Ramsden and Swette open GMC Cup season with victories at Lake Louise
LAKE LOUISE, Alta.- Jocelyn Ramsden (BC Ski Team/WMSC) and Ford Swette (BC Ski Team/WMSC) won the season opening races on Saturday on the GMC Cup alpine skiing circuit.
In the women’s giant slalom, Ramsden took the gold clocking a two-run time of 2:05.36. Vanessa Alboiu of Calgary followed for the silver in 2:06.19 and Mackensey Young (BC Ski Team/Fernie Alpine Ski Team) was third in 2:07.97.
‘’It’s an exciting win for me,’’ said Ramsden, the first run winner and runner-up in the second. ‘’Up to this point this season, I had not been performing to the standards I wanted. I was having trouble laying down clean runs all season. This win is a big confidence boost.’’
Both Alboiu and Young gained two spots in the overall standings with strong second runs. Alboiu also hopes she’s launched a streak of success for the rest of the winter.
After being saddled with mono last season, Young was struck with pneumonia earlier this winter.
‘’I had to be as clean as possible on the second run’’ said Young, 17. ‘’The big challenge was coming onto the pitch, there were a lot of tough areas and I wanted to stay out of trouble. I’m feeling great right now, and I’m trying to catch up to the others.’’
It was also a bumpy ride for the men in their GS as a consistent snowfall kept the course maintenance crew busy. Swette prevailed in 1:59.31 over two runs with Mike Law of Cochrane, Alta., second in 2:01.68 and Brandon Sutton of Thornbury, Ont., third in 2:01.92.
‘’One of my strengths is skiing in tough conditions,’’ said Swette, 17, with his first career win on the circuit. ‘’I was pleased with my performance. I had good first half, slipped a bit at the last Nor-Am but was able to bounce back here.’’
Top 15 Women 1 11 107310 RAMSDEN Jocelyn 1993 CAN 1:02.02 1:03.34 2:05.36 43.44 2 12 107251 ALBOIU Vanessa 1993 CAN 1:02.96 1:03.23 2:06.19 49.20 3 1 107167 YOUNG Mackensey 1992 CAN 1:02.98 1:04.99 2:07.97 61.55 4 5 107269 CARROLL Tianda 1993 CAN 1:03.58 1:04.41 2:07.99 61.69 5 15 106977 POLESCHUK Nicole 1990 CAN 1:03.19 1:04.94 2:08.13 62.66 6 7 107306 MICHALIK Victoria 1993 CAN 1:03.48 1:05.22 2:08.70 66.62 7 62 107476 HENKELMAN Megan 1995 CAN 1:04.63 1:04.32 2:08.95 68.35 8 65 107489 MCINTYRE Jenna 1995 CAN 1:04.04 1:05.03 2:09.07 69.19 9 67 107482 KING Emma 1995 CAN 1:05.39 1:04.11 2:09.50 72.17 10 10 107352 BERMEL Rebecca 1994 CAN 1:03.87 1:06.25 2:10.12 76.47 11 54 107515 WELLS Alix 1995 CAN 1:05.87 1:04.60 2:10.47 78.90 12 36 107435 VERGE Kaitlyn 1994 CAN 1:06.30 1:05.40 2:11.70 87.44 13 29 107411 MCINTYRE Hayley 1994 CAN 1:05.43 1:06.73 2:12.16 90.63 14 52 107505 STANGL Maria 1995 CAN 1:05.98 1:06.19 2:12.17 90.70 15 13 107441 DARLINGTON Kailee 1994 CAN 1:04.96 1:07.33 2:12.29 91.53