Press launch supplied by the World Professional Ski Tour
Taos Tremendous Slalom podium winners, Photograph WPST
Tremendous Slalom World Championships, introduced by SportsInsurance.com and C.B. Sports activities
After thrilling qualifying rounds on the Ski TAOS’ Kachina Basin, the lads confronted off beginning in a spherical of 32 and the ladies certified to a discipline of 16 based mostly on entry numbers. No matter competitors dimension, women and men obtain equal prize cash and race on the identical course in any respect World Professional Ski Tour races. Right here’s how the competitions panned out:
Males’s Tremendous Slalom
Becoming a member of the WPST TAOS World Championships had been common WPST opponents, together with U.S. Ski Group alumnus Michael Ankeny (USA); Present Tour chief Christian Soevik (NOR); German nationwide group veteran Roman Frost (GER); 2023 Tour Total Champion Simon Breitfuss-Kammerlander (BOL); six-time All-American, Filip Forejtek (CZE) and extra. These athletes set as much as face off the likes of 2023 WPST World Champion Reto Schmidiger (SUI); 2023 FIS Parallel World Champion Alex Schmid (GER); Stifel U.S. Ski Group and TAOS athlete River Radamus; World Cup tech specialist Sam Maes (BEL) World Cupper, Raphael Hauser (AUT) and extra.
Through the spherical of 32, the surprises included a quick elimination of 2023 Tour Champion Breitfuss-Kammerlander, who certified poorly, whereas Germany’s Adrian Meisen upset the ninth seed Stifel US Ski Group’s George Steffey. Racing progressed easily into the spherical of sixteen, the place upsets included Haaser benefiting from a fast mistake by the primary seed, Filip Forejtek. Haaser then went on to ski into the quarterfinals—no different massive surprises by that spherical.
Heading into the quarterfinals, the racing was intense and the tempo aggressive. Soevik, who dominated the Tour all season, discovered his match in Haaser and was eradicated. On the similar time, Schmidiger proved his mastery of the TAOS course as soon as once more and simply defeated his Czech opponent, Jan Zabystran (CZE). Frost, a stable WPST athlete this season, confronted Maes, who edged Frost out. Lastly, longtime Tour common Ankeny challenged Schmid however couldn’t get previous the reigning FIS World Champion gold medalist even with a bonus after the primary run.
The semifinals featured an all-international discipline, with Haaser out snowboarding Schmidiger, who confirmed indicators of fatigue. Additionally, Maes met Schmid with aggression and skied into the finals.
With a small remaining between Schmidiger and Schmid, Schmidiger got here out victorious after Schmid received twisted up and couldn’t get well. Maes and Haaser attacked the course within the finals, however Maes had a dominant begin and constructed on his lead the whole technique to the end.
1st) Sam Maes (BEL)
2nd) Raphael Haaser (AUT)
third) Reto Schmidiger (SUI)
4th) Alex Schmid (GER)
Girls’s Tremendous Slalom
The ladies’s discipline held one other deeply stacked group of expertise, together with WPST regulars like 2023 Tour Champion and Total World Champion Erin Mielzynski (CAN); 2022 Tour Champion Tuva Norbye (NOR); 2024 WPST Aspen winner Sara Rask (SWE); All-American Kaitlyn Harsch (USA) and extra. 2022 Total TAOS World Champion Paula Moltzan from the Stifel US Ski Group and the 2023 Big Slalom TAOS World Champion, her teammate Tricia Mangan, joined these girls together with different present World Cup athletes.
Sport Insurance coverage. com teammates Norbye and Harsch met of their first-round matchup, with Norbye coming away with the win. Norbye then needed to meet one other teammate, Mielzynski, within the Spherical of eight. Mielzynski has confirmed dominant towards Norbye all season, however at this time, she skied energetically and got here away with the win.
In the meantime, Norbye’s youthful sister Kaja additionally joined within the race motion—Kaja has raced on the WPST earlier than, however not lately—and progressed by the bracket to face Moltzan within the semifinals. Each Norbye sisters skied shortly and exactly to maneuver by their brackets, with Tuva advancing towards Mangan. Nevertheless, Kaja was unable to outski Motzan however certified for the small remaining towards Mangan. Mangan gained the primary warmth, however Kaja regained momentum and skied into third place.
Within the massive remaining, Tuva Norbye challenged Moltzan within the first run. Nonetheless, in the end, Moltzan discovered extra velocity on her second run blue course and earned the highest spot within the TAOS World Championships tremendous slalom for the third consecutive season.
1st) Paula Moltzan, Stifel US Ski Group
2nd) Tuva Norbye (NOR)
third) Kaja Norbye (NOR)
4th) Tricia Mangan, Stifel US Ski Group
Big Slalom World Championships, introduced by Mazda – March 30, 2024
Saturday introduced a bluebird and calm day on the Kachina Basin Ski TAOS, with a deeply gifted discipline of professional athletes coming collectively for an additional day of World Championships racing, this time racing an enormous slalom.
