L a t e s t  n e w s ..... Heel wins Super G in Val Gardena with Defago and Jaerbyn on the podium ... Paerson wins Super combined from Hosp and Suter ... Walchhofer retains King of the Hill in Downhill, Miller 2 and Osborne Paradis 3 ... Gut wins Super G in St Moritz from Suter and Fanchini

'The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams' (Eleanor Roosevelt).

Alain cuts if fine but takes 30th place AFTER 1st run

With the course deteriorating very quickly and many racers struggling with the soft conditions, Alain Baxter hung in there and took the all important 30th spot.  The importance of this gave Alain start number 1 for the second run and with conditions expected to deteriorate, a great opportunity to get a great result.

Alain came down steadily on the first run. Starting 36, he crossed the line with a relieved look on his face as he slotted into 23rd spot.  This soon became 24 and with a number of racers all just beating his time by the time brother Noel left the start, Alain was in 27.  Noel came down and having listened to the course reports that told of a number of gates that were causing grief with large pot holes appearing, was able to ski within himself to finish just behind Alain.  For a while the two sat in 29 and 30.  Then the inevitable happened and the two were pushed down one place, knocking Noel out of the top thirty for the second run. 

Alain stayed in the precious 30th place and with Noel going 32, James Leuzinger will go 35.

Benni Raich leads from Manfred Pranger and Giorgio Rocca in third just two tenths back.  Miller and Schoenfelder are tied for fourth three quarters of a second back.  The last three world champions all came to grief as course officials filled in holes with snow rather than sculpting the holes to make them skiable.  Kostelic, Matt and Palander all came out.

After the first run, Norway joined the growing list of countries not taking part in the Team Event on Sunday

Baxters both in top 25 at World Championship Slalom.  Both Alain and Noel Baxter attacked the Stelvio course on the last day of the World Alpine Skiing Championships and were rewarded with encouraging results.  Alain equalling the result he scored four years ago in St Anton with 16^th place, Noel making 21^st and James Leuzinger finishing in 24th.

The soft snow conditions made it treacherous on the first run and all three British racers defied the odds to make it down. “I made a few mistakes on the first run,” commented Alain Baxter after he had qualified for the second run in 30^th place.  Running first for the second run gave Alain a clear course on which to attack.  “My second run felt fast,” reflected Alain “but as soon as I saw Aamodt beat my time I knew that it was not going to be good enough.”  With the conditions worsening on the second run Baxter’s time held in there and whilst happy Baxter rued what could have been a better day.

For Noel Baxter, there was a period when he was sitting in 30^th place after the first run.  With his brother just in front of him, it was galling for him to be bumped down to 32.  “I am starting to ski better but it was tough. My first run was not so good but the second was better,” rued the younger Baxter.  Noel, with this result made his best World Championship result.  Worse was to follow for Baxter though as his result was held provisionally for over an hour as the authorities tried to disqualify him.  Baxter’s coach, Christian Schwaiger, spoke with the jury for over an hour before TV evidence was found that showed his innocence.  “Noel always skis with his lower hand down and they thought this was because his ski had caught the gate,” Schwaiger explained afterwards.

James Leuzinger, subject of a television show by Swiss Television earlier in the week due to his Swiss father, managed to complete a trio of British racers in the top 25 with 24th.  “It was tough out there,” Leuzinger explained. “His second run was really good until the lower split,” declared Schwaiger afterwards.

The British Team has now returned home for rest and will start preparing for the remaining World Cup races and then the British Championships in March in Meribel.

1 Benni Raich (Aut)

2 Rainer Schoenfelder (Aut)

3 Giorgio Rocca (Ita)

16 Alain Baxter (GBR)

21 Noel Baxter (GBR)

24 James Leuzinger (GBR)