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CAST Top Ten Finishes - 2008/09

Erik Guay	9th	Are	SG
Kelly Vanderbeek	9th	Are	DH
Erik Guay	5th	Are	DH
John Kucera	7th	Are	DH
Marie-Michelle  Gagnon	8th	Offerschwang	SL
Manuel                Osborne-Paradis	3rd	Kvitfjell	DH
Robbie Dixon	7th	Kvitfjell	DH
John Kucera	8th	Kvitfjell	DH
Erik Guay	9th	Kvitfjell	DH
Manuel                Osborne-Paradis	1st	Kvitfjell	DH
Robbie Dixon	5th	Kvitfjell	DH
John Kucera	7th	Kvitfjell	DH
Erik Guay	10th	Kvitfjell	DH
Jean-Phillipe Roy	7th	Kranjska Gora	SG
Kelly VanderBeek	7th	Tarvisio	SG
Kelly VanderBeek	8th	Tarvisio	DH
Larisa Yurkiw	9th	Tarvisio	DH
Michael Janyk	3rd	Val d'Isere	SL
John Kucera	1st	Val d'Isere	DH
John Kucera	6th	Val d'Isere	SG
Michael Janyk	10th	Schladming	SL
Marie-Michelle  Gagnon	9th	Cortina	GS
Trevor White	8th	Kitzbühel	SL
Micheal Janyk	10th	Kitzbühel	SL
John Kucera	6th	Kitzbühel	SC
Kelly VanderBeek	9th	Cortina	DH
Emily Brydon	5th	Altenmarkt	DH
Michael Janyk	8th	Wengen	SL
Julien Cousineau	9th	Wengen	SL
Manuel Osborne-Paradis	5th	Wengen	DH
Jan Hudec	8th	Wengen	DH
Emily Brydon	9th	Altenmarkt	SC
Michael Janyk	10th	Zagreb	SL
Britt Janyk	8th	St Moritz	SG
Manny Osborne-Paradis	3rd	Val Gardena	DH
Erik Guay	5th	Val Gardena	DH
Emily Brydon	9th	St Moritz	SC
Erik Guay	7th	Val Gardena	SG
Emily Brydon	6th	Lake Louise	SG
Kelly VanderBeek	7th	Lake Louise	SG
John Kucera	6th	Beaver Creek	SG
Emily Brydon	7th	Lake Louise	DH
Eric Guay	3rd	Beaver Creek	DH
John Kucera	2nd	Lake Louise	SG
Erik Guay	7th	Lake Louise	SG
Erik Guay	10th	Lake Louise	DH

Compare with last year

Overall WC Standings - 2008/09

Men	DH	SG	GS	SL	KB
Erik Guay	6	12
John Kucera	19	9	50		13
Jan Hudec	39
Michael Janyk				20
Manny O-P	5	30
Robbie Dixon	20	29
Julien Cousineau				33	34
Trevor White				32
Jean-Phillipe Roy			24
Patrick Biggs				42
Brad Spence				44
Thomas Grandi				44
Women
Britt Janyk	26	17
Emily Brydon	16	20			12
KellyVanderbeek	15	21
Anna Goodman				26
Genevieve Simard			29
Marie-Michelle Ga\gnon			35	33
Larisa Yurkiw	33				44
Brigitte Acton				46

Compare with last year

CAST  Rankings - 2007/08

Ladies  -  Ranking	DH/SL/GS/SG/KB
Brigitte Acton
Emily Brydon	10 /  -  /  -  / 5 / 12
Allison Forsyth	Retired June 08
Anna Goodman
Britt Janyk	3 /  -  / 55 / 13 / -
Geneviéve Simard
Kelly VanderBeek	5 /  -  /  -  / 17 / -
Sherry Lawrence	50 /  -  /  -  /  -  / -
Shona Rubens
Larisa Yurkiw
Emile Desforges	- /  -  /  -  /  -  / 39
Marie-Michéle Gagnon
Men  -  Ranking	DH/SL/GS/SG/KB
Patrick Biggs	- / 54 /  -  /  -  / -
François Bourque	49 / - / 22 / 16 / 44
Julien Cousineau
Stefan Guay
Thomas Grandi
Jan Hudec	13 /  -  /  -  / 24 / -
Michael Janyk	-  / 40 /  -  /  -  / -
Robbie Dixon	59 / -  /  -  / 19 / -
John Kucera	17 / - / 10 / 12 / 31
Manuel Osborne-Paradis	6 /  -  /  -  / 33 / -
Jean-Phillipe Roy	- /  -  / 33 / -  / -
Ryan Stemple
Gareth Sine
Brad Spence
Paul Stutz	81 / 55 / -  / - / 20
Erik Guay	6 /  -  / 41 /  7 / -
Scott Barrett
Jeffrey Frisch
Trevor White
Ranking	DH/SL/GS/SG/KB

Canadian Alpine Ski Team Member Sites

BC Alpine News                FIS Standings

2007/08 CAST top 9 results

Check out the
Mike and Manny CowboysCamp

Photo Credits :  

Yahoo Sports  Ski  Racing
Getty Images
AFP
Agence Zoom
Photographers

Fabrice Coffrini
Samuel Kubani
Hrvoje Polan
Alberto  Pizzolia
Clive Rose
Matthew Stockman
Jed Jacobsohn
Michael Kappeler
Olivier Morin
Jacques DeMarthon
Franck Fife
Daniel Sannum Lauten

The Whistler Weasel Workers are avid supporters of  the Canadian Alpine Ski Team. We labour long hours, in all kinds of weather, to provide our athletes with the best training and ski racing conditions possible. 