Males’s Big Slalom
After yesterday’s tremendous slalom, the large slalom course provided a completely new sport, with the lads’s spherical of 32 progressing as deliberate, however the spherical of 16 supplied vital surprises. New faces proceeded by the bracket, together with the upset of yesterday’s 2024 Tremendous Slalom World Champion, Sam Maes (BEL), by Stifel US Ski Group’s George Steffey. Additionally, Tour chief Christian Soevik (NOR) was taken out by rival WPST skier Filip Foretjek (CZE), who has skilled problem profitable towards Soevik all season. Alex Puente Tasias (ESP), who initially joined the Tour in Bear Valley, upset Alex Schmid (GER), the reigning FIS Parallel World Champion.
Thrilling motion and typically wild snowboarding continued into the quarterfinals, with the large slalom providing the athletes extra velocity and riskier strains. Steffey proved he preferred the GS format a lot better than Friday’s tremendous slalom and shortly eradicated Foretjek. All through the season, Tour veteran and U.S. Ski Group alumnus Michael Ankeny has confirmed that he can nonetheless compete towards the youthful WPSAT athletes. Nevertheless, he couldn’t shake off Alex Puente Tsias on Saturday, who discovered additional velocity and progressed to the semifinals. The subsequent shock of the spherical got here between Stifel U.S. Ski Group’s Radamus and his former teammate Patrick Kenney (USA). Kenney had a bonus on the primary run however raced on the slower of the 2 programs throughout his second run. Nevertheless, he dropped the hammer after the highway part and skied into the semis victorious. Final however not least, Jan Zabystran (CZE) met yesterday’s second-place finisher, Raphael Haaser (AUT), and Zabystran proved dominant in each runs.
Through the semifinal spherical, George Steffey proved he couldn’t be stopped on this course, saying, “As extra of a G.S. man, I favored at this time’s set and took each benefit.” Steffey took care of Puente Tasias and superior into the finals. Zabystran continued to construct on his tempo towards Kenney and earned the opposite spot within the finals.
Within the small remaining, Puente Tasias confirmed fatigue and couldn’t defeat Kenney, and the American Unbiased earned third place. Steffey and Zabystran saved it thrilling by the primary run, however Zabystran went too straight throughout the second and let Steffey ski safely to victory and take residence a $20,000 test.
1st) George Steffey Stifel US Ski Group (USA)
2nd) Jan Zabystran (CZE)
third) Patrick Kenney Unbiased International Racing SYNC Group (USA)
4th) Alex Puente Tasias (ESP)
Click on on photos to enlarge
Girls’s Big Slalom
The ladies additionally blended issues up throughout the big slalom; with extra velocity and straighter strains potential, they might take higher benefit of the flat. Yesterday’s tremendous slalom World Champion, Stifel US Ski Group’s Paula Moltzan, was upset within the quarterfinal spherical of eight by Fabiana Dorigo (GER), a Tour rookie and first-time professional racer at TAOS. Moreover, the 2023 Tour Champion Erin Mielzynski (CAN) was equally upset by Stifel US Ski Group’s Tricia Mangan. Kaja Norbye (NOR) confirmed she is an athlete who can thrive in each disciplines with swift progress towards Evelina Fredricsson (SWE). Lastly, Nora Model (GER) defeated Tuva Norbye (NOR), stopping her from assembly her sister within the subsequent spherical.
Mangan’s velocity remained excessive within the semifinals, whereas Dorigo confirmed indicators of fatigue. Mangan progressed to the ultimate. Kaja Norbye was equally capable of outski Model. That end result created an all-German small remaining between Dorigo and Model and an enormous remaining between Mangan and Norbye.
The small remaining went shortly, with Dorigo defending off Model and snowboarding into third place. Mangan confirmed a extra conservative strategy than her wild snowboarding of previous years and defeated Kaja Norbye with a transparent benefit on each runs.
“This has been essentially the most superb occasion and I’ve had a lot enjoyable; the World Professional Ski Tour, TAOS and all the sponsors have finished an unimaginable job on this occasion and all of it nonetheless feels surreal,” mentioned Mangan of her win.
1st) Tricia Mangan Stifel US Ski Group
2nd) Kaja Norbye (NOR)
third) Fabiana Dorigo (GER)
4th) Nora Model (GER)
OVERALL WORLD CHAMPIONS
With factors accumulating over the race weekend, Tricia Mangan was a transparent WPST 2024 TAOS World Champion, introduced by New Mexico True. She held her $20,000 GS prize and $25,000 total bonus excessive. The number of skiers doing effectively within the males’s discipline throughout the two races culminated in a three-way tie for the $25,000 males’s title bonus, which was break up evenly between Zabystran, Maes, and Haaser.
Race highlights of the 2024 WPST TAOS World Championships can be out there on FOX Sports activities (FS2) beginning April 7 at 12:30 pm EDT. Full outcomes brackets for every race can be found HERE.
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