The Canadian alpine team: They're contenders again

The Canadian alpine team: They’re contenders againIn terms of Nations Cup rankings, last season was the worst in history for the Canadian Alpine Team. It finished 12th, one place behind that brother-sister team from Croatia. But this season’s Maple Leaf squads offer reason for optimism. The team is young and without superstars, but it’s also definitely on the rise and positioned to do more than play the spoiler. Canada has contenders.

Take Allison Forsyth, for example. She’s coming off three top-five finishes last season, including a second at Copper Mountain. Genevieve Simard, last season’s World Cup rookie award winner and the top Canadian finisher (20th) in this season’s opener, also made the podium last season. Melanie Turgeon has been a force throughout the early 21st century.

Thomas Grandi, at 29 the grandfather of the bunch, had planned to retire after the Olympics but had such a good season that he decided to continue. Jean-Philippe Roy is a fast improving World Cup vet who scored his first eight points in 2001 then contributed 103 in 2002. Britt Janyk won last season’s Europa Cup GS title and should enter the season with confidence. All these contenders are being pushed from behind.

Despite having 10 skiers age 24 or less on the 17-member national team, there were nine skiers listed among the top 50 in the world in at least one discipline after last season. Admittedly, top 50 won’t win a lot of adoring fans, but without exception, they are all skiers on the rise.

“We have quite a range of experience,” noted women’s head technical coach Mark Sharp. “from Allison, who is a veteran in the top five, to a group of rising stars and a 17-year-old.” That would be Sophie Splawinski, who earned a start at the Soelden World Cup opener by winning the NorAm title last season. She was one of six Canadian women entered at Soelden, more than have been qualified in a GS since the 1970’s.

The men’s group sports its own surprise in Julien Cousineau, who was smoking everybody the Canadians trained with this fall. “Cousi was winning all the training runs and he beat all of the Americans except Bode Miller,” said an obviously pleased and excited men’s coach Marc Gagnon. “Thomas (Grandi) looks ready to go and J.P. (Roy) is physically stronger than ever.”

Ironically for the nation which gave the world the “Crazy Canucks,” downhill is perhaps this team’s weakest link, at least among the men. After a mid-Olympic “downsizing” of the men’s team, there’s not much left but Darin McBeath, who didn’t crack the top 20 last season. The speed team also includes David Anderson, Jan Hudec, Jeff Hume and Erik Guay, none of whom has a single World Cup point.

The women’s speed group has Turgeon, who has won plenty of points, and even races, along with Anne Marie LeFrancois, Sara-Maude Boucher, and the return of the multi-talented Emily Brydon. Brydon ripped up a knee a year ago in November and pushed up rehab enough to get back in time for the Olympics. At 23 she owns a World Cup podium in downhill from St. Moritz, Switzerland, site of this season’s FIS Alpine World Championships.

The team has its work cut out for it, but it has the athletes to better expectations.