Featured image: Stifel US Ski Team racer competing in the NorAm giant slalom in Mont Ste-Marie, Quebec. Credit: Margo McDiarmid

This past week, the men competed in the final regular season NorAm series, hosted in Mont Ste-Marie, Quebec. Two giant slaloms and two slaloms were scheduled. However, one of the slaloms got canceled. Nevertheless, the men had a successful few days of racing before the NorAm Finals. 

During the three-day event, two individuals achieved the podium twice: Riley Seger from Alpine Canada Alpin and Tormis Laine from Estonia, representing Global Racing.

Tormis Laine was triumphant on the second day of giant slalom and then stepped back onto the podium in slalom for a 2nd-place result. These marked the athlete’s first and second NorAm podiums of his career. Laine has been competing in the World Cup since 2020 but is still looking to earn points and increase his ranking on the circuit. 

Riley Seger achieved two 3rd-place finishes in the two days of giant slalom. After this final series, Seger tallied four podium finishes in the 2024 regular NorAm season, marking his 13th and 14th NorAm podium appearances of his career. The 26-year-old has had several starts at the World Cup level, predominantly in speed events. He scored his first World Cup points this season in Garmisch-Partenkirchen super-G and aims to continue consistently on the circuit. 

Additional victories during the week featured Isac Hedstroem from Sweden, representing the University of New Hampshire, and Declan McCormack from Canada, skiing for the University of Vermont. Hedstroem stood on top of the podium in the giant slalom, and McCormack dominated the slalom. 

Giant Slalom- Day 1

The race conditions on the first day were favorable for the event as the men geared up to compete in the NorAm giant slalom in Quebec. Raphael Lessard, a freshman at the University of Utah, was the first racer to kick out the start gate. It was off to a tough start as Lessard went out. 

Canadian William St-Germain was gunning for it from top to bottom, aiming to make an impression at home. He set the pace of 54.34, but his time did not hold the lead for long. Cooper Puckett of the Stifel US Ski Team and Dartmouth College racer came down the course third and pulled ahead of St-Germain by +0.14. 

Hedstroem maintained composure and threw down a solid second run, earning him a winning combined time. He concluded the day ahead of Puckett by a margin of +0.16. It marked Hedstroem’s first victory on the NorAm circuit and Puckett’s 8th NorAm podium finish. 

Impressively, Riley Seger (CAN) turned up the heat on the second run to earn a spot on the podium. Wearing bib-36, he moved up six spots on the first run to make the flip 30. On the second run, Seger started first and took full advantage of the pristine course. He ended up winning the second run by over a second (-1.06), which brought him to a 3rd-place finish.

Tormis Laine also made a big jump. The racer started 34th and was able to ski two commendable runs that moved him up 30 spots to a 4th-place result. He was only +0.03 off the podium. 

Giant Slalom- Day 2

The temps rose on the second day of the giant slalom, and after the men had seen the hill once, they were ready to fire it up. At the end of the first run, the three US men led with the fastest times, lining up for a possible US podium takeover. Puckett, Bridger Gile, and Cooper Cornelius attacked the course, with Puckett speeding up in the last interval to finish in a comfortable spot for the second run. 

Unfortunately, Puckett could not hold onto his lead in the second run, and Cornelius struggled to hold a time that would keep them on the podium. However, the two racers ended the day in the top 15, Puckett in 9th and Cornelius in 15th. 

Bridger Gile held on, putting down a confident second run, concluding only +0.05 behind the victor, Tormis Laine. The podium was tight, with only one-tenth separating first to third and a tie for third place. 

Rounding out the podium, Filippo Collini of Italy and Seger (CAN) tied for 4th place. Collini was consistent, achieving a 5th-place time in both the first and second run. Seger had to make up time from his 10th-place first run to step onto the podium. 

On social media, Collini stated, “February of ups and downs. Peace out, Canada.” The second day of GS was an ‘up’ for Collini as he achieved his first NorAm podium and second podium in any race this season. 

Overall, this was a challenging day for the athletes because it was a very tightly competitive field. Only one second separated 1st place to 20th, so the men had to really give their all, attack the line, and maintain composure to achieve the leaderboard. 

Slalom 

For the third day of the NorAm event, the men changed their tempo for slalom. It was a thrilling day of racing with another close competition. Cooper Puckett was first out of the start, prepared to send it down the course for another leaderboard result. 

However, he lost time on his first run, barely making the flip, so it was challenging for the Stifel US Ski Team athlete to make up enough time in the second run to find the top. 

Declan McCormack (CAN) started bib-17 and dominated the first run, setting up for success. Nevertheless, he could not hold back on the second run with how tight the field was. He attacked the second run, achieving the victory by two-tenths. 

Tormis Laine brought his confidence from the giant slaloms into the slalom day, attacking through each gate. He was able to throw down two consistently fast runs and earn himself another podium finish. 

Coming into the NorAm, Laine had been disappointed with his World Cup 2024 season, stating on social media, “Disappointing start to the World Cup season to say the least. But I’m already working on making the necessary adjustments.” 

The 23-year-old made big strides during the series in Quebec and unveiled that he can move up and be contingent starting from outside the 30. 

Stanley Buzek of the Stifel US Ski Team rounded out the slalom podium, +0.31 behind McCormack’s winning time. 

Sadly, the last day of the series was scheduled to be a slalom race, but it got canceled. The next series will be NorAm Finals, which begin on April 1st in Panorama, British Columbia.