Press Release-Surefoot Colorado Ski Cup Championships at Golden Peak-April 3, 2015

Vail, CO, April 3, 2015 – The Surefoot Colorado Ski Cup Championships took over Golden Peak this week for men’s and women’s slalom races on Tuesday and Wednesday, and women’s giant slalom races on Thursday and Friday.  The championships brought some of the top racers to Vail, many coming straight from the U.S. Alpine National Championships in Sugarloaf.

“This race brought in a field of top ranked athletes from across the US including collegiate competitors to test themselves on a challenging hill,” said Karen Ghent, Ski & Snowboard Club Vail (SSCV) Alpine Program Director.  The spring conditions can be challenging but the courses held up exceptionally well for the entire field making for a fair race for all.  Some hard chargers took advantage of the deep field and good conditions to score personal bests at their final races of their seasons.”

“We saw some great racing, particularly out of SSCV alums Seppi Stiegler and Taylor Shiffrin (2nd and 7th in the men’s slalom run on the first day).  On the ladies’ side, Vail’s own Sarah Schleper showed us her World Cup form, finishing 7th on the first day in slalom, 2nd on the third day in giant slalom and 1^st on the fourth day in giant slalom.”

“Some of our younger racers are really beginning to shine out there on the hill,” continued Ghent.  “Lucy Bailey, in just her first year racing at the FIS level, turned in a tremendous set of finishes this week, taking 10th place on day one in slalom.”

Thursday’s giant slalom race was an exciting day for Erika McCormick, a Ski & Snowboard Club Vail U21 athlete and Vail Ski & Snowboard Academy student, who had an outstanding 8th place overall finish.  This resulted in her scoring a 35 point FIS race in an extremely competitive field, a very significant accomplishment for an athlete her age.

Erika stated, “I have always loved the Vail Spring Series.  It has been one of the best series of the season during my time competing at SSCV.  It attracts a lot of really great racers and I have done well in it over the years.  Today I was really happy with my results.  It was very special to accomplish this at home with my family and friends able to be there to watch me.”

Great finishes were seen by several other young SSCV athletes.  On the men’s side, River Radamus and Jack Keane finished in the top 20 overall on the first day of slalom racing, taking 1st and 2nd among U18 men.  Jack Keane finished first among U18 men on the second day of slalom racing.

PJ Jenick, the Chief of Race for this championship series said, “We provided six outstanding races over the course of four days thanks to the support of the Vail Resorts race crew and their night time groomers, volunteers, coaches and athletes.  This spring championship race series continues to attract many of the top racers in the country each year, including national team members and collegiate athletes, along with up and coming FIS racers.  These athletes give one last push to improve their FIS points before taking a month or two off snow to get stronger and begin their summer on-snow training sessions.  The venues were even better than expected for this time of year and the top finishers were able to conquer all that a spring series has to offer.”

This week’s SSCV finishes in Vail are below.

A complete list of results can be found at www.live-timing.com