Australia New Zealand Cup competition begins in Thredbo
Australia New Zealand Cup (ANC) races have kicked off in Thredbo, Australia, with a stacked field of World Cup and first-year FIS athletes alike. The Australian resort is hosting a four-day series, starting with two giant slalom races for men and women on Aug. 21-22.
“This is the most impressive collection of alpine racers that any Australian ski resort has seen since Thredbo hosted the World Cup in 1989,” said BJ Kaufmehl, race director for Thredbo Ski Racing Club (TSRC), in a recent Ski & Snowboard Australia press release.
On the ladies’ side, Swedish World Cup skier Sara Hector dominated both days. In the first race, she took the win by 1.19 seconds over German Julia Mutschlechner in second place. Breakout star Alice Robinson of New Zealand found herself on yet another podium, 1.66 seconds away from the win. On day two, Hector’s winning margin slimmed slightly. Mutschlechner was able to get within a second of her, 0.90 seconds off the pace. There was a shake up in third place as Hector’s new teammate Estelle Alphand took third place, 2.10 seconds away from the win.
In the men’s races, New Zealand’s Adam Barwood won the first day over teammate Willis Feasey by just 0.05 seconds. Daniel Meier of Austria rounded out the podium in third place, 0.38 seconds away from the win.
“I couldn’t be happier with today’s race,” said Barwood in a Snowsports NZ press release. “It’s my first Continental Cup win and exciting to make a 6-point result. On the first run, I took advantage of a fairly clean track, starting in bib 1. The second run was super rough, but I fought through and managed to move into first place.”
Brian McLaughlin of the Dartmouth Ski Team was the top American athlete in ninth place. On day two, Meier charged to the top spot, claiming victory by 0.68 seconds over Andreas Zampa of Slovakia. Krystof Kryzl of the Czech Republic rounded out the podium in third place, 1.47 seconds away from the win. Independent American athlete Hig Roberts was the top American in tenth place.
ANC racing continues on Aug. 23-24 with two slalom races at Thredbo. Complete results can be found here.
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