Noel wins first run of Palisades Tahoe SL

Clement Noel. Photo: GEPA pictures

PALISADES TAHOE, California – After the stormy and windy first run of the Palisades Tahoe slalom, France’s Clement Noel has a slim (-0.07) lead.

In second is Switzerland’s Daniel Yule (+0.07) and in third is Germany’s Linus Strasser, who is (+0.11) behind Noel.

In fourth place is a former US Ski Team member now representing his native Greece, AJ Ginnis (+0.19). Ginnis ignited his season in Chamonix on February 4th; every run since then has been extraordinary.

Notably, after the first 15 racers had finished their first run, the time spread between the fastest 10 racers was only (+0.52) and by the end of the run, only (+0.50).

The Swiss set a straightforward first-run course that mainly tested a racer’s willingness to take a direct line. This is why the first run time spread is so narrow and few top 30 racers did not finish. It will be interesting to see what the Bulgarian coach will set for the second run. His racer Albert Popov didn’t have a fast first run and will start early, so an entirely different approach is expected.

North Americans

Neither the Stifel US Alpine Team nor Alpine Canada qualified a racer for the second run. The US men had a fantastic race in Chamonix on February 4th, but have struggled significantly since. The US and Canada have also failed to qualify a slalom skier for the 2023 World Cup finals in Soldeu Andora.

The best US athlete during the first run was giant slalom specialist River Radamus. Radamus 32nd ran last and missed qualifying by only (+0.07). Canadian Erik Read was the fastest of the North Americans; he finished 31st (-0.01) faster than Radamus.

Three racers with bibs above 30 qualified for the second run. The fastest was bib 35, Croatian Istok Rhodes, who finished the morning run 14th. The highest bib number to qualify was Spain’s Juan Del Campo, who started 46th. The time spread for the entire top 30 was only (+1.94)

Mother nature has done everything possible to make hosting the Palisades Tahoe races difficult. There have been large amounts of snow, some freezing rain and plenty of wind. However, the race crew has continued to deliver great racing.

Top 32 first-run results and analysis of the fastest three

Analysis of the fastest three