We salute the Canadian team's dedication, perseverence and hard work and we congratulate the team for its spectacular ski racing seasons from 2007 through 2009. , We wish the team well and we look forward to welcoming them back to Whistler.

Scroll down to see results and photos from the 2008/2009 season.
For the first months of the 08/09 season, please view the following archive pages:  

Nov / Dec 2008 - Start of the 2008/09 World Cup season
January 2009 - From Zagreb to Garmisch Partenkirchen

Also check out the Canadian Team's great 2007/08 season.  It was the best ever with many top 10 finishes and multiple top 10 standings overall.  The Canadian Alpine Ski Team is now a contender in all World Cup Alpine ski racing disciplines.

Scroll down to view World Cup, Europa Cup and Nor-Am ski racing results for Canadian ski racers.  If not expressly noted, assume results are from World Cup Alpine ski races.

Note:  DH = downhill , SL = Slalom, GS = Giant Slalom, SG = Super Giant Slalom,  SC = Super Combined  (two events with aggregated results), DNF = Did Not Finish,  DNQ1 = Did Not Qualify for a second run, DSQ = Disqualified, DNS = Did Not Start.

Click on any image to enlarge it

The following is the history of the 2008/09 season for the CAST, starting at the end of the season and working back to the early days.

2008 / 09 Results for the Canadian Alpine Ski Team

The World Cup schedule ends on  Mar 15, when the team will head to Le Massif and Mont Sainte-Anne for the Canadian Championships. Following the "Canadians" the CAST will be in Whistler, both men and women, to training on both the Dave Murray and Franz's Olympic Downhills.  The Whistler Weasel Workers will be there to welcome our boys and girls with a special Net Party on March 21/22.  Don't miss this opportunity to help our Canadian Alpine Ski Team in their march to 2010.  You can make a difference!

The table to the left lists 46 top ten finishes, this year, which compares well with 46 top nine finishes we recorded last year.

The team chalked up seven podiums this year, compared with nine last year.  while the Men's team seems to be ending the season on a strong note, we feel the women have struggled a bit this year. However, we're sure they will bounce back, as stroing as ever.

*New*
Some recent news about team activities ................

March 24 - The Pontiac GMC Canadian Championships at Mont-Sainte-Anne and Le Massive are now complete.  CAST members who competed at the FIS World Cup Finals at Are, Sweden were not required to compete in the "Canadians".  The following is a summary of the Canadian Championship results and the up-and coming alpine ski racers on the Canadian scene:

March 24 - Genevieve Simard won the women's Giant Slalom, while Shona Rubens was 2nd, Marie-Pier Prefontaine 3rd, Larisa Yurkiw 4th, Megan Ryley 5th, and Emilie Desforges 6th.

The win caps a come-back year for Simard after losing last season to a knee injury.

March 23 - At the Pontiac GMC Canadian Championships at Mont-Sainte-Anne, John Kucera won the men's Giant Slalom. Jean-Philippe Roy was 2nd, Warner Nickerson (USA) 3rd, Tyler Nella 4th, Michael Janyk and Jeffrey Frisch tied at 5th.

March 22 - Whistler's Mike Janyk celebrated his 27th birthday by wining the men's Slalom at the Pontiac GMC Canadian Championships at Mont-Sainte-Anne, Que.  Trevor White was 2nd, Patrick Biggs 3rd, Ryan Semple 4th, Brad Spence 5th, Scott Barrett 6th and Louis-Pierre Helie 7th.

Keeping up with brother, Mike, Britt Janyk has won the women's Super-G at the Canadian Championships at Le Massive, Que. Larisa Yurkiw was 2nd, Emilie Desforges 3rd, Ashley-Kate Durham 4th.

Also at Le Massive, Marie Michelle Gagnon won the women's Super Combined, followed by Larisa Yurkiw 2nd, Emilie Desforges 3rd, and Ashley-Kate Durham 4th.

March 21 - Paul Stutz has won the Super Combined at the Pontiac GMC Canadian Championships. Robbie Dixon was 2nd, Louis-Pierre-Helie 3rd, Jeffrey Frish 4th, Cam Brewerton 5th, Tyler Nella 6th.

In the men's Super-G, Robbie Dixon was 1st, Eric Guay 2nd, Louis-Pierre Helie 3rd, Jeffrey Frisch 4th, Cam Brewington 5th, Tyler Nella 6th.

March 20 -  Shona Rubens has won the women's Downhill of the Pontaic GMC Canadian Championships with Emilie Desforges 2nd, Victoria Stevens 3rd and Ashley-Kate Durham 4th.

