Super-G NorAm’s Wrap-Up for the Women, Men Ski First Race in Final Series

The final speed events of the NorAm cup are being held in Sugarloaf, Maine this week on March 19th, 2oth, and 21st. The downhill wrapped up on Tuesday the 19th. Wednesday saw two super-G races for the women and one race for the men, as the second men’s race was pushed back to the 21st. The first ladies race served as a NorAm super-G as well as the first run of the NorAm/National’s alpine combined to be completed Thursday. The second super-G race was contested as a NorAm, but also counted as the U.S. Alpine National Championship super-G. The men’s race on Wednesday was contested as a NorAm and National Championship race. The second men’s NorAm and the first run of the alpine combined will be held on Thursday. The athlete’s that have earned the two World Cup starting spot due to their NorAm finishes has been officially decided on the women’s side, whereas the men will have to wait until Thursday to see what athlete’s come out on top.

Women’s Super-G

Sugarloaf, Maine continued to serve up blue skies and hard, fast snow for the second day of racing, perfect conditions for the last speed events of the NorAm season. Reigning super-G champion, Nina O’Brien, came out on top again in Sugarloaf in the first super-G race of the day. Her teammate, AJ Hurt, trailed her lead by 0.19 seconds to finish in second. Keely Cashman closed out the podium in third, 0.63 seconds back.

In the second super-G race, Cashman moved two steps up the podium, sneaking past O’Brien by nine hundredths. O’Brien stepped down onto the second tier of the podium, and Hurt moved down onto the third.

Not only was O’Brien successfully able to defend her title as U.S. Alpine National Champion in the super-G, but she also held onto the lead in the super-G overall standings, winning the title by 50 points over Hurt. Both athletes have officially claimed starting spots on the World Cup super-G stops in the upcoming season.

“I’m really stoked! I have skied much speed this season, so I’m really happy I was able to find that good feeling on my skis again,” said O’Brien. “I was a little nervous going into the downhill races and didn’t have too many expectations for super-G either. But a lot of the stuff I worked on in slalom and GS this season was to be in a stronger, more solid position over my skis. I think that without even realizing it, those changes have helped my speed skiing too.”

Top 10 Women’s Super-G Race 1

1. Nina O’Brien (USA): 1:15.01
2. AJ Hurt (USA): +0.19
3. Keely Cashman (USA): +0.63
4. Patricia Mangan (USA): +1.15
5. Stefanie Fleckenstein (CAN): +1.26
6. Camille Cerutti (FRA): +1.68
7. Madeleine Chirat (FRA): +2.20
8. Esther Paslier (FRA): +2.21
9. Olivia Holm (USA): +2.24
10. Nellie Rose Talbot (USA): +3.01

For full FIS results, please click here.

Top 10 Women’s Super-G Race 2

1. Keely Cashman (USA): +1:15.19
2. Nina O’Brien (USA): +0.09
3. AJ Hurt (USA): +0.25
4. Madeleine Chirat (FRA): +0.35
5. Patricia Mangan (USA): +1.16
6. Isabella Wright (USA): +1.25
7. Camille Cerutti (FRA): +1.27
8. Esther Paslier (FRA): +1.77
9. Olivia Holm (USA): +1.88
10. Beatrix Lever (CAN): +2.62

For full FIS results, please click here.

Men’s Super-G

The first half of the men’s super-G competitions kicked off on in an exciting fashion. American Ryan Cochran-Siegle pulled out another win after winning the men’s downhill on Tuesday, beating Junior World Champion, River Radamus, by 0.69 seconds. Cochran-Siegle is now the U.S. Alpine National Champion in both the downhill and the super-G. Outside of Radamus, the men were packed in. Third-place finisher Tommy Biesemeyer snuck ahead of fellow American Downhiller Jared Goldberg, but only by two-hundredths of a second. Goldberg was closely followed by Wiley Maple and Jeffrey Read, who tied for fifth just one hundredth behind Goldberg.

“First, I would like to add a big congrats to my teammates River and Tommy for their strong 2nd and 3rd place finishes,” said Cochran-Siegle. “As far as my own skiing, I am beyond pleased to claim the National SG title, but also feel really good about the way I was able to ski and take on the day from a mental perspective. After my performance yesterday, I wanted to refocus my thoughts and energy on simply skiing well and trusting my own ability, and I really believe I achieved that. In terms of the skiing itself, everything felt solid and I think I did a respectable job performing close to, if not at, my highest level right now. All in all, I would say it was another spectacular bluebird east coast ski day in Sugarloaf!”

After Tuesday, American Samuel Dupratt and Canadian Sam Mulligan continue to hold the top spots in the NorAm super-G standings. Kyle Negomir trails Mulligan by a mere 20 points in third, Jeffrey Read is just 23 points back in fourth. This means the two coveted World Cup spots are still up for grabs and will be decided on Thursday during the men’s second super-G race.

Top 10 Men’s Super-G

1. Ryan Cochran-Siegle (USA): 1:10.79
2. River Radamus (USA): +0.69
3. Tommy Biesemeyer (USA): +0.89
4. Jared Goldberg (USA): +0.91
5. Wiley Maple (USA): +0.92
5. Jeffrey Read (CAN): +0.92
7. Samuel Dupratt (USA): +1.38
8. Kyle Negomir (USA): +1.41
9. Alexander Koell (SWE): +1.48
10. Felix Monsen (SWE): +1.61

For full FIS results, please click here.

On Thursday, Sugarloaf will host the slalom runs of the Alpine Combined as well as the second run of the men’s super-G, which will count as a NorAm race and as the first half of the men’s Alpine Combined.