FIS Alpine Junior World Ski Championships: Four Races in One Day Make for Thrilling Action

Portes du Soleil, France, Jan. 31, 2024 — Today was a big day of racing at the 2024 FIS Alpine Junior World Ski Championships in Portes du Soleil, France, a weeklong event that brings together the best under-21 ski racers in the world.

In the morning, athletes raced men’s and women’s Super G events at the Linga venue in Châtel, marking a second day of speed events. Those races also served as both the Super G event and the Super G portion of the Team Alpine Combined, a relatively new format ski race that pairs up two racers by gender to compete as a team—one in Super G and one in slalom. Later in the evening, athletes raced the slalom leg of the combined competition under the lights at Morzine’s Pleney Stadium in front of a fired-up crowd of 2,000 ski-racing fans ringing cowbells and tooting horns.

Click on images to enlarge

Women’s Super G

Switzerland’s Malorie Blanc took the gold medal in the Super G. Austrians Viktoria Buergler (+.47) and Nicole Eibl (+1.14) took the second and third spots on the podium. “It was a big change to ski today. The snow was softer, so it was a fight,” Blanc said after the race. Coming in the top spot meant her teammate in the slalom, Anuk Braendli, was set up for success. “It’s a good position and no pressure because nobody has to carry the other person,” Blanc said. 

For the U.S., Allison Mollin was the top finisher, placing 12th place (+2.04). “The course set was a bit of a challenge with the rhythm, which I actually enjoyed, but the speed ended up feeling a lot slower than anybody thought,” Mollin said. “I overskied it a bit, but I’m still happy with 12th.” Mary Bocock was 21st, Tatum Grosdidier was 23rd, Liv Moritz was 36th, and Kaitlin Keane did not finish.

Men’s Super G

Max Perathoner of Italy took the top podium spot in the men’s race, followed by Spain’s Ander Mintegui (+.21) and Livio Hiltbrand of Switzerland (+.22). 

For the Stifel U.S. Team in the Super G, Jay Poulter, who skied with Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club and Stratton Mountain School before signing on with D1 University of Utah—placed 7th, the best U.S. finish at the race. Cooper Puckett of Steamboat Springs, Colo., came in 20th place. “There was a blind gate and it really came at me sooner than expected,” he said. “Otherwise, it was good skiing, but one big mistake like that, and you’re out of the race.”

Women’s Team Alpine Combined Event 

The finish times from the Super G race determined a reverse-30 start order for the slalom racers in the evening. Race organizers miraculously prepared a steep strip of snow on an otherwise brown hillside at Morzine’s Pleney Stadium for the slalom. They injected and salted it overnight.

Switzerland’s Anuk Braendli’s first-place finish clinched the gold medal for her and Swiss teammate Malorie Blanc. “It was so nice because last year, we were together as a team in St. Anton, and we were sixth,” Blanc said. “So this year, it was redemption.” The Austrian team of Viktoria Buergler (racing Super G) and Natalie Falch (in slalom) took silver, and a second Swiss pair-up, Stefani Grob (Super G) and Janine Maechler (slalom) took bronze.

For the U.S., Mary Bocock, of Salt Lake City, Utah, who finished 20th in the Super G, partnered with younger sister Elisabeth Bocock, who snagged 10th in the slalom, landing the team in 9th place—the top team finish for the U.S. “I wish I’d performed better in the Super G so that Elisabeth didn’t have to make up as much time,” Mary said. “I was really happy with how she did, especially because so many girls struggled to make it down in the slalom.” Elisabeth added: “It was so cool racing under the lights; I’d never done a night race before yesterday. And it was memorable to be on a team with my sister, Mary.”

Allison Mollin, of Truckee, Calif., placed 12th in the Super G, but her team partner Liv Moritz did not finish during the slalom race. 

Men’s Team Alpine Combined Event 

For the men’s combined event, the U.S. entered four teams, two of which finished. Jay Poulter, who logged the best U.S. finish in the Super G with a 7th place, paired up with Camden Palmquist of Eagan, Minnesota. In the slalom, Palmquist’s 10th place finish elevated the pair to 6th overall in the Team Combined event. “Jay set me up nicely,” Palmquist said. “It’s a new event for me. Because it’s a team event, you really try to make it fast for your teammate.” 

Hunter Salani of Vail, Colo., took 31st in the Super G, setting up teammate Cooper Puckett with a starting position of bib 8 in the slalom. The pair’s combined effort landed the team in 14th place overall. “It was an insane environment. I could hear the announcers when I was coming down on my run,” Puckett said. “With the crowd and the lights, it was like a World Cup race … maybe even better.”