Delancey British Alpine Team member, Billy Major gave the aspiring and rising talents of British racing a timely reminder that they still have a way to go before they can start laying claim to being the best in the country as he took fifth in the English Alpine Giant Slalom Championship race. While other members of his training group have gone off to North America in search of training and races, Major came and supported his national championships and was rewarded with a strong result. Zak Vinter and Robert Poth were second and third best amongst the British racers finishing in 20th and 21st position.
The strength in depth of the next generation of racers was great to see as 15 British racers scored encouraging sub 100 point results, all bar two of these racers being Junior racers including three first year FIS racers: Owen Vinter, Tom Hudson and Jake Doyle. While this may not seem too significant to some, the psychological barrier of getting through the 100 point mark is a monkey you need to get over as soon as you can in your racing career.
The 1999 year of birth group of racers including Max Vaughton, Leo Karavisili, Angus Wills, Lloyd Chapman and Ben Bruno are pushing each other hard. Vaughton lead the group home this time in taking 25th spot with Karavisili and Wills tieing for 27th, all scoring around the 60 point mark. The harder they can keep pushing each other on, the 60 will soon be 50 and so on. Chapman and Bruno, have a little work to do to catch up with the other three.
While Major may have taken the plaudits in the race, he knows that he needs to keep pushing on to reach his goals. Attending the English Championships may not have been a high priority especially when looking at Europa Cup and Nor Am races that are on, but this exposure to those watching him race will have done Major the world of good.
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