Winters podiums on final day of Copper GS at HomeLight Foundation Series
The second day of the men’s GS races at the HomeLight Foundation Series NorAms at Copper Mountain ended with another U.S. Ski Teamer on the podium. Luke Winters threw down the fastest second-run time on course after finishing 14th the first run. This pulled him up to third place, .33 seconds outside the winner, Thomas Tumbler, of Switzerland, and just .02 off Anton Grammel, of Germany.
How did Winters improve so much between runs? He said, “I wasn’t really happy with the previous three race runs on this hill. I wasn’t happy with my skiing. But this last run I just let go. I knew that I could take a lot of speed off the top pitch and onto the flats so that’s what I did and I had a pretty solid run otherwise so it worked out.”
Winters also shared a little more about his day and some race plans. “It feels good to be back in NorAms, especially these early season NorAms that I haven’t raced in a couple years. It’s always good to be in the start gate again and get that feeling of racing again before jumping into a World Cup. I am racing the slaloms, I decided to stay back and ski these slaloms, I think there’s an opportunity to get in the start gate again before Val d’Isere and just build some confidence going into the World Cup season.”
Americans George Steffey and Bridger Gile joined Winters in the top 10, finishing in fifth and seventh, respectively. Yesterday’s top American, Jett Seymour, did not finish his first run.
U.S. Ski Team coach Ryan Wilson said, “Both Luke and Jett have had a really nice GS and SG block here in Copper. Simplifying the focus and working on technical changes in disciplines other than slalom have had a really positive impact on the guys. Super happy to come out of the GS races with two podiums from this group. The goal is to rip across all disciplines, this was a great starting point.”
Asher Jordan was Canada’s top finisher today with a ninth-place result. His teammates Liam Wallace and Riley Seger finished back to back in 12th and 13th.
Tomorrow will begin two days of NorAm slaloms for both men and women. Check out tomorrow’s recap for slalom updates.
About the Author: Lexi Hanus
