South American Cup races kick off in Argentina
South American Cup (SAC) competition began last week with tech races in Cerro Catedral, Argentina. Coupled with Argentina’s national championship slalom and GS races, it made for an exciting series with some challenging winter conditions.
On day one, things started with the national championship giant slalom. Nuria Pau of Spain took the win on the ladies’ side with a total time of 1:32.24. Frenchwoman Lorelie Coulet was hot on her heels, 0.19 seconds off the pace in second place. Nicol Gastaldi of Argentina rounded out the podium in third place, becoming the national champion in the discipline.
In the men’s giant slalom, Tomas Birkner De Miguel of Argentina took the win over fellow countryman Sebastiano Gastaldi by 0.31 seconds to earn the national title. Frenchman Alexandre Coltier skied to third place in his first race of the 2017-18 season.
Racing continued on Aug. 8 with the ladies’ SAC giant slalom. Gastaldi charged to victory, beating the previous day’s winner by 0.55 seconds. Salome Bancora of Argentina rounded out the podium in third place.
After the men’s SAC giant slalom had to be canceled on Aug. 9 due to adverse conditions, the slalom took place as planned the next day. A 100-percent Argentinian podium topped the field of 76 racers from 11 different nations. Gastaldi won the day ahead of World Cup veteran Cristian Javier Simari Birkner, who has won the SAC overall title 13 times in his career. Birkner De Miguel proved to be a serious contender in slalom as well, landing in third place.
On the ladies side, Kim Vanreusel from Belgium won her first Continental Cup just months after racing in her first World Championships last winter in St. Moritz. She was 1.35 seconds faster than Bancora, who claimed the South American Cup slalom title the last three years. French athlete Coulet finished third.
On the final day of racing, the men and women competed in the national championship slalom. The ladies’ race had a surprise winner. Argentina’s Francesca Baruzzi Farriol took the win after barely cracking the top 10 the previous two days. Argentina’s new slalom national champion won with a total time of 1:30.68, besting Coulet, who came in second place. Vanreusel skied onto the podium yet again, finishing in third place.
In the men’s competition, Coltier won the slalom with a final time of 1:21.24, while Birkner De Miguel was crowned national champion as the top Argentinian. He was 0.38 seconds off of Coltier’s pace in second place. Simari Birkner found his way onto the podium in third place, 1.09 seconds away from the win.
Complete results are available here.
Releases courtesy of FIS and Argentina Ski Federation
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