Wanaka, New Zealand (September 3, 2013) – New Zealand’s top alpine ski racers battled it out in soft snow conditions on the second and final day of the Wanaka FIS Tech series at Treble Cone ski area today.
The two-day competition comprised two men’s and two women’s Slalom races on a steep and unforgiving course set on Treble Cone’s ‘Big Skyte’. The challenging terrain made for exciting racing with the slightest mistake costing several skiers their runs.
Queenstown’s Adam Barwood – who last week earned the national championship titles in Slalom and Giant Slalom – posted the top result for New Zealand men, coming home in sixth place with a time of 1:43:63. Barwood failed to finish his first run of yesterday’s Slalom race.
The Austrian powerhouse dominated the men’s field, taking all three podium spots. Michael Matt – who like Barwood crashed out on his first run in yesterday’s Slalom – found his feet again today, posting the day’s fastest time of 1:40:25. Marco Schwarz was just behind in 1:40:50 followed by Johannes Strolz in 1:42:03.
Willis Feasey (Twizel) was the second fastest New Zealander, his time of 1:45:99 putting him in 12th place.
Melissa Jones’ 10th place finish was the top result for the New Zealand women, Jones posting a time of 2:01:40. Victoria Taylor followed behind in 13th place with a time of 2:05:35.
Recently-crowned New Zealand National Slalom Champion, Harriet Miller-Brown, was unable to back up last week’s winning result, failing to finish her first run yesterday and second run today.
Austrian women claimed the top two podium spots today; Hannah Koeck the fastest in 1:45:01 and Ricarda Haaser repeating her second place result of yesterday with a time of 1:46:16. Russian skier Ksenia Alopina rounded out the top three with a time of 1:48:26.
11 years ago
Adam Barwood