Charlie Raposo laid the marker down for the rest of the Junior racers at the English Alpine Championships with a strong performance in the Slalom. Raposo came from second to win his ... fourth career FIS race almost a year since his last win. Raposo trailed German Alexander Vetter by almost half a second after the first run yet put the pressure on the German on the second run that forced the German into an error and he dropped down the rankings to 21st. Barney Lewis was next best British racer just ahead of Max Baggio.
This was Raposo's best slalom result this season and with the World Junior Championships just around the corner, the determined member of the Global Race team is coming into form at the right time.
Having decided to quit racing due to the lack of direction and support that is emanating from the governing body, Barney Lewis is producing some inspiring results. It seems that the pressure to secure results is now off the 18 year old and he is relaxing and scoring results at ease. It is sad that it takes the decision to quit for reasons that are not his fault, for the results to come. With news of another British racer about to quit the British scene and go and race for another country soon to come to light, it is no wonder that the young of Britain are doing this when they have no faith in the governing body!
Max Baggio did not quite make the most of his early start number (2) on the first run. With many of the racers suffering delays as gates flew out almost at random due to the soft snow later on in the race, Baggio could have done better to secure a better result.
After seasons of struggling to get the results that showed his talent, the change in training venue is paying rich dividends for Ashley Breese. Having swapped Austria for the Inspire base in Mont Genevre on the Italian / French border, Breese has now scored his career best two results in Slalom in the last few weeks. The persistence of his coach and training with Australian Olympian and Europa Cup racer has seen Breese raise his game and lower his FIS points considerably.
While the conditions may not have been the best, racers have to take the ruts with the smooth. Those racers that were rigid and did not suck the ruts up, more often than not did not make it down and headed off to the warmth and dry of the restaurant at the finish. For those that attacked and took the risks, the rewards were there. Just 37 finished the race from the 111 starters!
Full results
Picture: Charlie Raposo on his way to winning Overall the English NJR Slalom in Bormio. Credit & Copyright RACER READY