Internationals Sweep NorAm GS in Nakiska

By Published On: December 19th, 2019Comments Off on Internationals Sweep NorAm GS in Nakiska

It was another day of gusty winds and rough weather conditions for the NorAms in Nakiska. The postponed, men’s giant slalom race ended up taking place on Wednesday, but the women’s second day of GS racing was cancelled due to weather.  The men showed their toughness by fighting the harsh variables with every turn they made. 

North Americans were shut out of the top three by European athletes with Maarten Meiners, of the Netherlands, skiing to the win and Tanguy Nef, of Switzerland, and Stefano Baruffaldi, of Italy, rounding out the podium in second and third respectively.

First Run

For the first run, the Norwegian, Marcus Monsen charged hard to earn himself a first-place finish, just 0.01 in front of Riley Seger (CAN), making for a nail-biting first run. 

Marcus Monsen focuses on all disciplines and does well across the board, especially in GS. Monsen seems to be excelling the most in GS since the beginning of 2018. He is a nineteen-point GS skier and has had three world cup starts in giant slalom since the beginning of 2018. In August and September of this year, Monsen had two fourth-place finishes in giant slalom during the Australian New Zealand Cup. These finishes kick started the momentum coming into the North American season. 

Riley Seger of Canada put in a good fight for the first-place spot on the starting run of the day. Unfortunately, Seger did not finish the second run for a chance at the overall victory. Nonetheless, GS is where he shines. Seger finds his stride in the disciplines of giant slalom and super g. Earlier this week in Nakiska, Seger achieved a third-place finish in the SG, which showed that he knows how to run his skis on the flats and attack the fall line. 

The top three finished in a tight race, tucked barely 0.06 off of Monsen, Tanguy Nef of Switzerland slid into the third-place position for the first course of the day. Toward the end of last season, he had two victories at Burke Mountain skiing giant slalom.

Marcus Monsen, the first run winner in Nakiska, rips by a gate in this season’s opening NorAm GS. Photo: Roger Carry

Second Run 

Asher Jordan of Canada won the second run and moved himself up twenty-two spots on the leader board. He was able to come from twenty-eighth place after the first run, to fifth place overall. This was an incredible day for Jordan because it was his first top-five finish in a NorAm giant slalom. Earlier this season, at the Copper Mountain NorAm’s, Jordan took home a victory and a fifth-place finish in the slaloms.

Gustave Rosberg Voello from Norway was second quickest in the second run, just 0.23 behind Jordan. This was an incredible finish for Voello, as it moved him up on the leader board eighteen spots. The awesome second run gave Voello an overall eleventh-place finish, which is his best finish on the NorAm circuit to date. 

In third-place on the second run, Bridger Gile of the U.S. finished 0.31 behind Jordan. This helped Gile achieve another solid top-ten finish for the NorAm circuit. Gile skied solid in the Alpine Combined this week and continues to do exceptionally well in all disciplines.

Stefano Baruffaldi from Italy laid down two runs that gave him an awesome second-place spot for the GS. This was Baruffaldi’s first ever NorAm cup start.

Maarten Meiners of the Nederlands laid down two consistent finishes to find himself on top of the leader board! Meiners ended the first run in fifth-place and the second run in sixth-place. Combined the two finishes awarded him the gold medal for the NorAm GS. Giant slalom and super-g are the two disciplines that Meiners performs very well in. This was his third NorAm Cup start and his first top-ten finish at the NorAm’s. This victory was an exciting day for the Nederland’s racer. 

Overall, Tanguy Nef ended with an overall time of 1:50.79, just 0.81 behind the leader. This awarded Nef the third-place podium spot overall. In front of Nef, Stefano Baruffaldi ended the GS with a combined time of 1:50.64. Maarten Meiners struck gold with a time of 1:49.98, which was a very fast lead over the field. The athletes will be gearing up for the slalom events the next two days. 

Top-Ten Men’s Giant Slalom:

1st Maarten Meiners NED 1:49.98

2nd Stefano Baruffaldi ITA +0.66

3rd Tanguy Nef SUI +0.81

4th Marcus Monsen NOR +0.83

5th Asher Jordan CAN +0.84

6th Bridger Gile USA +0.89

7th Andrew Miller USA +0.91 

8th Joachim Jagge Lindstoel NOR +0.93

9th Joan Verdu AND +0.94

9th Jeffery Read CAN +0.94

For complete results click here.

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About the Author: Ellie Hartman

Ellie Hartman was born and raised in Breckenridge, Colorado, and was on skis soon after she was able to walk. She raced for Team Summit, out of Copper Mountain, from the age of five until she was 18. Unfortunately, her ski racing career ended when she did not make a NCAA ski team, but to her surprise, it opened up a new door where she was recruited to row NCAA D2 crew for Barry University in Miami, Florida. After becoming captain and winning two NCAA Championships, she received her Masters in Business Administration. After 4 years spending time working, traveling and writing, Ellie went back to Miami to assistant coach the University of Miami Women's Rowing Team and get a another degree in a Master's of Professional Science for Marine Conservation. She has spent the last year as a Communications Specialist, Research Assistant and Marine Mammal Observer for NOAA's Southeast Fisheries Science Center. After her contract ended, she was excited to find her way back into the ski racing world! Ellie enjoys skiing, ocean animals, great coffee, travel, SCUBA Diving, anything outdoors, delicious beer, and happy people.