Friday’s HomeLight Foundation Series NorAm GS was once again dominated by international racers, notably the Italians. Federica Brignone put together the two fastest times on course to win the NorAm GS at Copper Mountain by 2.70 seconds. Brignone was not the only Italian to snag a top three, joined by teammate Roberta Melesi.

Thursday’s winner, Estelle Alphand, finished in second place, securing the second NorAm podium of her career. She found herself surrounded by Italians on the podium, with Melesi right behind her in third place. This was the second consecutive day that Melesi found the third step of the podium. The Italian finished 3.38 seconds outside her teammate, Brignone, and 1.14 seconds off of Alphand.

Americans Keely Cashman, Alix Wilkinson, Kjersti Moritz, and Mary Bocock secured spots eight through 11, with Bocock narrowly missing a top-10 result.

Asked about her day, Cashman said, “I was excited to race today because yesterday I fell pretty early on in the course, but I felt like the skiing was good and I was ready for today. I felt a bit tired today. I have been training speed the last two days and the heavy workload caught up with me. The surface and hill were prepped super well and course sets looks super fun. My first run was very conservative skiing so I hoped to send it a bit more on my second run. The second run course set was a bit more offset and I ended up over skiing.

“Although I am not super happy with my results, I am happy to be back in the start gate,” Cashman added. “This is only my second race series coming back from injury and I feel that every time I step in the start gate I feel a little more like my old self.”

Moritz moved from bib 49 to finish in 10th. “The snow was prepared so well, even from the back or middle we had a chance to move up,” she said.

While this is her first NorAm series, Moritz is currently the top American in the NorAm standings.

“The NorAms weren’t what I was expecting. I expected them to be more intense,” she said. “My teammates made it feel fun. I’m trying not to put too much weight on these races, but I’m excited about where I am in the standings right now. It’s pretty crazy.”

Mikaela Tommy and Cassidy Gray led the Canadians, finishing in sixth and seventh place, respectively. Neither Tommy nor Gray finished yesterday. Meanwhile, their teammate and yesterday’s second-place finisher, Britt Richardson, did not finish her first run today.

RESULTS

With both days of GS complete, the women will have two days off before the first slalom on Nov. 22.

Check back in tomorrow for a recap on the men’s GS.