Victoria Palla ended the women's junior championships in taking her second Junior title, the Giant Slalom. Giselle Gorringe was locked in an epic battle for the win with Palla but had to settle for second with Sophie Foster taking third. Jess Anderson took the overall race win but as a senior was ineligible for prizes. The top five British juniors were rounded out by Charlotte Holmes and Amy Stokoe.
This was the final day of the British FIS Championships and if this is the memory racers and their parents leave Tignes with, it will be perfect conditions. A blue bird day with cold air temperature keeping the snow hard and the course excellent. Along with the continued high volume course work by the instructors of the various ski schools in Tignes, this was a great race matched with some great performances.
It was Gorringe that set the pace among the British racers, just 0.14 off the race leading pace from Switzerland's Elise Hutter. Palla and Anderson were in close attendance just 0.05 and 0.11 back respectively.
If the pressure of leading on the second run got to Gorringe, then the desire for her younger compatriots not to beat her saw Anderson step up and get the win. Anderson would go on to score her third best result of the season in Giant Slalom.
For Palla, while the Slalom is a strong favourite of hers, she still enjoys the Giant Slalom and this was an impressive performance. "I am super happy with this result," she explained after the race. The season continues for her back in Austrian with more Slalom races and Giant Slaloms.
Gorringe was still delighted with second place and will take great encouragement from her first run. She still has two more years as a junior and will be challenging for the titles in the years to come.
Sophie Foster has taken the decision to stop racing full time and concentrate on her education and going out with a podium place is a great way to see out a career that saw her podium four times in her FIS career and score a best result of 62 points in Giant Slalom. Her final race saw her score her fifth best career result with a 68 point result. Good luck at university Sophie!
Championships are always fraught and frantic and when skis are 'moved' it upsets the mind. Happily this year the missing skis were returned and the racer was able to race. Always keep an eye on your kit!
Next up, the next generation of racers!
Women's Junior Giant Slalom results
Action shots from all the racers are available at www.racerready.zenfolio.com