In the men's Junior Canadian Championships,  Jeffrey Frisch was 1st, Tyler Nella 2nd, Louis-Pierre Helie 3rd and Cam Brewington 4th.

March 19 -  Jeffrey Frisch has won the mens downhill at the Pontiac GMC Canadian Championships at Le Massif, Que. Ontario's Kelby Halbert was 2nd and Louis-Pierre Helie 3rd. Dustin Cook was 4th and Tyler Nella 5th.

In the women's Junior Canadian Championships, Emily Yurkiw was 1st, Emilie Desforges 2nd, Shona Rubens 3rd, and Ashley-Kate Durham 4th.  

March 18 -  Weather cancelled all downhill training today.

March 17 - At the Pontiac GMC Canadian Championships in Le Massif, Quebec, training for the Men's and Women's downhill got underway today .  In the women's DH training, Emilie Desforges was 1st, Larisa Yurkiw 2nd, and Shona Rubens 3rd.  

In the men's training, Alberta skier, Andy Troy was 1st, Jeffrey Frisch 2nd and Dustin Cook 3rd.

March 15 -  In the women's Nor-Am SL at Lake Placid, Anna Goodman was 1st, Brigitte Acton 2nd, Brittany Phelan 4th, Shona Rubens 5th, Erin Mielzynski 6th and Megan Ryley 7th. Marie-Pier Prefontaine was 15th and Marie Michelle Gagnon was 18th.  Larisa Yurkiw was DSQ

In the Nor-Am women's GS final, top Canadians were Marie-Michell Gagnon 2nd, Genivienve Simard 3rd, Shona Rubens 5th and Emile Desforges 9th.  Brigitte Acton and Larisa Yurkiw DNF.

This completes the Nor-Am Cup race series for 20089/09.  Overall winners were Louis-Pierre Helie and Marie-Michelle Gagnon who will both be racing on the World Cup circuit next year.   The overall Nor-Am results are as follows:

March 14 -  In Are, today, Michael Janyk, the only Canadian to qualify for the mens World Cup Final slalom, came 16th. The race was won by Mario Matt, with Julien Lizeroux 2nd and Jean-Baptiste Grange 3rd. 

Grange won the Crystal Globe for slalom by 87 points over Ivica Kosterlic who was 2nd. Lizeroux was 3rd overall.  Kosterlic was 12th in todays final slalom. 

Michael ends the season 20th overall in slalom, followed by Trever White 32nd, Julien Cousineau 33rd, Patrick Biggs 42nd, with Brad Spence and Thomas Grandi tied for 44th.

The women raced GS, today, which was won by Tina Maze with Tanja Poutianen 2nd and Manuela Moelgg 3rd.  No Canadian qualified by being in the top 25 in overall points.

The overall GS winner is Poutianen, who is followed by Kathrin Zettel 2nd and Maze 3rd.  Top Canadians in the overall results in GS were Genevieve Simard 29th and Marie-Michelle Gagnon 35th.

In the men's Nor-Am SL finals at Lake Placid, Canadians swept the podium when Brad Spence was 1st, followed by Ryan Semple 2nd and Patrick Biggs 3rd.   Erik Read was 8th and Dustin Cook was 10th. Trevor White was DSQ and Lousi Pierre Helie and Paul Stutz DNF

In the men's Nor-Am GS, Robbie Dixon was 1st, Julien Cousineau 2nd and Jeffrey Frisch 3rd for another Canadian podium sweep.  David Donaldson was 5th and Brad Spence 6th. Louis Pierre Helie came 16th , Tyler Nella 23rd, Patrick Biggs 24th,

March 13 - the men raced SG, today, and women raced SL, in the FIS World Cup Finals.  The men's SG was won by Benjamin Raich with Ted Ligety 2nd and Didier Cuche 3rd.  Canadians Erik Guay and Jean-Philipe Roy DNF the 1st run.

Didier Cuche captured the overall GS title for 2009.  Top Canadian in the GS standings is Jean-Phillipe Roy who is tied for 24th place, sufficiently high to bring him to the World Cup Finals.

The women's SL was won by Sandrine Aubert, with Fanny Chmelar 2nd and Therese Borssen 3rd.  There were no Canadians in the race.

The overall women's SL title goes to Maria Riesch who came 5th in today's race.  Top Canadian in SL is Anna Goodman in 26th place, who just missed an invitation to the World Cup Finals.

March 12 - Super-G day for the 25 top-ranked ski racers at the FIS World Cup Finals at Are, Sweden.   The men's SG, was won by Werner Heel, with Aksel Lund Svindal second and Cristof Innerhofer third.  Erik Guay was 9th and John Kucera finished 27th.

On the women's side, Linsey Vonn won both the race and the overall SG title.  Second in the race was Nadia Fanchini and Maria Riesch was third.   Top Canadian was Britt Janyk 15th.  Britt was followed by Emily Brydon 16th and Kelly VanderBeek 19th.

Congratulations to John Kucera for finishing the season 9th overall in SG.  Erik Guay finished close behine, in 12th place.

