Masters: The Colorado Championships You May Have Missed

By Published On: March 17th, 2015Comments Off on Masters: The Colorado Championships You May Have Missed

Last month, while the top World Cup racers converged on Vail for the 2015 World Championships, many of the top masters racers in the world also headed for Colorado — but to Aspen — for a week of top-level competition.

From February 4 to 8, Buttermilk-Tiehack hosted 150 masters athletes representing 12 countries in a full array of alpine events, beginning with the Phillips 66 U.S. Alpine Masters Downhill Championships and then four FIS Masters Cup races (a super G, two giant slaloms and a slalom) concurrent with the Phillips 66 Masters Western Regional Championships. It was the first major masters event to be held in Aspen since 2004.

MFerguson_CO-Aspen_2015-Western-Regionals,-FIS-Masters,-Natl-DH,-Ainsworth-MoncrieffeAinsworth Moncrieffe. Photo credit Martha Ferguson/Aspen.

Bill Tomcich, the president of Stay Aspen Snowmass and a nine-year veteran of the masters circuit, played a key role in bringing the series to Aspen.

“Normally it’s a Rocky Mountain Division downhill, but having it coincide with the national downhill, we had twice the number of participants,” he says. “There were lots of grins in the finish line. Everyone had fun.”

It was also a well-staged and convenient race series. Most competitors stayed at the Inn at Aspen located at the base of Buttermilk-Tiehack. The inn offered 45 percent off its normal room rate, one of the big reasons why the event was awarded to Aspen. Racers could walk out of the lobby, get on a chairlift and get off the lift at the start. For the inn and the ski resort, the masters filled a hole between the X Games and Presidents week, which made the low rates possible.

BTomcich_CO-Aspen_2015-Masters-Western-Regional-Team

Photo credit Bill Tomcich.

Other highlights

Warm Weather

Except for some fog during part of the downhill, the speed events had good weather and snow conditions. The tech events, however, proved more challenging. With temperatures in the 40s, courses set on natural-snow trails, and a large field of athletes, conditions got bumpy for the younger men racing at the end of the start order in the GS. By the slalom on the last day, the warm weather challenged race organizers to pull off the race.

“The snow held up well until the last day,” says Tomcich. “It didn’t freeze the night before the slalom. The race crew put out a heroic effort. They rebuilt and rewired the start in an hour. We thought it was going to be only one run, but we got both runs in.”

MFerguson_CO-Aspen_2015-Western-Regionals,-FIS-Masters,-Natl-DH,-Dave-KornishDave Kornish. Photo credit Martha Ferguson/Aspen.

The Standouts.

On day 1, Erik Klemme and Jennifer Kaufman, both perennial standouts from Rocky Mountain Division, posted the fastest runs among the men and women, respectively.

The next day in the super G, Kevin Hendrikson from Rocky Mountain Division bested Kjetil Fladmark Larsen of Norway by a scant 0.3 seconds for the fastest time on the hill. Kaufman was again the fastest woman, more than two seconds ahead of Dana Alexandrescu, a native of Romania who now lives in Park City and has become a familiar face among Intermountain masters racers.

MFerguson_CO-Aspen_2015-Western-Regionals,-FIS-Masters,-Natl-DH,-David-StuartDavid Stuart. Photo credit Martha Ferguson/Aspen.

On Day 3, in the first GS, Larsen turned the tables on Hendrikson, posting the fastest time overall by more than 2.5 seconds. Alexandrescu did the same to Kaufman by a much narrower margin, about 0.6 seconds.

Alexandrescu didn’t compete in the second GS or the slalom, leaving Kaufman to dominate both by wide margins. For the men, Larsen also won the second GS on Day 4, but gave up the top spot in the Group A slalom to Tim Hill from Pacific Northwest.

In the Group B slalom, USSA Masters Coordinator Bill Skinner proved two second-place runs can equal a win. He posted the second-fastest time both runs, the first behind Norwegian Andreas Dimmen and the second behind Richard Slabinski of Intermountain, to earn the top spot overall in Group B.

MFerguson_CO-Aspen_2015-Western-Regionals,-FIS-Masters,-Natl-DH,-Jennifer-KaufmanJennifer Kaufman. Photo credit Martha Ferguson/Aspen.

The Future

Next winter, Aspen hopes to lure the masters back for again for the Western Regionals and four more FIS Masters Cup races held at the same time. The event would likely have a similar format of one super G, two giant slaloms and one slalom. There would also be a downhill, though not the national championship one. An Aspen downhill would be part of the Molecule F Speed Series and take place just after the regionals/FIS master races, providing another rare opportunity for masters racers to compete in all four alpine disciplines in a week.

What would it take to bring the Western Regional/FIS Masters back to Aspen? A successful bid will likely depend on whether Tomcich can secure dates in early February and discounted hotel rates again.

MFerguson_CO-Aspen_2015-Western-Regionals,-FIS-Masters,-Natl-DH,-Giancarlo-Guarnier-(ITA)Giancarlo Guarnier. Photo credit Martha Ferguson/Aspen.

For complete results, go to www.ussamasters.org.

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About the Author: Lisa Densmore Ballard

Lisa Densmore Ballard has garnered close to 100 masters national titles and four world masters titles since 1991. This long-time coach, racer and member of the U.S. Alpine Masters Team also chairs USSA's Masters Committee.