Tom Hales proved that he is the top racer of the summer as he added the British Dryslope Title to the All England title he won earlier in September. With the fastest time on both runs, Hales showed just what the rest of the field need to do to reach the same level. Chris Corr had to be content with second after winning the Welsh Championship the day before with David Hatcher making it two Welsh racers in the top three finishers. James Sieber took fourth place with Callum Witts in fifth. ...
While Hales had recovered from the first run mistake the previous day, his British Championship performance was exceptional and had the CEO of Snowsport Wales, Robin Kellen applauding as he crossed the line on both runs. Hales puts back into the sport as he inspects with the younger racers giving them tips and advice all the way down the course as he shows them the places they can make time.
While Chris Corr had been the class act in the Welsh Championship, Hales was the class act in the British Championship. It would have been great to see Hales facing his old adversary and good friend Andrew Watson to see how each would have fared with the other. There can be no doubt that Hales is the man to beat this season just as Watson was in the previous seasons.
Chris Corr was just under half a second back after the two runs. He had run him close on the first run but could not live with Hales on the second run. Corr was just over half a second ahead of David Hatcher who in turn was just over half a second ahead of James Sieber. This was a return for Sieber to racing after having missed most of the summer due to other activities (exams!). Sieber is a strong and fast racer and will be a huge asset to the already strong University ski racing scene. While Sieber had been in the mix after the first run, a poor, by his standards, second run allowed Hatcher to take the third spot on the podium and also allowed Callum Witts to close within three hundredths of Sieber.
There were age group wins for Oliver Weeks (Under 14 - 11th Overall); Declan Huppach (Under 16 - 6th Overall); Callum Witts (Under 18 - 5th Overall); Chris Corr (Under 21 - 2nd Overall); Tom Hales (Senior - British Champion) and Mark Hawkins (Masters).
Results:Â 14britoutdoorres
Picture: Tom Hales on his way to winning the British Dryslopes Title at Pontypool. Credit Racer Ready - all rights reserved
More pictures are available on www.racer-ready.ifp3.com