The Nor-Am Finals started today at Lake Placide, NY, with Larisa Yurkiw winning both the womens SG and the SC, which secured her a berth on the World Cup circuit next year.   Canadians swept the women's SG with Yurkiw 1st, Marie-Michèle Gagnon 2nd and Emilie Desforges 3rd. Marie-Pier Prefontaine was 7th and Ashley-Kate Durham tied for 8th. 

In the Nor-Am SC finals, Yurkiw was 1st, Ashley-Kate Durham 5th, Marie-Pier Prefontaine 6th, and Victoria Stevens 10th.

In the men's Nor-Am SG, Robbie Dixon placed 1st, followed by Stefan Guay 2nd.  The next Canadians were Jeffrey Frisch 7th, Michael Mackie 11th and Louis Pierre Helie 13th

March 11 -  It's been a big day at the FIS World Cup Finals at Are, Sweden.  The men have had a DH training run and the DH race, while the women's DH has also been completed. The men's race start was lowered due to fog.  With only 25 competitors in each event, three events are clearly a do-able feat. Congratulations to the race organizers!

Top Canadian in the Men's DH was Erik Guay 5th, followed by John Kucera 7th, Manny Osborne-Paradis, 11th and Robbie Dixon 16th.  

In the Ladies DH, Kelly VanderBeek came 9th and Emily Brydon finished 14th. 

The men's DH downhill was won by Aksel Lund Svindal, with Didier Cuche 2nd and Hans Olsson 3rd.  Michael Walchhoffer DNF but still won the overall downhill title for the 2008/09 season.  Manny Osborne-Paradis finished 5th in the overall standings and Erik Guay is 6th.  Congratulations to Manny and Erik for their improved standings over last year.

However, most improved in the overall downhill standings is Whistler's Robbie Dixon, who has come up from 59th overall finish 20th this season.  Watch for Robbie in 2010, he's coming on like a train!

Three more top ten results for the Canadian Alpine Ski Team.  We believe that Kelly has been "hurting" for quite a while so it's great to see her achieve a top ten result.

Following the DH Finals, the Canadian Alpine Ski Team has achieved 45 top-ten finishes including 7 podiums......  and it's not over yet!

March 10 -  By noon, CET, the women's 2nd training run at Are has been cancelled due to fog and the men have a weather-hold to 7:00AM PST. After 14 starters, Robbie Dixon stands 2nd and John Kucera is 4th. Walchhoffer was the last starter and stands last in the group of 14. Svindal is next in the gate. Werner Heel is the current leader. Manny and Erik have not started.

The restart time came and went without a respite from the fog so the training run was not completed.

March 9  -  In their first DH training run for the World Cup Finals in Are,  Kelly VanderBeek placed 9th and Emily Brydon was 22nd. Kelly and Emily were the only Canadians in a field of  25 starters. Both men and women will train tomorrow. 

March 8 - Snow cancels Kvitfjell Super-G.  An overnight snowstorm put and end to any hopes of adjusting points prior to the commencement of the World Cup Finals in Are, Sweden.

March 7 - In a second DH at Kvitfjell the Canadian Alpine Ski Team again placed four ski racers in the top ten.   Manuel Osborne-Paradis placed 3rd, Robbie Dixon 7th, John Kucera 8th and Erik Guay 9th. Tyler Nella finished 49th and Louis-Pierre Helie DNF.  Klaus Kroell won and Michael Walchhofer was 2nd.

Another great day for the Canadians! In the oveerall World Cup standings, Manny moves up to 4th, John Kucera moves to 20th, Robbie Dixon breaks the top 20 at 18th and Erik Guay remains in 8th place.  Next stop:  the World Cup Finals in Are, Sweden.

Marie-Michelle Gagnon placed 8th in the World Cup slalom at Ofterschwang, to achieve the best result of her career.  Well done Marie-Michelle!

 Marie-Michelle was 16th after her 1st run, while Shona Rubens was 31st, and just missed the cut for the 2nd run. Anna Goodman and Brigitte Acton DNQ for the 2nd run after placing 36th and 39th, respectively, in the 1st run.  Marie-Michelle was 7th in her 2nd run, which resulted in her second top ten result this year.

Mar 6 -  Manuel Osborne-Paradis won his first gold medal today, by coming 1st in the men's World Cup DH at Kvitfjell. Just 0.14 sec from a podium finish, Robbie Dixon finished 5th, followed closely by John Kucera in 7th place and Erik Guay in 10th place. Louis-Pierre Hélie and Tyler Nella were 48th and 52nd, respectively.

What a day for the Canadian Alpine Ski Team! This brings the team to 37 top ten finishes so far in the 2008/09 season and moves Manny into 5th place overall in the World Cup downhill standings.  Today's result was a career best for Whistler's Robbie Dixon in World Cup downhill. and his third top ten result.  Last year, Robbie came 4th in the SG at Kvitfjell and 6th in SG at Kitzbuehel.  Congratulations to all the lads.  

At Ofterschwang, in World Cup GS, Genevieve Simard came 14th, fillowed by Marie-Michele Gagnon who finished 29th. Genevieve was 30th after the fist run but poured it on in the second with the fastest run of the day. Marie-Pier Prefontaine as 49th in the 1st run and DNQ for the second.  

