Press Release provided by the World Pro Ski Tour: photo credit @WorldProSkTour and @Aaron Barnhart

World Pro Ski Tour returned to Bear Valley Resort for three races over President’s Day weekend, featuring a giant slalom on Saturday and two super slaloms on Sunday. During the first day of racing, snowy conditions left racers with limited visibility and some delays, but the course held up through qualifiers and giant slalom.

SATURDAY

FAR WEST PRO OPEN

The Far West Pro Open Giant Slalom was an “open” category race, allowing both male and female entries. Kaitlyn Harsch was the sole female athlete to qualify among a field of 18 men and nine women to the Round of 16, which featured many Tour regulars, including rookie and Colorado Pro Open winner Christian Soevik (NOR), Aspen Pro Open winner Michael Ankeny (USA), Aspen Pro Women’s Open winner, Erin Mielzynski (CAN) and more, all vying for Tour points and $10,000 checks. 2018 Olympian and 2x US National GS Champion Filip Foretjek (CZE) repeated his performance in Aspen, delivering the fastest qualifying run.

Round of 8

The Round of 16 offered no surprises, but during the Round of 8, 2023, Tour Champion Simon Breitfuss-Kammerlander (AUT) dropped out of the race before entering the gates in his matchup against David Ketterer (GER).  David Ketterer (GER) became dominant on the Tour last season after he retired from the World Cup. Ankeny and Soevik, winners in January’s Aspen races, met in a rookie vs veteran duel, with young Soevik, a freshman at the University of Denver, outskiing Ankeny to advance.

Semi-Finals

After eliminating Ankeny, Soevik met Forejtek for a battle in heavy snowfall. The two racers were neck and neck until Forejtek missed a gate in the second run and Soevik advanced. Meanwhile, Ketterer faced rookie Loic Chable (SUI), currently a sophomore at Westminster University, who provided Ketterer with a challenge, but the experienced Ketterer outperformed his young opponent.

Click on images to enlarge.

Finals

After variable weather conditions and associated course delays, the athletes were exhausted from a long day on skis. In the small final, Forejtek took on Chable, with each athlete fighting hard for the third-place podium spot, and in the end, Forejtek prevailed. For the big final, Soevik met Ketterer in the starting gates, and the young Norwegian found more speed on the course to come away with another victory for the season. Soevik took home his second $10,000 check of the season and secured his position as the leader in the overall tour standings.

FAR WEST PRO OPEN RESULTS

• Christian Soevik (NOR)
• David Ketterer (GER)
• Filip Forejtek (CZE)
• Loic Chable (SUI)

SUNDAY

What a difference a day can make; Saturday’s snow/rain mix made way for bluebird skies and nearly two feet of Sierra cement on the course that was groomed before setting Sunday’s Super Slalom course.

SPORTSINSURANCE.COM CLASSIC

The World Pro Ski Tour women’s race at Bear Valley qualified into an International battle in the talented round 8—only two of the eight ladies hailed from the USA, facing three Canadian and three Norwegian racers. The standout performer was Erin Mielzynski (CAN), a 4-time Olympian and 13-year veteran of the Canadian ski team, coming off a Tour Championship in 2023 and one victory earlier this season in Aspen. 

Round of 8

The only major surprise in the women’s round of eight came from Hedda Berntsen (NOR) defeating Kaitlyn Harsch (USA). Harsch, the only female qualifier to race against the men in the open field Saturday, was skiing fast and putting down aggressive runs. However, the freshly groomed course after heavy snowfall left no room for error, and when Harsch took a bold line into a gate on the top of the course, she could not recover.  Berntsen, an Olympic silver medalist, World Championships medalist and X-Games medalist in ski cross, is no stranger to success and proceeded into the next round with her conservative approach.

Semi-Finals

In the semi-finals, Mielzynski faced Norway’s Henriette Resen, who could not compete with the dominant Mielzynski. Meanwhile, Berntsen met 2022 Tour Champion Tuva Norbye (NOR) in a battle of Norwegian racers. Norbye is more experienced on the dual course and easily advanced.

Finals

That left a small final between Norwegians Resen and Berntsen, with a victory by Resen. Berntsen is not to be discounted, as the decorated ski-cross racer now has several Tour finishes under her belt. She will use this to imporve her strategy for the Taos World Championships. This left SportsInsurance.com teammates Mielzynski and Norbye up against one another in the finals. While Mielzynski showed dominant skiing all day, any mistake on variable conditions can lead to an upset. Ultimately, Mielzynski could ski through to her second season victory and held her big check – furnished by SportsInsurance.com – high.

“We want to keep seeing girls racing, and it makes us really happy that SportInsurance.com is making that happen,” said Mielzynski.

SPORTSINSURANCE.COM CLASSIC RESULTS

• Erin Mielzynski (CAN)
• Tuva Norbye (NOR)
• Henriette Resen (NOR)
• Hedda Berntsen (NOR)

BEAR VALLEY PRO OPEN

All eyes were on Christian Soevik (NOR), who has been on the podium for all WPST races this season, including two wins. Soevik quickly eliminated Nico Monforte (USA) and Keiffer Christianson (USA) in his first two pairings.

Round of 16

The big surprise in Round 16 was the early elimination of Simon Brietfuss-Kammerlander (AUT), the 2023 Tour Champion. Kammerlander had a .207-second advantage over Joachim Mjelde (NOR) after the first run but hooked a tip at the top of the second run and skied off course to end his day.

Round of 8

After being on the lucky side of Kammerlander’s mistake, Mjelde met Spain’s Alex Puente Tasias, who defeated the Norwegian and skied on to advance to the semi-finals against Soevik. Also, tour veteran Michael Ankeny (USA) skied to a wild victory against Forejtek to earn a spot in the semi-finals.

Semi-Finals

Tasias displayed stronger skiing and was neck and neck with Soevik into their second heat, but took too straight of a line and straddled, allowing Soevik to advance to the finals. David Ketterer (GER) progressed handily to the semi-finals to meet Ankeny; the Joker had a wild ride that put him ahead of the German, but he was ultimately outskied and Ketterer advanced to the finals.

Finals

Ankeny handily defeated Tasias in the small final and skied to third place on the podium despite being visibly exhausted after the long weekend of racing. This repeated Saturday’s matchups with Ketterer vs. Soevik in the big final. Both athletes were neck and neck in the first run, with a .676 advantage to Ketterer. At the top of the second run, Soevik booted out and left Ketterer to ski to his first victory of the season and his third big check at Bear Valley.

BEAR VALLEY PRO OPEN RESULTS

• David Ketterer (GER)
• Christian Soevik (NOR)
• Michael Ankeny (USA)
• Alex Puente Tasias (ESP)

For complete results, visit WorldProSkiTour.com