GB Park and Pipe skier James ‘Woodsy’ Woods has taken second in the World Cup Ski Slopestyle in Quebec, Canada (Pictured above, image credit GB Park and Pipe).
This follows his X Games Big Air gold medal, which he won at the end of January.
Woods (25) said after his podium finish: “I kept it pretty mellow as I wanted to do a run I knew I could land. I’m here to collect points but it’s so good to know this type of run is still at the top!”
Meanwhile in Europe The English Alpine Ski Championships kicked off in style under sunny skies in Bormio at the weekend, with some impressive skiing in the FIS National Junior Slalom and Under 12 & Under 10 Giant Slalom.
Around 400 athletes, coaches, parents and supporters descended on Bormio yesterday for the opening parade, which – to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Championships in Bormio – ended in an impressive torchlight descent by local ski instructors. Kandahar Racing’s Elliott Bennett also took part having been chosen to light the opening flame.
In the men’s Under 21 category of the FIS NJR Slalom, Billy Major took the overall victory ahead of France’s Sacha Lekaene, with English compatriot Robert Poth third overall. Fraser Middleton finished as the third-highest British skier, and ninth overall. For the Under 21 women, Jessica Anderson was fifth overall and the highest-placed English skier, with Yasmin Cooper taking second and Freya Eaton third.
“I was quite surprised, but it’s always good to come away with a win. The conditions held up pretty good, but I actually wasn’t too happy with how I skied parts of it. A win is a win, and I haven’t been here since I was racing in the children’s races, so this is my first-ever FIS race at the English Ski Championships and that’s a great result,” Billy Major said, continuing,
“This season’s been a bit of a weird one so far; I’ve been training well but not doing as good in the races and it’s hard to put a finger on why. We’ve got a new set-up since April last year with the British team where myself and Laurie Taylor are training with a couple of Austrian coaches, which is going really well. It feels that bit more professional than what I was doing before. I’m trying to get to the next level up, and even though the points I’ve got in my races this year, I think I’ve made quite a big step.”
Meanwhile, Benjamin Bruno topped the pile for the English skiers in the men’s Under 18 race, with Kieran Troup and David Christey the next-highest British racers. Megan Riley – who has been concentrating on her GCSE’s this year – took the win for the Under 18 women ahead of Lucy Scott and Grace Williams.
The full results can be viewed on the English Alpine Championships page on the Snowsport England website.
All the action can be followed on Twitter @SnowsportEng / #AlpineChamps and the Snowsport England page on Facebook.
Today the action continues with the FIS Slalom on the Stelvio piste and the U14/U16 Slalom on the Stella Alpina race piste.
“Snowsport England would like to thank the continued sponsorship and support of the event by main sponsors and supporters Bormio Ski, Rossignol, Vital, Ski Club of Great Britain, Ski Bartletts and Racer Ready,” said a spokesperson.