Genevieve failed to qualify for the World Cup finals by just 7 points, and will move on the the Nor-Am Finals and the Canadian Championships.

Mar 1 -  Emily Brydon came 14th, today, in the SG in Bansko, Bulgaria, followed by Britt Janyk who finished 29th.  Larisa Yurkiw DNF and Kelly VanderBeek did not race afer suffering a mild concussion in the downhill.  The race was won by Lindsey Vonn. Fabienne Suter came 2nd, which gives her the lead in the overall SG standings, with Vonn a close second.  Britt Janyk, Emily Brydon and Kelly VanderBeek stand 16th, 18th and 20th, respectively, in the SG standings.  All three Canadians will compete in the World Cup finals in Are, Sweden.

Feb 28 - At Bansko, Britt Janyk finished 21st in the last DH prior to the World Cup Finals. Emily Brydon was 22nd and Larisa Yurkiw was 30th.  Kelly VanderBeek crashed and DNF.  We hope she is OK.

Feb 28 - At Kranjska Gora, Jean-Philippe Roy had his best World Cup result since 2004 when he tied for 7th place, today in the GS. Jean-Pierre was 12th in the first run but came 5th in the second run to finish just well enough, overall, to qualify for the World Cup finals

John Kucera was 26th after the 1st run but DNF the 2nd run.. Julien Cousineau finished 34th the 1st  run and DNQ for the 2nd run by just 0.11sec.  Thomas Grandi was 52nd in the 1st run and Michael Janyk was 56th, and also DNQ for a 2nd run. Brad Spence DNF the fist run.

This is J-P's 5th career top-ten World Cup result, and his best result this year.  Congratulations, Jean-Pierre!

Feb 26/27 -  The Canadian Alpine Ski Team's speed group has been in Whistler all week training on the Dave Murray Men's Olympic Downhill.  However, until today, they had been frustrated by weather. Although these were our setup days for the Canadian Junior (J1) Championships, the Whistler Weasel Workers were happy to sit back in the sunshine for three hours each morning to give our Canadian Cowboys some extra runs.   The weather was great, the track was great and we were treated to some great skiing.   Between 20 and 30 Weasels had been out the weekend before to put up most of the B-nets needed to complete the safety systems already started by Jelly and his Net crew.   We hope that this extra training will help at bit at Kvitjell and, of course, next year when the CAST will host the world at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Whistler.  We spoke to Manny at the Dave Murray finish and he seemed in great spirits.

Feb 24  -  Whistler's Victoria Whitney came 5th in a Europa Cup Downhill at Tarvisio, while Georgia Simmerling came 18th.In the training runs for this event, both girls has sored top ten results.  In a second FIS DH, Victoria and Georgia came 35th and 39th, respectively.  In Europa Cup SC results on this same date, Victoria Whitney came 51st and Georgia Simmerling came 59th.

Feb 22 - Kelly VanderBeek seems to be finding her wheels with another top ten result at Tarvisio.  In the SG, today, Kelly finished 7th, followed by Emily Brydon tied for 12th, Britt Janyk 34th and Emilie Desforges 40th.  Larisa Yurkiw DNF.  The race was won by Lindsey Vonn.  This was Vonn's 19th career World Cup win, which makes the most successful American skier in women's World Cup history.

At Sestriere, John Kucera came 28th in the SC, followed by Julien Cousinea 40th, and Paul Stutz 41st.  Mike Janyk DNF the first SG run so he did not start in the slalom.  Kucera was 12th in the SG run, but dropped back in the slalom. 

Romed Bauman (AUT) won the Sestriere SC but, by coming 3rd, Carlo Janka (SUI) clinched the overall title for SC for the 2008/09 FIS World Cup season.  John Kucera ended the SC season 13th overall, while Julien Cousinea finished 34th.   This is John's best standing in SC since 2005 when he ended the season 12th overall. Congratulations, John.... top-ten next year?  This is the first season that Julieb Cousineau has been ranked for SC ...... a good start.

Feb 21 - Jean-Philippe Roy came 21st in the GS at Sestriere, today, followed by John Kucera 26th.  John came 17th in the 1st run, while Jean-Pierre tied for 27th place.  Thomas Grandi and Michael Janyk came 61st and 64th, respectively and DNQ for the 2nd run.   Julien Cousineau DNF the 1st run after losing a ski. Didier Cuche won, and was joined on the podium by Stephan Goergl and Benajamin Raich.

At Tarvisio, the Canadian Speed Queens scored two top-tens in the DH today, when Kelly VanderBeek and Larisa Yurkiw came 8th and 9th, respectively.  Emily Brydon came 15th, Britt Janyk 38th and Emilie Desforges finished 48th.  The podium finishes went to Gina Stechert (GER), Lindsey Vonn and Anja Paerson.  

Feb 20 -  Emily Brydon came 20th, today, in the SC at Tarvisio, Italy.  Emilie Desforges came 47th and Larisa Yurkiw DNF the DH. Kelly VanderBeek came 26th in the DH leg, but DNS the SL, making up for missing yesterday's DH training. 

In the 1st (DH) leg of the SC, Emily came 10th in the DH, but was well back in the SL.  Emilie Desforges came 46th in the DH.  The women's DH runs tomorrow, followed by a GS on Monday.

