Podium news - 1 March 2013

Pete Thompson tells us what's been going on this week in racing and competitions around the world

Tina Maze leading first SC run in Meribel

Alpine Skiing

Following the World Championships in Schladming, alpine racers turned their attention back to the World Cup circuit with races in Garmisch, Germany.

21-year-old Frenchman Alexis Pinturault, who is running away with the rising star classification, held off Marcel Hirscher and Ted Ligety to claim his first ever World Cup victory.

Hirscher’s second place finish stretched his lead at the top of the overall standings and Ligety looks set to win the GS title if he can get decent results in the final two races of the season.

Slovenian Tina Maze continued to dominate women’s skiing, winning the super combined race in Meribel that British skier Chemmy Alcott was forced to miss through injury. However Alcott, Britain’s top ranked alpine skier, is planning to return to the slopes when the women’s World Cup visits Garmisch this week, although she did not start yesterday’s first Downhill training run.

The Junior World Championships concluded this week with 20 year-old Thomas Mayrpeter taking gold in the Men’s Downhill adding to his first gold of the Championships in the Super G.

Joe Discoe, Brad Wilson and Alexandre Bilodeau at Listel Ski Fantasia.

Freestyle

American Bradley Wilson stole the show in freestyle skiing this weekend when he beat Canadian Alexandre Bilodeau twice in Inawashiro, Japan to move up to fourth in the moguls standings.

First the 20 year-old beat Bilodeau in the moguls, the event in which the Canadian won Olympic Gold in Vancouver, to come second.

He then beat claimed victory over Bilodeau in the final of the dual moguls to record his first ever World Cup win.

However, Canadians still confirmed their dominance of freestyle at the event, which was taking place at the Japanese resort for the first time in two years due to the catastrophic earthquake that rocked the country in 2010.

Mikael Kingsbury beat Wilson to the gold, who was the only American amoung four Canadians in the top five in the moguls, and all but confirmed his victory in the overall classification, with Bilodeau hanging on to second.

Ski Cross and Snowboardcross

32-year-old snowboarder Andreas Prommegger will enter the history books this week in Arosa when he competes in his 200th World Cup race, joining a select group who has hit the rare number.

Ski Cross racers will be fully focused on the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships in Voss and Oslo that kicks off on 2 March. The recent World Cup event in Harrachov, Czech Republic was cancelled due to weather conditions.

Jérémie Heitz and Samuel Anthamatten getting ready for the comp

Freeride

The fourth event on the Swatch Freeride World Tour kicks off this week in Kirkwood, California.

American Drew Tabke, who has already won in Revelstoke and Chamonix this winter, tops the men’s leader board but is closely followed by Swiss Jeremie Heitz.
It is also close in the women’s competition with less than 100 points separating Austria’s Nadine Wallner at the top from Norwegian Pia Nic Gundersen and Swede Christine Hargin in second and third.