McCormick skiing to a second place for the junior men.Vail hosted the opening race for the Surefoot Colorado Ski Cup tour on Tuesday with a giant slalom for the men.  This was also the first FIS alpine race of the season in North America. Competitors representing 11 countries took to the track with SSCV’s Charles Christianson placing second behind Norway’s Lars Myhre by a scant 2/100ths of a second.

“Myhre and I have been friendly rivals for a long time,” said Christianson.  “I’m happy with the way I skied, and this is a great way to start the season.”

SSCV’s Sean McCormick, a local student at Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy, took second for the junior men, 12th overall.

“McCormick has been training really fast,” said coach Ben Babbitt.  “He laid down a solid first run, and he is riding on the confidence gained from his early season prep period here at Vail.”

Also putting in a solid performance was SSCV’s Taylor Shiffrin.  Shiffrin broke into the top 20 with his 17th place finish.

According to chief of race P.J. Jenick, the volunteers, the Vail race crew, the jury, and the SSCV staff, along with the snowmaking and course preparation made for a world-class race.

“The conditions allowed us to put 130 racers down the hill for two runs under optimum course conditions for the entire field,” said Jenick.

The Surefoot Colorado Ski Cup continues today with giant slalom racing for the women on Vail’s Golden Peak.