Featured Image: Haley Cutler being lifted on the podium at the Kimberley NorAm downhill. Phoro Courtesy of Haley Cutler’s Social Media.
Last week, from February 5th to 7th, top athletes battled in NorAm downhill races at Kimberley Ski Resort in British Columbia, Canada. These races were the first 2025 NorAm downhill competitions of the season.
Various competition formats took place, with a blend of traditional one-run downhill race days and rare two-run downhill race days. The conditions for the three days of downhill remained consistent with frigid temperatures and flat light. With more challenging conditions, the athletes had to fight for a chance on the leaderboard.
Two athletes reigned victoriously in the downhills.
Haley Cutler of Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation was unstoppable, dominating the women’s field both days. She finished the first day almost two seconds ahead, and the second day finished the two runs -3.41 in the lead.
On the men’s side, Kyle Alexander of Alpine Canada Alpin achieved victory on both days of the competition. On the first day, he completed the run 0.86 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor, and in the two-run race, he maintained a lead of -0.44.
Women’s One-Run Downhill
On February 5th, the women competed in a traditional, one-run downhill competition. SVSEF athlete Haley Cutler dominated the field with a superb run (-1.69). Wearing bib 15, Cutler came into the NorAm event feeling excitement and nerves.
“Coming to the NorAms this week, I was excited, but also very nervous. I had been lacking confidence over the last couple of weeks, so I wasn’t sure what to expect,” Cutler explained.
Nevertheless, she successfully worked through her mix of emotions to put down a winning run. She stated, “It is a great feeling to come down in the lead,” she continued, “I’m happy I was able to find myself and my confidence again here.”
Securing second place was Burke Mountain Academy athlete, Annika Hunt. This marked her first NorAm downhill podium.
Hunt stated, “My first downhill podium was such a cool experience! The training run the day before, I got second place as well, which I was very surprised about because I have never trained downhill before, and the only other time I raced it was at Copper.”
Rounding out the podium was Shae O’Brien skiing for Banff Alpine Racers, finishing +1.85 off Cutler’s time. This was O’Brien’s first time on a NorAm podium.
“Getting my first NorAm podium felt pretty surreal yesterday. The last few years have been a bit bumpy, so this was a really big moment for me.”
Although O’Brien had some ups and downs the season prior, she still had a mellow mindset entering this NorAm series: “I had a pretty relaxed mindset going into the series. I didn’t really know where to set my expectations, but I just always have so much fun skiing downhill, so I wanted to let myself enjoy that.”
Men’s Two-Run Downhill
On the same day (February 5th), the men also competed in a two-run downhill event. The athletes raced two runs of downhill, and the times were combined for the overall, which determined the winner.
Kyle Alexander of Alpine Canada Alpin achieved victory after two solid downhill runs. Alexander was the oldest athlete there, so his goal was to achieve a top result. He successfully concluded the day -0.44 in the lead.
Kyle Alexander grew up in a ski racing family, and he and his brother, Cameron Alexander, are just two years apart. Both compete on the World Cup circuit and are a motivation to each other within the sport.
Kyle Alexander has competed in 28 World Cup races, and this is his eighth win on the NorAm circuit.
Raphaël Lessard skiing for the University of Utah ski team claimed second place. In the second run he was able to win against Alexander’s time by a mere -0.02, but it was not enough to take the victory.
For Lessard, this marked his fourth podium on the NorAm circuit. At the beginning of the season, his main goal was to succeed in all NorAm events. He stated, “I want to try to be as competitive as I can in all of the NorAm races, in all of the events from slalom to downhill. I want to try to get up on the podium and try to get wins as much as possible.”
Rounding out the podium was Mattias Wilson, competing with Jackson Hole Ski and Snowboard Club. For the 18-year-old, this was their first NorAm podium result.
Women’s Two-Run Downhill
On February 7th, the women battled in the same untraditional two-run downhill format. Cutler succeeded in another superb victory, dominating over the field by +3.43.
Last season, Cutler was suffering from knee issues but has indicated that her knee is doing “very well this season.” She explained, “I dedicated my summer to a new strength and conditioning program. The strength I built and have been able to maintain has really made a difference.”
Zoe Gray skiing for the Alberta Alpine Women’s Team skied into second place with an execution of two solid runs. This was Gray’s inaugural NorAm podium.
The two-run format for Gray was different, as for the entire field, but presented her with a chance to execute an even better second run. She was in 3rd place heading into the second run, which would have already been a great result for the Canadian, but she wanted more.
She explained, “I really focused on keeping the good parts and tweaking the other parts where there was room for improvement,” she continued, “The second run I almost felt more pressure to have a good run than my first because I really didn’t want to mess up. I kept telling myself it is a two-run race, meaning that yes, I skied well the first run, but there is a second run I need to execute.”
Rounding out the podium was Viktoria Zaytseva, who currently competes for Apex2100. This was the Nordica athlete’s second NorAm Cup podium and first for a downhill. She finished the first day in 12th but revved up and was able to achieve 3rd on the second day.
Men’s Two-Run Downhill
The same three male athletes conquered the podium on the second day of the two-run downhill with Kyle Alexander in first, Raphael Lessard in second, and Mattias Wilson in third. Alexander won by -0.86, achieving his 9th win on the NorAm Cup Circuit.
Impressively, Wilson remained consistent by achieving the same time on both runs during the second day and achieved a consecutive 3rd-place finish. This marked the second podium of his NorAm Cup career.
The men and women both took on the super-G to conclude the Kimberley NorAm. More to come.
About the Author: Ellie Hartman
