On the penultimate day of the Delancey British National Alpine Senior and Junior Championships 2017, three races took place on the slopes of Tignes – the Men’s NJC GS and the Ladies’ NJC GS and the International Paralympic Committee Alpine Skiing (IPCAS) British Disabled GS.
In the Men’s National Junior Championship GS, Iain Innes (1.44.09), pictured below, continued his top form to claim another British title in the Under 21 category, ahead of close rival Billy Major (1.44.21) who was nudged out by Innes into second. Laurie Taylor, who was fastest Brit after the first run unfortunately skied out on the second run after charging a little bit too hard! Third place in the Men’s NJC GS went to Zak Vinter in a time of 1.47.55.
In the Under 18 Men’s category, Scott Buchan continued a successful Champs, claiming another podium to take the title in a time of 1.52.51, with Kieran Troup (1.52.56) just fractions of a second behind him. Third place went to Leonidas Karavasili who clocked a time of 1.55.16.
Iain Innes said: “I’m really happy today, although there were some good and bad elements. I think it was about as good as I can do right now. I haven’t been skiing great on the steep parts and this course mostly goes down on the steep, so I am happy that I managed to ski it pretty well.It’s so great to be on the podium again, I’m honestly loving it out here, and for that podium to come in the Giant Slalom on a steep piste, it’s really boosted my confidence.”
Scott Buchan said: “It was a really good performance today and I’m really happy to have taken the win. It was certainly a surprise, but definitely a good one. In my first run, my skiing wasn’t great but the time was alright. It was within touch so I was happy with it overall. In the second run, I really had to go as fast as I could to make sure I remained in contention, so thankfully that paid off in the end. It’s been a really good week, I’ve really enjoyed it.
Jessica Anderson (pictured top) had a fantastic second run to ensure she held onto her first run lead in the Under 21 ladies category, claiming the British NJC GS title in an overall time of 2.06.96. In second place behind Anderson in the Under 21 category was Yasmin Cooper (2.08.81), with Ella Still (2.08.82) just .01 of a second behind Cooper to take third place.
In the Ladies Under 18 category, Alicija Krahelski (2.11.71) reigned supreme again to take the British title, just ahead of rival Abi Bruce who clocked a time of 2.11.84. Third place went to Rhona Price (2.18.02), who claimed her first podium of the Championships.
Jess Anderson said: “I’m really happy, as I had a couple of mistakes in the first run so my time wasn’t great. I almost fell on the third gate so that wasn’t the best start, and then on the flat, I put my skis sideways a bit and so lost a bit of speed, and I was crawling along the rest of the course. I turned it around on the second run though and I think I made up quite a few places and a lot of time, so I was very pleased with that.”
Alicja Krahelski said: “I’m very happy to have won this title. I’m really happy with my performance, and my second run was a lot better than my first. In the second run, I managed to fight the line a lot better and it was a lot more rhythmical and had corridors in the snow, so you could get into those and feel good.”
The IPCAS British National Championships returned to Tignes for the second year running. Featuring 12 athletes, four guides and five different classifications, both the British Parasnowsport team and development athletes tackled a GS today, ahead of the Slalom tomorrow.
In the Women’s Visually Impaired GS, Menna Fitzpatrick alongside guide Jennifer Kehoe took the victory from Alexandra Adams and guide Jim Gibb. In the Men’s Visually Impaired classification, husband and wife combo James and Alice Luetchford (James’ guide) couldn’t be beaten as they took the win ahead of Billy Black and guide Neil Graham.
In the Women’s Standing race, Grace Murray-Conway, who started competitive skiing last year took the win ahead of Molly Griffith. In the Men’s Standing race it was a carbon copy of last year’s podium, with James Whitley defending his British title, taking top spot on the podium ahead of Matt Short and Andy Barlow.
In the Men’s Sitting race, Josh Landmann (pictured above) became British Champion for the first time after taking up competitive sit skiing under a year ago. After a tentative first run, Landmann put down a quick second run time, ensuring he clinched the British title.
Menna Fitzpatrick said: “Today was a lot of fun. The snow was in good condition and the course was really nice to ski. We came out here to have fun, and that is what we have definitely done. I am really glad we have a British Champs now, and the atmosphere has been brilliant. It’s great to bring the whole British skiing community together. It’s not often that happens.”
James Luetchford said: “Today was our best GS race. We have been working hard on keeping the same distances between us and it was great to see that it paid off today. We really had to think tactically and ensure we tried to keep our speed consistent throughout the race, and we did that a lot better today than in any other race.”
Grace Conway-Murray said: “It was a great race today. The course was better than I expected and overall very enjoyable. I started competitive skiing racing this season, so I am about where I want to be. I have enjoyed my first season, it has been amazing.”
James Whitley said: “I really enjoyed the course today. It was pretty technical and turny. I have just come back from Europa Cup finals, and the course felt very similar. It was really fun and it felt like you could get the best out of it.”
Josh Landmann said: “The course was good today and I was definitely a bit more in the swing of things by the second run where I put in a good time.
I started learning to ski in January 2016 in Poland. After Poland I started skiing at Chill Factore in Manchester and that is where I got noticed by one of the GB coaches. It has just gone from there.”
Tomorrow sees the conclusion of the Championships with the Delancey Ladies’ British NJC Slalom Championships, the Men’s British NJC Slalom Championships and the Ladies and Men’s British Disabled Slalom.
