A pair of Whistler skiers came home from the Reese Alberta Cup slalom races in Nakiska this week with bronze medals.
The Alberta Cup races ran from April 3 to April 9 with a field that included FIS racers, provincial team athletes and club athletes from B.C. and Alberta. Members of the national team and development team also took part.
In the first day of racing on Saturday, April 3 the athletes had perfect spring conditions, with temperatures in the mid-teens and blue skies.
Calgary’s Shona Rubens won the opening giant slalom of the competition, edging out Sherry Lawrence, another Calgary skier who is with the Canadian Alpine Ski Team. Their times were 2:04.37 and 2:04.80 respectively. Carmel McElroy, yet another Calgary skier, was third in 2:06.22.
From Whistler, Anastasia Skryabina was a close fourth, finishing less than a tenth of a second back of McElroy in 2:06.31.
Alison Leighton was seventh in 2:07.74 and Rachel Walker eighth in 2:08.15.
In the second women’s GS on Sunday, Rubens won again. The complete results from that race are not yet posted.
Both the men and women got into the action on Monday with the slalom.
Rubens made it a hat trick, earning her third win in as many days with a time of 1:44.95. After that result Rubens said she was going to try and sweep all four races. "I’ve never won all four here before, but I’m going to try," she said.
Taryn O’Flynn came within 0.04 seconds of ruining Rubens winning streak, finishing second in 1:44.99. Third went to Janelle Miller of Lethbridge.
Anastasia Skryabina was once again fourth for Whistler and Rachel Walker was ninth.
Paul Stutz of Banff, a member of the national team, took the men’s race with a time of 1:38.44. He was followed by Calgarians John Kucera and Trevor White in second and third.
In Tuesday’s races, Alison Leighton finished third on a long slalom course with a time of 2:00.23. Leighton is racing with the B.C. Ski Team this season,
The gold went to Janelle Miller of Lethbridge Alberta in 1:55.41. Victoria Hockley of Calgary split the difference in 1:59.76. Rubens went off course in her second run.
Rachel Nixon, an alumnus of the Whistler Mountain Ski Club, was fifth.
In the men’s race Paul Stutz made it two in a row with a time of 1:36.32, ahead of Calgary’s Dustin McLeay in 1:36.68. Whistler’s Scott Hume was third in 1:36.68.
From the Whistler Mountain Ski Club, Ben Chaddock was sixth and Chris Colpitts seventh.
In the final day of racing, Calgary’s John Kucera took the win in a giant slalom with a combined time of 1:47.67. Scott Hume crossed the finish line almost two seconds later in 1:49.61. Paul Stutz was third in 1:49.71. None of the Whistler skiers made it into the top-10.
The Reese Alberta Cup Finals are the last alpine FIS event on the calendar this year.
