Indoor racing in Landgraaf – huge thumbs up from all!
From two days of racing at the indoor Snowworld centre in Landgraaf, a number of racers enhanced their reputations and left others knowing that there is work to be done. This was a case of summer racing meeting winter racing and the winner was the racing! Megan Jenkins and Robert Poth were the class acts in the Children’s racing as they destroyed the rest of the field in both races. In the open races Caroline Powell was made to fight hard to win both races while Andrew Davies won his first major race in the first race before Ashley Breese demonstrated what a talent he is in winning both runs in the second race.
These races, the brain child of Snowsport England and organised by Dermot Flahive, were a bold and exciting event at a time that the sport is asking a lot of questions of itself. While Britain has indoor slopes, it does not have them of the same length or offering the same facilities: Full board hotel, fitness facilities and training facilities on the slope – it is no wonder that Snowworld is used by mane of the leading alpine teams for summer training camps and that many of the racers had been here for a few days before the races to get in some training.
While Megan Jenkins and Robert Poth were the class acts in the children’s age group, the thirty second courses gave the racers plenty to think about. In the girl’s races Anna Henderson and Brianna Machej joined Jenkins on the podium in race one with Machej taking second and Jessica Anderson third in the second race. Henderson dropped to fourth with Isadora Taylor taking fifth in both races. These five racers proving to be the ones to beat. Such was Jenkins’s performance she would have placed fourth on day one and second on day two amongst the boys’ times!
In the boys races Robert Poth gave the rest of the field a lesson in how to attack a course. He did not just win but the margin of his wins in both races was breath taking. In the first race Will Wheeler battled in to second place and Matthew Davis took third after Jordan Fellows made an uncharacteristic error on the second run to slip to fourth with Joshua Penning Lambert enhancing his growing reputation with fifth. Better was to come for both these racers in day two as they placed second and third respectively, Davis and Wheeler dropping to fourth and fifth respectively. Daniel Barton finished sixth on both days and just could not quite catch the fifth placed racer each day; Hamish Johnston was seventh on both days.
In the younger Children’s age group, this was a great opportunity for the first year racers to put a result on the board before the winter came. Cameron McGregor Ogden took the win on the first day ahead of Dominic Daley and Ryan Brown – who had used his trip home from Italy to stop off in Landgraaf and race! In day two, a quarter of a second separated the top four after the first run and there was all to race for. Daley took the win with Nathan Breese stepping up to second and Toby Deighton taking third just ahead of Thomas Rascagneres. All good stuff and exciting for the future!
In the younger girls races Rebecca Greaves made it two wins from the two races with Katya Bingle Williams taking second on both occasions. Lucy Bingle Williams took third on the first day and Isabella Hoskins on day two after having been fourth in the first race.
In the Open race (or Junior race as it was forever being called despite their being Seniors and Masters racing as well), although this age group are more accustomed to fighting for FIS points, this was a good opportunity to see how the summer training was going against their peers without the pressure of FIS points being at stake. Caroline Powell came from behind to win the first race ahead of her fellow England team member Alice Macaulay with Darcie Mead giving her older rivals notice of her ability to take third in the first race ahead of a lethargic Charlotte Gould. Gould raised her game in race two to jump up to third place but still knows there is more to come from her. Mead made a crucial mistake on run two in the second race and dropped down to fifth behind Ellen Brown. Florence Bell had took fifth in the first race. No Senior girls raced and it was left to Avelline Deighton to take the Master’s victory in both races.
In the men’s races, the father of Andy Davies admitted to being nervous for his son in between the two runs on day one as Andy was chasing a first win in a major race. Son did not disappoint as the Southampton University student posted the fastest times on both runs to win. Gerard Flahive caught up Ashley Breese to take joint second place with the first year junior racer with Marco Furio taking fourth. Race two would prove to be just as exciting with Ashley Breese putting in two runs of exceptional technical ability that left many of the coaches gasping. Breese is one of the most exciting talents of his age group and hopefully has a long career ahead of him. Breese won by over three quarters of a second from Davies with Flahive relegated down to third and Furio in fourth again. Giacomo Ghislanzoni took fifth on day one with Max Moss taking fifth in race two. Elliot Simpson won the Senior age group in the second race and Carl McGregor Ogden taking wins on both days in the Masters races.
Team Shred took the spoils in the Dual Slalom on the first day. The strong team comprising Ashley Breese and the two Poth brothers, Daniel and Robert, skied cleverly and safely to take the spoils ahead of the pocket rocket team of Jessica Anderson, Hamish Johnston and Will Feneley. It is not just pure speed that is needed in dual slalom relay racing but making sure you get down without falling: Many of the on paper faster teams succumbed to crashes and mistakes!
The races were not just innovative in coming to Holland for these two races but a further award was put up by Team Evolution for the best Team over the two races with points scored from podium positions. After a lot of checking and double checking of results the entry from Hemel saw them home and dry ahead of Telford and the BSA. Little things like this competition give the racers a feeling of belonging and racing for their club as well as for themselves and nobody wanted to let their clubmates down! This was a welcome addition to the racing.
As the racers and their parents packed up and drove home in the sweltering heat, the smiles were there for all to see. The gamble had paid off and with hopes to eventually make this a FIS race; the talk on the Sunday night was of how to develop the event. Certainly the ability to eat, sleep, fitness train and ski all in the same building is a great bonus. The amount of talking, both social and ski related in the evenings and off the slope meant that a lot of work was being done and ideas developed: This is all to the benefit of the sport in the long run and it is to be encouraged. Twelve teams in the end scored points to challenge for the title but the numbers racing for Hemel saw them home comfortably.
Paul Telling spoke at the end of the prize giving after having awarded the Team Evolution Team Cup to Jon Reidy from Hemel and applauded the organisation of Dermot Flahive and his team: While the venue is ideal for the task in hand, the willingness of the trainers and racers to embrace new ideas is also great to see. Bring on the next race here!
Snowworld Landgraaf have been very helpful in getting this venture off the ground according to Dermot Flahive and have offered the venue again but with a window of April, May, June or July for next year. If you did not make this year and you want to enhance your ski racing in the summer, listen out for when the racers are next year. This will soon become a firm favourite on the summer race calendar. The racing saw some high class performances, the venue was helpful and encouraging and most of all they want us there!
Well done all!
The full race results will be up shortly (TD’s approval awaiting)
If you would like to see your pictures from the two days of racing, email neil@racer-ready.co.uk and mention the athletes name you would like to see. Pictures cost £10 each or you can buy all the pictures from the races for £25 per racer.
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