L a t e s t  n e w s ..... Vonn stuns slalom specialists to win in Levi with Pieitiae Holmer second and Maria Riesch in third.... Grange wins mens race from Miller and Kostelic .... Chemmy Alcott suffers clean break of ankle in training in North America, expected to be out till New Year .... Lindsey Vonn injures left knee in training Super G in Copper Mountain, no lay off details announced

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

 Iain Martin reports on the Val d’Isere Skier and Boarder Cross

It’s not how good you are: it’s how bad you want it! In no area of Snowsports is the adage more applicable than in skier and boarder cross, where those willing to take risks and knocks can often overcome the better riders they are racing head to head against.

The Natives Workers’ Challenge Series, which has been running for five years, drew to a close last week with a Skier/Boarder Cross comp on the world-renowned slopes of Val d’Isere.

In spite of the smattering of snow, and at times very bad visibility, the race went ahead; with plenty of competitors vying on their timed runs to try and make it into the head to head knock out rounds.

The sixteen fastest qualifiers in each category then raced four at a time into and through the finals. The course, made especially for this event, was a series of steep banked turns, roll-overs and jumps which tested daring as much as skill as the racers fought for the best lines.

Over the events of the Workers Challenge series hundreds of workers took part, and thousands of spectators were shown just how good amateur riding can be. But the most thrilling competition of all was undoubtedly the Val d’Isere race, where the best of the Tarentaise workers ripped down to the cheering supporters at the finish line.

Radio Val’s Will Jones did a fine job on the commentary, managing to be funny in both English and French, and keeping rider spirits high even when they were eliminated.

Val d’Isere Course officials Gerard and Sarah Bonneville noted the good natures of the competitors and marshals alike. In a sport which is often noted for its scuffles and arguments it is rare indeed to see such a race go as smoothly.

In addition to the series sponsors of the Natives Workers’ Challenge: Fat Face, Redeye, Ellis Brigham, Sun Helmets and Skiworld and partners the Verbier Ride and Ski Club of Great Britain; race specific sponsors Sessions clothing, local board shop Misty Fly, The Saloon Bar and Slingshot Vodka came on board to provide a prize fund of more than 6000 euros.

The winners, bedecked in brand new rider-designed ski wear from Sessions, could hardly carry their armfuls of prizes, but everyone who made it to the finals was rewarded.

Jon Trigell, Natives Overseas Manager, said of the Challenge: “Skier/Boarder Cross is definitely the best spectator sport for those who like to see plenty of mayhem in their racing – it makes Speedway look like a Sunday drive with granny – it’s sometimes amazing to see any of the riders finishing at all, never mind turning in the sort of times they do.”

The Natives Workers Challenge race series is part of The Natives Show Love Tour with 27 events throughout the Alps, in the UK and even in New Zealand.

RESULTS FROM NATIVES WORKERS CHALLENGE SKIER/BOARDER CROSS

AFRICAN OLYMPIC ROUTE STARTS IN MERIBEL

Aiming to be the Jamaican bobsleigh team of the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics, Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, the first professional skier from Ghana, chose the Natives Workers Challenge in Meribel to make his competitive debut.

Nkrumah-Acheampong took up the sport only two years ago when he got a job as a receptionist at the indoor skiing centre in Milton Keynes.  He has based himself in Meribel for this winter and the Natives Giant Slalom was his first outing ‘contre la montre’.

It was the third year in a row that the Olympic Stade in Meribel had hosted the race, and competitors were blessed with clear blue skies on a fresh January day.   As well as the best of season workers in the Three Valleys and Ghanian Olympic hopefuls, workers from as far away as Chamonix competed in the opening leg of the Natives Workers Challenge Race Series (www.natives.co.uk/race).

Over a hundred competitors took part in the individual Giant Slalom in the morning, and for Nkrumah-Acheampong, it was a first opportunity to see his name emblazoned on the main scoreboard, where gods such as Alain Baxter, Chemmy Alcott and Finlay Mickel have gone before.  Unfortunately due to a limit on the number of characters available on the screen, strict informality ruled for race number 114, named solely as ‘Kwame’.

As with all Natives Workers Challenge events, although the emphasis was on inclusivity, with many novice racers taking the chance to experience the thrill of racing for the first time, the standard at the top was very high, with a number of ex-national team skiers from the home countries.

Unfortunately Kwame’s debut resulted in a DNF (‘Did not Finish’), but undeterred his multinational team entered the afternoon’s team Parallel Slalom races.

Over twenty ski and board teams took part, and the crowds who braved the freezing cold conditions were not disappointed – with the racing at an awesomely high standard and as packed with tumbles and turnarounds as only a truly head-to-head sport can be.

With such a high standard, the Ghanian’s team did not make the latter stages, although Kwame told Natives afterwards that the day had been great experience.  A committed Christian, he added: "Only one person stops you reaching the top and that's yourself."

In the boarding competition, the Dick’s Tea Bar squad, Ski Dicks, more comfortably confirmed victory by conquering every team in their round robin group.

The skiing competition went to best of three final and could have been either teams’ race right up until the final second, with Dani and Her Merry Men, led by Dani Bosher, eventually pulling victory from the slavering jaws of the second placed Special Needs, led by Tim Fawke.

The prize-giving at Jack’s Bar on the same evening saw the winning workers rewarded with brand new skis courtesy of Freeride.fr, gear from Fat Face, Sun Helmets, Redeye Beanies, and summer holidays from Skiworld. 

The best were also rewarded with trophies and medals, while every single novice who entered was given a prize, just for having the guts to enter.

Next up for the Natives.co.uk team is the Big Air Competition in St Anton on 03 March and then the final stage of this winters Worker’s Challenge Series: the Skiercross and Boardercross Comp in Val d’Isere on 30 March.

At this stage it is not known if there will be any African entrants, but as always for a Natives event, all everyone is welcome to join in.

For full details of team and individual winners of the 2005 Meribel race check out www.natives.co.uk/race/2005/merres