Sunday was the final day of the action in Tignes for the Delancey British National Alpine Senior and Junior Championship, with Nick Moynihan and Alice MacCaulay taking the Junior Slalom titles.
Nick Moynihan opened the Slalom, finishing his first run in an impressive 35.88 seconds, setting the standard for the rest of the field.
For the second run, the sun began to break through and the cloud lifted as the racing progressed. Moynihan managed to maintain his lead in his second run finishing in 38.61 seconds, a final time of 1:14.69 minutes.
Just behind Moynihan was Alex Barounos, who finished in a total time of 1:15.89, taking Silver after his Bronze in the GS yesterday. Paul Henderson took the third spot on the podium finishing in 1:17.26.
Moynihan said: “Yesterday I picked up some more confidence, I started doing some of the skiing I knew I could do and then today I just had to put two runs together. In the first run I managed to put a steady run down as I was bib one so I made the most of the conditions.”
“The second run was a bit bumpier and I had to be a bit suppler in the knees and make my way down but it all paid off. A win’s a win and it feels really good.
“This year’s been tough combining skiing with my studies, but I feel I’ve found a good balance and understand what I need to do in the next year and the years to come, and I’m excited to make that happen.”
In the U18 category Iain Innes finished the week on a high, finishing the Slalom with a total time of 1:20.24, just beating Fraser Middleton to Gold who finished in 1:20.35. Yesterday’s GS U18 winner, Jordan Fellows was just off Innes and Middleton with a finish of 1:20.93.
Innes said: “My first run wasn’t that great, but it put me in a good position for the second run as I ran 8th. I finished with a time less than two seconds off the winner so I was pretty happy with that”.
Middleton explained how he lost some valuable time today just missing out on first place: “My first run was pretty solid, but in the second run I made a small mistake on the pitch so I lost a bit of time but today was definitely a good day and a nice way to end the Championships.”
In the Ladies race, Alice MacAulay took to the podium for the fifth time this week, claiming the Junior and U21 Slalom title. She finished in 1:17.05, her first run clocking in at 40.44 seconds and her second run 36.61 seconds. She was presented with a pair of ski gloves from Royal Warrant holder Cornelia James and was joined on the podium by Darcie Mead who took 2nd place in an impressive time of 1:17.52. was third spot was clinched by Beth Widdup, with an overall time of 1:18.82.
MacAulay said: “I’m pleased with my runs today; everything came together with the Slalom. It’s been a bit on and off so I’m pleased I got two good runs in”.
In the U18 Ladies category, Yasmin Cooper (pictured above) took her second title of the Championships and made the podium for the third time this week, finishing in an exceptional time of 1:18.17. Finishing in second place was Jess Anderson in a time of 1:19.73 and Megan Jenkins placed third on the U18 podium with a time of 1:20.41.
Cooper was happy with her performance today: “During my first run there were great conditions helped by running in bib one. The second run held up ok, there were a few bumps but I was pretty happy with my runs. It feels amazing because I didn’t think I would win any titles at or make as many podiums at the Championships so it’s a welcomed surprise.
“My season’s been really good, I’ve scored well in my Slalom, and I’m hoping my GS points will come down but I’d only done one Super G race before so I was really happy to win the title.”
Today saw the Overall Combined National Junior Championship titles being awarded. Nick Moynihan took the Overall Combined NJC and the U21 category awards, whilst Cara Brown took the Overall and U21 Ladies combined titles.
Brown said of her week’s racing: “I was really happy to defend my Championship titles and I was happy to take some new titles in the Downhill and the Giant Slalom. Overall I was pretty happy with my skiing throughout the week and it’s been good to see everyone and the fresh junior ladies talent coming up.”
The U18 Combined National Junior Championships titles were awarded to Yasmin Cooper in the Ladies and Ollie Davies in the Men’s.
Overall NJC Men’s winner Nick Moynihan said: “I really like Tignes; it’s at a high altitude so the snow conditions have been great, everyone’s happy with how the week’s gone so hopefully we will see the British Champs here in years to come.”
On the final day of the Championships the Craig Macfie Award was presented for the third year running, in honour of the Craig Macfie Foundation which raises awareness of drink driving and supports national and local ski racing development. This was awarded to Paul Henderson, a Scottish athlete, who has shown a step up in his skiing since his FIS debut and has demonstrated sportsmanship in all times in his competitive career.
In addition, the Kirsteen McGibbon Trophy was awarded in commemoration of a British Team athlete who tragically died in a Downhill accident 19 years ago. Alice MacAulay was presented with this trophy in support of her honourable performances in ski racing this year, along with her commitment to further education at university. Alice has been a commendable example of showing dedication and performance in both education and sport, which has often been a challenge for many FIS athletes.
The Delancey British National Alpine Championships has seen some difficult race conditions this week, but the Chief of Championships, Paul Trayner, and his team worked hard to ensure the races could run. British Ski and Snowboard would like to thank all of the organising committee once again for their amazing hard work this week.
Dave Edwards, CEO of British Ski and Snowboard said: “British Ski and Snowboard would like to thank Sir John Ritblat and Jamie Ritblat of Delancey for their continued support of the federation and the British Alpine National Championships. Without this, we would be unable to stage such an important world class international event. British athletes have had another hugely successful season and we hope with continued support we continue to excel and raise the profile of British snowsports.”