Feb 19 - In the 2nd training run at Tarvisio, Emily Brydon stepped up to 4th place,  Emilie Desforges was 45th, and Britt Janyk was 49th. Larisa Yurkiw was DSQ in the 1st run and Kelly VanderBeek did not race.

Feb 18 - Downhill training has started at Tarvisio for the Speed Queens.  In the 1st treaining run, Emily Brydon came 5th, Larsa Yurkiw 33rd, Britt Janyk 37th, Kelly VanderBeek 39th and Emily Desforges came 41st.  

Meanwhile, the Canadian Cowboys speed team is enroute to Whistler to start training on the Dave Murray Men's Olympic Downhill Course on Feb 23rd.  

Feb 17 -  John Kucera and Michael Janyk were welcomed by the local equivalent of a ticker-tape parade when they returned to Kirchberg, Austria, the Canadian Alpine Ski Team's traning center near Kitzbuehel.   Celebrating the poduim finishes of John and Mike, and of Amenrican Lindsey Vonn, the people of Kirchberg turned out in the hundereds to give the Canadian and US teams a 20-minute parade, complete with a marching band.   Kirchberg has been the CAST's base of operations for all of the 2009 World Cup ski racing season.

Feb 15 - In the final event of the 2009 FIS World Ski Championships at Val d`Isere. Michael Janyk raced to 3rd place in the men's SL to score Canada's second podium finish.  Michael was tied for 9th after the 1st run, 1.88 sec behind overall winner, Manfred Pranger. However, he was 4th in the 2nd run and that was enough to give him the Bronze Medal. 

Mike Janyk has made history by winning Canada's first ever World Ski Championship medal in a technical event.  Well done Mike! Mike's said after the race, "I just treated it as any other race"  Britt commented that she, "now has to catch up to her brother".

Out of 76 on the Start List for the 1st run only 36 completed the 1st run and, out of the 30 starters for the 2nd run, only 17 finished the race.

Thomas Grandi was tied for 15th after the first run, but missed a gate in the 2nd run and was DSQ.  Julien Cousineau DNF  the 1st run and Trevor White was DSQ in the first run.

The 2009 FIS World Ski Championships are now history for the eleven CAST members chosen to compete (all were past Olympians).  The Canadian Alpine Ski Team achieved three top ten results, including two podium finishes.  In the 2008/09 season, to date, the team has  racked up 29 top ten finishes including five podium finishes.  Check out the reports of Patrick Muloney who was the lone Weasel Worker at Val d'Isere.

Feb 14 -  Anna Goodman came 12th, today in the women's SL at Val d'Isere.  Brigitte Acton was 25th and Marie-Michelle Gagnon DNF the 1st run. 

Anna came 8th in the 1st run, just 0.86 sec off the pace. Brigitte was 18th in the 1st run.  In the second run, Anna almost had a fell, but held it together to finish 2.24 sec behind Riesh.  

After a great 2nd run, Maria Riesch is the new women's World Slalom Champion. 

This is a career best for Anna Goodman.  Her best result to date was her 16th in SC at the Worlds in Santa Caterina in 2005 and two results of 19th in World Cup SL, this year, at Garmish and at Maribor. Anna has had two top-ten results in 2009 on the Europa Cup circuit, including a 4th at Courcheval and another top-ten in 2005.

Another great result, with a top-ten first run!  Well done, Anna!

In the Nor-Ams, at Mamounth Mountain, Louis-Pierre Hélie won the men's SC, his third win in as many days.   Jeffrey Frisch was 2nd, National Development Team member, Mathieu Routhier was 3rd, Kelby Halbert 4th and Ryan Semple finished fifth. Tyler Nella was 10th, to give the Canadians six of the top ten finishes.

This was Mathieu Routhier's first career Nor-Am podium.  

There are no more downhills for the Nor-Am Cup, this year, so Louis-Pierre Hélie has finished 2nd in the overall DH results, while Tyler Nella ends up 4th, Brady Leman 6th, and Jeffrey Frisch 7th.

In the women's overall Nor-Am DH rankings, Georgia Simmerling finished  2nd, Kelly McBroom 3rd, Victoria Whitney 7th, Catherine Morrel  8th, Ashley-Kate Durham 9th and Nicole Poleschuk 10th. 

Watch for the top Nor-Am finishers on the World Cup circuit next year.

Feb 13 -  Robbie Dixon of Whistler scored a career best today, by coming 21st in the men's GS at the FIS World Ski Championships at Val d`Isere.  Robbie was followed by Micheal Janyk and John Kucera who came  33rd and 45th, respectively, in the first run, beyond the cut-off of 30, and DNQ for the 2nd run.  Jean-Phillipe Roy DNF the first run.  

Robbie came 24th in the 1st run but really picked up the pace in the 2nd run when he tied Carlo Janka, the overall winner and new World GS Champion and beat Benjamin Raich, the second place finisher. His second was a great run. Congratulations, Robbie!  

The GS was run today under sunny skies and with cold temperatures.  It was -15 deg C at the finish.

Only the Slalom is left to round out the 2009 FIS World Alpine Championships.

