While the rest of the world was focusing on the World Cup races in Levi in Finland, some of the next generation of British racers were honing their racing skills in a CIT race at Pass Thurn in Austria. Organised over the last year by the Ambition Racing Academy, this was a great opportunity to get some early season results in Europe. Ski racing is a year round sport and getting early season results helps to see where the racer is standing in the grand scheme of things. Two CIT level slalom races over tow days for both women and men saw some strong results.
Jessica Anderson, Sarah Woodward and Abi Bruce all produced improved second runs to end up in fifth, sixth and seventh with Nicole Ritchie placing in ninth. Anderson, Woodward and Bruce all scoring sub fifty point results. The race was won by Melanie Niederdorfer from Austria.
In the men's race a double Polish win, Pawel Pyjas winning from Piotr Habdas saw Cormac Comerford of Ireland take fourth with Angus Wills taking the best place of the British in 11th with an encouraging 68 point result. Owen Vinter also made the top fifteen.
Day two saw Woodward take the plaudits as top British racer with eighth place, Olivia Foster in 11th and Lois Jackson in 14.
Angus Wills was again eighth overall in the men's race as the only British racer to make the top fifteen. Two of the first year FIS racers, Toby Case and Robert Holmes got their FIS careers off to a positive start finishing in 19th and 22nd, Case scoring just outside the 100 point mark.
After the race, Ambition director and chief of race, Marc Telling was keen to emphasize the importance of the race for British racers. With more and more British racers chasing starts across Europe and around the world, quotas mean it is getting ever harder to secure a start for the younger racers, with no quota for this race as it was a British run race, more should have taken advantage of the race.
The Federation, Home Nations and clubs need to work with organizers of British run races to make racers aware of these types of races to give them the best opportunity in improving the racers opportunities.
Ambition are hosting more races on 25th and 26th of March 2019 just prior to the Delancey British Championships in Tignes, details are on the FIS Calendar.
Full results