Two of Britain’s leading skiers were clinical in today’s racing at the 2018 Delancey British National Alpine Ski Championships.
Just over a month since the curtain closed on their first Winter Olympic Games, Laurie Taylor won the Howden Men’s Giant Slalom while Charlie Guest defended her Howden Ladies’ Slalom title.
The course proved a real challenge for the men with almost half the starters failing to finish the opening run including defending champion Charlie Raposo. It was an opportunity Laurie Taylor grabbed with both hands, opening up a lead of more than a second.
The 22-year-old was able to extend his advantage even further when he was again fastest on the second run to secure his first Giant Slalom National Championship.
Taylor (2:20.07) won by more than two seconds to collect the Ski Club of Great Britain Challenge Cup from Nick Moynihan (2:22.25) while Downhill champion Billy Major (2:22.89) was again on the podium in third.
After the race Taylor said that he was happy with the performance he was able to deliver in the face of trying conditions which took their toll on the field.
“It was tough, it was a fight,” said Taylor. “There were a lot of tactics involved. If you go off the line it made it pretty hard to get back. (The course) was good fun, definitely a challenge. It took a lot of people out of the course so I was happy to make it to the finish line.”
“I’m feeling pretty tired now, but hopefully I’ll do some recovery and should be good for tomorrow (in the Slalom).”
Fifth-placed Leonidis Karavasili picked up the Palmer Tomkinson trophy for the fastest non-British team athlete while Tom Hudson (seventh) won the Gordon Skiers Cup as the best Under 18.
In the Howden Ladies’ Slalom, Charlie Guest picked up the Evie Pinching Salver for the third successive year and for the fourth time in the last five Championships.
While she was unhappy with her first run, the PyeongChang Olympian’s class shone through with the 24-year-old taking a lead of more than half a second over her Championship rivals. Guest was then more than a second faster than her nearest competitor on the second run, storming home to a convincing victory.
Guest’s (1:29.41) shared the podium with 17-year-old Victoria Palla (1:13.13), who continued her great week in Tignes by claiming the silver medal – and the Schools Abroad Trophy for fastest Under 18 – while Sarah Woodward was third (1:34.30). Megan Clark (seventh) collected the Ladies’ Ski Club Challenge Cup as the fastest non-British team skier.
“After the first run I was feeling a bit down, I thought ‘I can do so much better than that’,” said Guest. “So at least I managed to show that in the second run and I obviously managed to win the race overall in the end, so it was definitely a relief.
“You really want to show these guys that you are where you are because you’ve worked hard and that you can ski fast and that you went to the Olympics because you ski fast.”
Still working through back problems which have hampered her season, Guest will skip tomorrow’s Giant Slalom and instead start preparing for the final Slalom races of the season.
Tomorrow’s scheduled events will wrap up the Senior National Championships with the uvex Men’s Slalom featuring Dave Ryding and Laurie Taylor, and the Uvex Ladies’ Giant Slalom featuring Alex Tilley.