On the Nor-Am circuit, the Canadian men again swept the podium in SG at Mammoth Mountain.  Tyler Nella came 1st, Louis Pierre Hélie 2nd and Stefan Guay 3rd.   Jeffrey Frisch was 4th and Dustin Cook was 6th.

Feb 12 - In the women's GS, Britt Janyk came 26th and was the only Canadian to finish.  Marie-Pier Prefontaine DNQ for the second run after tying for 36th place in the first run. Marie-Michelle Gagnon and Genevieve Simard DNF the first run. 

After the race, Britt commented, "I did not quite get the rhythm in the 2nd run but I had fun and I am hungry for more!”

Britt had some top ten World Cup results in Giant Slalom in 2000 - 2003, and did not race WC GS again until the Worlds in Are in 2007 and at Bormio (25th) and Maribor (29th) in 2008.

For the men, there was a FIS GS qualifying race and none of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team were entered.

It's a cold day on the Val d'Isere pistes with morning temps as cold as -19 deg C on the Bellevarde course, warming to -14 deg C on the Solaise course.  Skies are overcast and increasing snowfall lowered visibility during the women's GS.

After wining the first run, Kathrin Zettel had a disappointing second run, finishing 0.82 seconds behind the new Giant Slalom World Champion, Germany's Kathrin Hoelzl.  Hoelzl has never had a World Cup victory before winning today

Weasel Worker, Patrick Muloney was interviewed yesterday for the race Web site.  The link is on Patrick's 'a Weasel in Val d'Isere' page.

Feb 11 -  The Team event at the FIS World Ski Championships in Val d'Isere has been cancelled due to heavy snowfall.  Avalanche clearing will be the sport of the day.

ACA has announced that Jan Hudec has a torn ACL in his left knee, and will undergo yet another knee operation,  Jan is committed to return for 2010.  Another year of rehabilitation!  Good luck Jan.

On the Nor-Am circuit, Louis Pierre Hélie came 1st, Stefan Guay 2nd and Tyler Nella 3rd to fill the podium after a GS at Mammoth Mountain.  Jeffrey Frisch came 4th. Dustin Cook 8th and Gareth Sine 10th.

On the women's side, Shona Rubens won the GS and Victoria Whitney came 7th, being the only Canadians in the top ten.

Feb 10 -  On a day off at the he World Ski Championships at Val d`Isere, the Canadian Women's Alpine Ski Team faced off against the Austrian Women in a friendly hockey game. Read more on the Val d'Isere Web site.  There was no mention of a final score.

Feb 9 -  In the men's SC,  John Kucera came 30th in the DH leg, 3.42 sec off the pace set by winner, Aksel Lund Svindal . Kucera qualified, but did not compete in the SL.   Paul Stutz came 35th in the DH and did not qualify for the SL, Robbie Dixon DNF the DH and also did not qualify for the SL.   Only Kucera made the cut for the slalom.  He would have started 1st.

Placing 11th today, in the women's DH, Emily Brydon again led the Canadian women.  Kelly VanderBeek came 21st and Britt Janyk DNF.  The new women's World Downhill Champion is Lindsey Vonn.  Nadia Fanchini came 2nd and Lara Gut 3rd.

The FIS report that Britt had a solid run today, but she missed a gate and that was the end of her race.  Kelly had a good start, but a mistake one minute into the course left her in 21st place.  Emily is reported to have had a very conservative run. 

Canadian women who have won the World Downhill Championship include Mélanie Turgeon in 2003, Kate Pace Lindsey in 1993, Gerry Sorensen in 1982 and Lucille Wheeler in 1958,

Race organizers had 600 course workers out today, divided between the Solaise (Women) and of Bellevarde (Men) courses.  There is good visibility under a high overcast.  25,000 spectators are expected.

Feb 8 - Snow at Val d'Isere. 20cm at the women's start, 10 cm at the finish.  Men's DH training cancelled. After two delays, the women's DH has been rescheduled for tomorrow.   200 course workers are on the piste trying to clear the snow.  Read Patrick's Reports from Val d'Isere.

The French Press reports that Jan Hudec is believed to have torn ligaments in his left knee.  However, Jan's Web site reports that he is on his way home and there has been no official diagnosis yet.  Good luck Jan!

The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships are now half over, with six days to run.  See the schedule above.

Feb 7 - John Kucera wins the Downhill!
John is the 2009 FIS Alpine Skiing World Champion in Downhill.  No other Canadian is listed in the early results.  Starting 2nd, John set a pace that overcame Austria's Hermann Maier, first on the course. John was 1,18 sec faster than Maier. Eleven minutes into the race, fog had developed on the top portion of the Bellevarde course. 

Check out two videos of John Kucera's Gold Medal run, one a side-by-side comparison with second place Didier Cuche.

Jan Hudec fell into the nets, and did not finish.  Hudec had the fastest opening interval and was the second fastest in another interval before losing an edge near the bottom of the course and going into the nets. Jan has injured his knee and will be examined by doctors this evening.  Click for diagnosis.

