PHOTO: Ski & Snowboard Club Vail’s Henry Heaydon closes in on his third gold medal of the week at the Colorado Ski Cup giant slalom races here in Vail.

VAIL, Colo. January 8, 2021 –  Still riding the high of their earlier success at the Colorado Ski Cup Devo Series that took place earlier this week, Ski & Snowboard Club Vail FIS athletes demonstrated outstanding skill in their sport; taking four podium spots for a total of 16 top 10 finishes at the Colorado Ski Cup FIS giant slalom races at Golden Peak. 

“We just concluded a great race series where we saw excellent performances by both SSCV and visiting athletes,” said SSCV Director of Operations, Bryan Rooney. “The level of competition was superb and only eclipsed by the team of entities and individuals that worked together to help bring ski racing back to Vail in these unprecedented times. We had tremendous support from Vail Resorts, Vail Mountain Operations and the Vail Race Department each step of the way. Eagle County Public Health continues to be an invaluable resource as we navigate this new era of competition and we sincerely thank them for their guidance and support as we returned to ski racing this week. While almost every single Ski & Snowboard Club Vail staff member contributed to the successes we had over the past four days, two people stand out above the rest. Taryn Miletti and Chris Ogilvie put in significant and exemplary efforts to plan, prepare and manage the lead-up and execution of this race series and I would like to thank and recognize them for those efforts.”

The Colorado Ski Cup continued at Golden Peak this Wednesday and Thursday with a trial by fire for the FIS athletes that participated. The introduction of a lengthier giant slalom course alongside back-to-back single-gender races each day and a more competitive field proved to be a challenging test of speed and endurance for elite skiers year of birth 2004 and older.  

The women kicked off the first of two days of competition on Wednesday with speed right out of the gate. In the first women’s giant slalom event, 7 of the top 10 spots were yielded to SSCV athletes and alumni. Lucia Bailey landed on the podium in both races in third with Elena Zipp taking the second place podium spot in race two.  Both competitors are SSCV alumni and NCAA athletes currently training with SSCV after the loss of their collegiate season due to COVID-19 restrictions.  Emma Resnick, Nellie Talbot, Kjersti Moritz, Liv Moritz, Zipp and Reece Bell were also among the top 10 in race one, with Parker Biele, Talbot and Hannah Soria grabbing top 10 spots in race two.

The next day featured some impressive performances from the SSCV men as well. Henry Heaydon, a member of the Snow Australia National Alpine Team, continued to establish himself as a force to be reckoned with amongst his competitors. After landing just outside the podium in his first race, Heaydon rallied in the second to take home his third gold medal of the week. Between the two races, SSCV teammate Colbey Derwin and alumnus Max Bervy both broke through the stiff competition to each seize a spot in the top 10. 

SSCV Athlete and Alumni Top 10 Results

Wednesday, January 6 

Women’s Giant Slalom Race No. 1 

  1. Lucia Bailey
  2. Emma Resnick
  3. Nellie Rose Talbot
  4. Kjersti Moritz
  5. Liv Moritz
  6. Elena Zipp
  7. Reece Bell

Women’s Giant Slalom Race No. 2

  1. Elena Zipp
  2. Lucia Bailey
  3. Parker Biele
  4. Nellie Rose Talbot
  5. Hannah Soria

Thursday, January  7 

Men’s Giant Slalom Race No. 1

  1. Henry Heaydon
  2. Colbey Derwin

Men’s Giant Slalom Race No. 2

  1. Henry Heaydon
  2. Max Bervy

The full list of results for the Colorado Ski Cup can be found at fis-ski.com.