Ed Guigonnet capped a very successful British Championships in taking the National Junior ittloer and with it securing enough Championship points to share the Junior Overall with his teammate, Owen Vinter. Vinter finished sixth in the race. Rob Holmes took second in the race with Ted Slade taking third among the British racers. The top five British Juniors were rounded out by Aiden Urquhart and Jack Upton.
Guigonnet had said before the race that this was about the race win and everything else was a benefit. Having secured the Overall Senior title, this was about relaxing and skiing fast. And this is what he did.
Just 0.02 behind Poth and four tenths behind Rob Holmes who lead the British placings after the first run, Guigonnet did a no holds barred second run that saw him move up to 12th after the second run. When the pressure of championship points is over, Guigonnet has shown that he is a tremendously talented racer.
Holmes was happy with second in the British but you could sense he felt this was one that got away. Every one loves a title and Holmes is no exception. He has another year as a junior to secure the Junior title he craves and will be aiming for that.
For Ted Slade this was a first visit to the podium at these championships and oner he richly deserved. It may not have been his best result of the season but this was about mixing it with his peers and slugging it out down the same course. When others came out, he battled on to get the result.
There were so many stories coming into the race with much of the focus on the opportunity and aim of Rob Poth, the British Senior Slalom Champion who was looking for that result that would catapult him into the top 150 in the world so that he could take up a place on the World Cup. Poth was two seconds off the lead of Belgium's Tom Verbeke on the first run and gave it all on the second run before the gas ended. He will score bigger and better in time to come such is his promise and ability.
While the results may not have seen British racers in the top ten, Guigonnet was best in 12th overall, the standard and depth of slalom skiing was great to see. The future is certainly bright for British racing.
Men's Junior National Championship Slalom results
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