Another imperfect day at Sugarloaf NorAms crowns SG champs

The 2015 NorAm speed season culminated today, capping off a challenging week of races plagued by difficult weather conditions in Sugarloaf, Maine. On the docket Thursday was the men’s and women’s super G, plus a men’s alpine combined, but high winds made only one of those races possible: the men’s super G.

Early in the day, it appeared as if all the races would start on time, but then the winds increased in intensity and one of the lifts had to be shut down. The race jury announced the final delay for the ladies event: If by 12:45 p.m. the winds had not diminished enough to host a fair and secure competition, the event would be canceled, which ultimately turned out to be the case.

Based on the weather reports, the men’s alpine combined continued on delay with a final decision pending at 1:45 p.m. for a 2 p.m. start. At that time, winds were at an acceptable level and gusts were few and far between, so the jury unanimously voted to begin competition.

The season’s NorAm downhill champ, Canadian Tyler Werry won the day, beating U.S. National Downhill Champ Wiley Maple by nearly two-tenths of a second. Vail-Beaver Creek World Championships starter Jared Goldberg completed the podium in third, while Canada’s Jeffrey Frisch and James Crawford rounded out the top five.

By 3 p.m., there was no longer enough time to set, inspect and stage the slalom portion of the alpine combined, so that race was terminated after one run.

With 200 points apiece, Frisch and fellow Canadian Broderick Thompson finished atop the super G standings and secured World Cup starts in the discipline next season. They were followed in the standings by Tyler Werry with 185 points in third.

Despite a quiet day in the lodge for the women, NorAm super G titles were awarded based on the existing standings. With 276 points, American Abby Ghent earned her second straight super G title thanks to a string of runner-up results in the discipline. Canadian Candace Crawford also locked down a World Cup super G start next season, finishing second place in the standings. Mikaela Tommy was third.

The NorAm Cup concludes with tech events in Waterville Valley, N.H., March 20-23.

Men’s Results