.

"I don't want to put any pressure on myself. For me, I just want to get through a healthy season and just build on wherever I start and get myself back to where I was before all this happened."

Osborne-Paradis, who has missed the past two seasons with injuries, is also looking forward to getting back into the race world.

"I feel good. I'm eager to get back racing again," said Osborne-Paradis. "It will be a grind from the back. It will probably take half a season to get back where I was (in the bib selection). My body's 100 per cent right now. When I wake up in the morning I feel good and I can push myself on the ski hill. I just want to start skiing the way I can."

For more on the races, visit www.alpinecanada.org/winterstart.

Dixon out with leg injury

Whistler's Robbie Dixon's rough road to the top of ski racing took another detour on Nov. 15 after he crashed during a FIS race at Copper Mountain in Colorado, requiring emergency surgery on his leg.

According to the release from Alpine Canada Alpin, Dixon landed a jump on the super G course and caught an edge. He suffered a serious tibia and fibia fracture, and was quickly scheduled to undergo surgery in Vail, Colorado. "It's a hard one to swallow, given how the last couple of years have gone," said Dixon. "I caught an edge and one thing led to another. I'm going to stay positive. I'm fortunate to have some pretty amazing teammates who I can call my friends. They're supporting me and I know they've got my back."

While Dixon has yet to reach the World Cup podium, he has several fourth and fifth place finishes to his credit and 11 results in the top 10. It's unknown when Dixon would be able to return.