The post Dave Ryding era has kicked off with some positive results down in the southern hemisphere. Headlining the results has been Molly Butler with a win in her warm up races for the ANC races coming up but there have also been encouraging results from Ryan Faber. Over in Argentina, Gabriela and Claudia Ritchie have also been on the podium.
For Butler this is a new season with a new set up. On the 11 August Butler won an NJS FIS Slalom in Treble Cone, skiing to just below her FIS points, beating Phoebe Heaydon and Mikaela Smyth to top step on the podium.
With three results needed now to work out FIS points and the minimum penalty a little higher this season, this has seen more Europa Cup and World Cup racers head south to make sure they are ready for the start of the northern hemisphere season.
Butler was very grateful to those that had backed her and this has allowed her to undertake the expense of this trip. After the racer Butler explained “I am very happy to be confident in my slalom skiing at the moment and take the win the other day.”
With the appeal of the upcoming ANC races, this was a warm up for Butler. “Overall I am happy to be here and happy with the way things are going,” she added.
Posting on LinkedIn, Butler explained “I’m really grateful for the opportunity to be here competing in the Aus/NZ Cup and to be part of this new team. It’s early days I know but I’m feeling excited about what this next chapter could bring.”
This was Butler’s 14th FIS race win of her short career to date!
Talking of her new teammate, Butler explained on LinkdIn, “She's kind, calm and just a really lovely person to be around. We're quite different in some ways but I think that's what will make it work. We can learn from each other, bounce off each other and hopefully bring out the best in each other.
“Ski racing is intense and there's so much time travelling, training and racing away from home. Having someone with you who you get on with, can laugh with and trust makes all of it so much better.”
In Argentina, 19 year old Claudia and 18 year old Gabriella Ritchie have been scoring podiums in the races at pert Moreno, El Bolson and Lago memos, san Martin de los Andes. Gabriella took. Second and third with Claudia taking a first FIS race win in pert Moreno in the NJR Slalom and with it her third best career result.
FIS Pages
Molly Butler
Claudia Ritchie
Gabriella Ritchie
Picture of Molly Butler on the podium from Molly's LinkedIn page