Family Day weekend is upon us (and today is Valentine’s Day), and we’ve now been blessed with two impressive winter storms. We hope everyone has been commuting safely through the intense snow, and thanked the gods of precipitation for the continued support our ski hills.
After multiple temperature swings and some wacky storms, we are back to having lots of snow and ice on the ground. Just like the roads in southern Ontario, the hills at Craigleith were pretty slick last weekend leading to an exciting, and speedy race!
Craigleith wasn’t the only host of fast races though, as the World Championships were in full swing last weekend, and the performances were remarkable. A small highlight of the best performances is included below.
Last Week’s Recap
There is a lot of credit due to our exceptional course setting team. Last Sunday’s GS race on Big John could have easily been a repeat of the first race of the season, and no one would have complained. However, that is what we received. Our coaching team set a great GS course down the middle of Big John, on bullet proof ice, to create an exciting and adrenalin pumping race. Right from the start gate, racers could feel their edges cut into the ice on the flats before the pitch, and once over the pitch it was up to the racers to decide how fast they wanted to go.
The fastest of the day was Gordon Bruce (29.12)! An exceptional finish through the first run held, even though lots of seconds runs were faster. Following Gordon was Duff Isberg (29.46) and Phil Ruffalo (29.49). It was a very tight cluster of finishes from the top echelon of our racers. Of note, Phil beat out long-time rival Alec Libert, which is a rare occurrence and one that Phil celebrated exuberantly.
Mackenzie Irwin’s second run won her top spot among women (31.23). This is Mack’s 2nd win in the category, to tie her with Cheryl, who also has two category wins to her name. Cheryl came in second among women (31.37), and Lindsay Brazill (32.75) came in third. This is Lindsay’s first podium in her GDHL career!
In the “Top 20 racers, not in their 20s” category, Scott McLorie (30.41) and Greg Cavers (30.47) came 7th and 8th. David Raymond, Al Lachance, and Richard Usher-Jones put great performances finishing 18th, 19th, 20th, respectively.
Next up:
This week we have Slalom Sunday morning at 10 am, on Comet.
World Championships in Are, Sweden - Results
Both Aksel Lund Svindal and Lindsey Vonn announced that their final races would be at the 2019 World Championships in Are, Sweden, starting last week through to this weekend. It was previously mis-reported (FAKE NEWS) that Lindsey was retiring at the start of the season, however it was always her intention to race this season as her last. Following some pretty intense injuries from crashes this season, Lindsey’s race schedule was limited. She felt that this World Championships was the last race she could push herself through the pain of a chronically injured body.
Aksel, no different from Lindsey, has had a storied career dominating the speed events and putting his stamp on all disciplines. In 2014 he tore his achilles tendon and missed the majority of the 2014/2015 season. He then came back to start the 2015 season and won the Lake Louise downhill in his third world cup race back from injury. Aksel recognized his body was aging and he wanted to make sure he could leave racing on his own terms. He too announced that his final race would be at these world Championships.
Below are each of their runs.
Aksel finished his career with exceptional results.
World Cup: 36 wins, 80 Podiums.
2 Overall World Cup Titles, 9 Discipline Titles
World Championships: 5 wins, 9 Podiums
Olympic Games: 2 Gold medals, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze.
Lindsey Vonn was the most dominant Female ski racer ever.
World Cup: 82 Wins, 137 podiums
4 Overall World Cup Titles, and 16 discipline titles
World Championships: 2 wins, 8 podiums
Olympic Games: 1 Gold medal, 2 Bronze
Enjoy the posts from each of them, saluting their final runs.
182.7k Likes, 1,821 Comments - L I N D S E Y * V O N N (@lindseyvonn) on Instagram: "With all of the injuries, the setbacks and the pain it wasn't perfect but I couldn't have finished..."
76.4k Likes, 1,161 Comments - Aksel Lund Svindal (@asvindal) on Instagram: "That moment when you realize you've crossed the finish line for the last time as a professional..."
See you on the slopes. Safe driving out there!
-Doug Jarvis