Manuel Osborne-Paradis, starting 11th, became the third racer not to finish.  Didier Cuche looked as if he would take top spot, but finished 0,04 sec behind Kucera. Carlos Janka finished 0.17 sec behind John to give the Swiss 2nd and 3rd places.  Erik Guay fell and became another Canadian not to finish. There were a number of "holds" due to the fog, which improved a bit late in the race.   2003 DH winner, Michael Walchhofer was allowed a second run, after the 38-man field finished, but was ninth and 1.43 slower than Kucera.There were only 28 finishers.   Robbie Dixon was not a starter,

John Kucera's win, today, and his 6th place finish in the men's SG, gives the Canadian Alpine Ski Team its 4th podium finish and its 28th top ten placing in a World Cup ski race this season, This is Kucera’s first downhill victory. His previous best downhill placing was seventh.  John  is the first Canadian male to win the downhill at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships.  Congratulations, John, from all Whistler Weasel Workers!

The women's 3rd training run was cancelled.  The women race downhill tommorrow.

Feb 6 - In the women's SC, Emily Brydon was our only entrant and she DNF the downhill. Emily seems to have bruised ribs but is not seriously hurt and expects to race in Sunday's downhill.  Emily currently stands 9th overall in the World Cup Combined. (See table to the left)

On the Bellevarde course the men have had DH training.  Erik Guay came 7th, while John Kucera 9th, Manny Osborne-Paradis 24th, Robbie Dixon 27th and Jan Hudec 28th.  The boys are in the hunt!

Feb 5 - In the first men's DH training run, Erik Guay came 4th, Jan Hudec 17th, Manny Osborne-Paradis 20th and Robbie Dixon 24th.  Paul Stutz and John Kucera were DSQ. 

In the second women's DH training run, Britt Janyk came 7th, Emily Brydon 8th and Kelly Vanderbeek 33rd.  Larisa Yurkiw DNS.

In Nor-Am action at Nakiska, Jean-Philippe Roy won the men's GS, followed by Brad Spence 4th, Jeffery Frisch 5th Dustin Cook 9th and Louis-Pierre Helie 10th,  J-P Roy will be racing in the technical events at Val d'Isere.

Feb 4 -  On day two of the FIS World Ski Championships, Didier Cuche won the men's SG, John Kucera came 6th followed by Erik Guay 19th and Robbie Dixon 20th.  Manny Osborne-Paradis DNF the first run.  

Another top ten result for the Canadian Alpine Ski Team.  Well done, John

In the first women's DH training run, Britt Janyk came 10th, Larisa Yurkiw DNF while Kelly VanderBeek and Emily Brydon were DSQ.  Anja Paerson and Lindsey Vonn were also DSQ and Maria Riesch DNF.

At Nakiska, Brad Spence won the GS, his first win on the Nor-Am circuit.  Jean-Philippe Roy was 3rd, and Dustin Cook 6th.

Feb 3 - The FIS World Ski Championships at Val d'Isere have kicked off on the Solaise women's slope with the women's SG, which was won by Lindsey Vonn. Early results have top Canadian as Emily Brydon 13th, followed by Britt Janyk 17th, and Kelly VanderBeek 23rd.  Larisa Yurkiw DNF.

The men have a 45-min free-ski on the Bellevarde men's slope in preparation for tomorrow's SG.

In a women's Nor-Am SL in Nakiska,  Eve Routhier came 2nd, followed by Kate Ryley 4th, and Erin Mielzynsji 6th.  Georgia Simmerling came 11th.

In  the men's Nor-Am SL, Ryan Semple came 2nd, followed by Scott Barrett 3rd, Lous-Pierre Helie 5th, david Dona\ldson 6th,

Feb 2 - The weather forecast for Val d'Isere calls for high winds, cloudy and snowfall.

In the men's Nor-Am SL , top canadian was Brad Spence 4th, followed by Louis Philip Helie 6th, and Jean-Phillippe Roy 7th.

In today's women's Nor-Am SL, Shona Rubens was 1st, Eve Routhier 2nd,  Marie-Elaine Lapine 6th and Erin Mielzynski 7th.  Whistler's Victoria Whitney came 12th.

Feb 1 - Britt Janyk finished 12th in the women's SG at Garmisch Partenkirchen, followed by Emily Brydon 25th, Larisa Yurkiw and Emilie Desforges 40th and 41st, respectively. Kelly VanderBeek missed a gate was DSQ. 

In the men's SL at Garmish, Trevor White finished 20th, followed by Michael Janyk 28th.   In the first run, Michael came 21st and Trevor 30th, just making the draw for the second run.  Thomas Grandi came 32nd in the first run, followed by Paul Stutz 38th. Hence, both Thomas and Paul were DNQ1.  Julien Cousineau and Patrick Briggs DNF the first run.

So endeth the last race before the World Championships.

The women's SG at Garmish was won by American Lindsey Vonn, who now leads Germany’s Maria Riesch  in the overall ladies standings to nearly 100 points.

At Nakiska, in a second GS in two days, Marie-Michelle Gagnon came 1st, Shona Rubens 2nd, Kate Riley 4th, Victoria Whitney 5th and Gergia Simmerling 9th.

Earlier Canadian Alpine Ski Team Results