The excitement of a new event on the calendar saw a number of blasts from the past return to racing yet it was a rising racer from the Alpine scene that edged out the leading dry slope racer of the summer. Rory Farren is a trainee that spends his winter learning his craft at The British Ski Academy and after just taking the victory from Craig Speed, part of the successful Aldershot Ski Club set up, explained that the money will mean he will be able to attend a training camp at Wittenberg in Germain in the autumn.
Paul Telling and his Team Evolution set up were responsible for the event and they pulled in the Winter Sports Foundation and the Eastern Region to help with setting up the event. The £1000 prize for the winner lured in the likes of Adam Lee and Shanna Prince, two of the top dry slope racers from the early noughties. If the older racers fancied their chances so to did the likes of Rob Holmes, Toby Case, Craig Speed as well as some of the leading girls: Nicole Shering and Lauren Vale.
The format of the event was simple. After an hour of free practice down the two courses that would be used for the knock out stages of the event, all the racers were allowed two timed runs to determine who the top 32 racers would be who would then battle it out for the prize. It was winner takes all with no prize for second. Rossignol stepped up to offer a prize for the best of the rest with the Hero trophy for those that finished out of the top 32.
With just one run for the rounds up to the semi finals, false starts and one life for both racers before elimination would be enforced, raised the tension a notch further. This rule would come in for some criticism later in the night but with all the racers knowing the rules before hand, this was the case.
By the times the semi finals came around, the last four remaining were Craig Speed, Rory Farren, Jordan Fellows and the resurgent Adam Lee. Speed had had a tough route to the semi finals taken rising star of snow and plastic, Rob Holmes, out in the round of 16 and then Toby Case, the fastest from the timed runs, in the quarter finals.
Lee, racing twelve years after he had last raced had knocked Lauren Vale out before sending William Austin out. For Farren he had wins against Charlie Tubbs and then Cambridge University student, Matthew Wigmore. Jordan Fellows, a very promising speed skier who had trouble making it down slalom courses had seen off Nicole Shering, one of the leading girls this summer and then Joseph Thompson, one of the big improvers this summer.
The first semi final saw Speed take the race after Adam Lee false started in the second run. This gave rise to a debate on the rights and wrongs of the format regarding false starts by those in the finish area.
Farren saw off Fellows in a tight and exciting second semi final before the two racers congregated back at the start for the final. watching the two racers head back up to the start after Speed had taken the first of the two legs in the final, the desire, determination and focus was etched on their faces. There is nothing like a £1000 to focus an athlete it seemed!
Speed had taken the first run by 0.08 seconds yet Farren took the second run by 0.13 to take the win by a mere five hundredths of a second. This was head to head racing at its finest and Team Evolution are to be credited for the innovation of setting up this event.
With Head to Head team racing making its debut at the last Winter Olympic Games, governing bodies should be encouraged to build more of these events into the staid programme that exists so that British racers are comfortable with the format. The need to nail the start was the one element that most racers came down saying that was critical to a fast run, a comment that was popular with athletes at the Olympics as well!
More events are being planned for next year Racer Ready understands!
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