NorAm racing continues with super-G and alpine combined

By Published On: December 14th, 2016Comments Off on NorAm racing continues with super-G and alpine combined

After kicking off the season in Lake Louise, the men and women of the NorAm circuit moved to Panorama, Canada for the first super-G and alpine combined races of the season.

Joan Verdu of Andorra dominated the super-G races, winning both days of men’s competition. Verdu competed at last year’s Panorama series and placed 11th in the super-G, so he had experience on the slope.

On Sunday, Canadians Brodie Seger and James Crawford tied for second 0.50 seconds back from Verdu and Russian skier Ivan Kuznetsov rounded out the podium 0.61 seconds back. The next day, Seger found himself in the same exact spot, only this time he was not accompanied by his teammate. Adam Barwood of New Zealand took third, 0.86 seconds behind the pace.

American Kieffer Christianson, who placed 14th and fourth in the super-Gs, said he is eyeing the overall NorAm title this season, with a renewed focus outside of giant slalom. The former U.S. Ski Team member said that in the past, he has focused too much on GS and it took away from the other events.

“I ski better when I switch up events,” Christianson said, adding that it refreshes his body and mind and works parts of his skiing that he wouldn’t get otherwise.

Christianson said that it was also helpful to be familiar with Panorama before arriving this year. He came in seventh at the same race last year and had placed fourth in a super-G at Panorama in 2014.

On the third day of racing, Christianson was able to use his experience to his advantage. Verdu continued his streak by leading the super-G run of the alpine combined and tying with Drew Duffy of the U.S. Ski Team. Neither of them were able to hold on to the lead though, and Christianson was able to take home the win thanks to his slalom run, showing strength in both events.

After placing 25th in the super-G run, the U.S. Ski Team’s River Radamus won the slalom run and finished in second, 0.36 seconds behind Christianson. James Crawford of Canada took the final spot of the podium, 0.68 off the winning pace.

In the women’s super-G races, the top spots were snagged by Americans. Maureen Lebel took the first win on Sunday while U.S. Ski Team athletes, Patricia Mangan and Alice Merryweather, followed, 0.22 and 0.77 seconds behind her, respectively.

It was a tough start to the series for Merryweather. After the first 10 racers had finished, course officials halted the competition and issued a reset in order to make the course safer. Before the reset, Merryweather was in the lead, but the changes forced athletes to reinspect and rerun the course.

The American said it was disappointing after having a good run, and it was hard to motivate herself to go back out after such a solid run had been erased, but she was happy with her third place finish.

Two days later, Merryweather finally climbed to the top of a NorAm podium, winning Tuesday’s super-G race with a total time of 1:21.46.  She was dominant on the bottom half of the course. Even though her teammates, Keely Cashman, Mangan and Nina O’Brien, came through the top half of the course with a lead on her, none were able to hold onto it. Merryweather said that she didn’t do anything specifically at the end of her run to put her ahead except ski cleanly and stick with it even when she didn’t think things were going that well.

“I think I am skiing pretty well right now and I was able to find the flow of the course today,” Merryweather said of the win.

Stephanie Fleckenstein of Canada, her familiar competitor, finished the day just 0.05 seconds back, earning second place while O’Brien finished third, 0.41 seconds off the pace.

The third race of the series, the alpine combined, had to take place over the course of two days because of the start delays on Monday. Mangan, who won the super-G run, had a night to think about her first place spot before taking on the slalom portion of the event. She would, unfortunately, lose that lead and finish in fourth while three Canadians would sweep the final podium.

Amelia Smart bested her fellow countrywomen Fleckenstein and Ali Nullmeyer with a combined time of 2:01.56. Fleckenstein finished 0.54 seconds back while Nullmeyer was 0.72 seconds behind.

After the first days of racing in Panorama, Verdu has taken the top spot in the overall NorAm standings by only 33 points. The next three in line are all Canadians, Broderick Thompson, Crawford and Seger, who lie within 15 points of each other.

As for the women, Merryweather and Fleckenstein have distanced themselves slightly from the rest of the athletes with the Canadian just 29 points ahead. The next closest athlete is Leona Popovic of Croatia, 137 points behind Merryweather.

The Panorama series continues with giant slalom and slalom races Dec. 14-18.

Complete results can be found here.

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About the Author: Chris Keating

Chris Keating grew up in Vermont and skied at Boston College where he served as captain during his senior year. He is currently a staff writer at The Valley Reporter in Waitsfield, Vt., and will be covering the NCAA and NorAm circuits for SkiRacing.com this winter.