Calgary, Alta. (October 25, 2018) – The Sölden World Cup races are on the schedule in Austria this upcoming weekend and our Canadian Alpine Teams are ready to race and kick-off their ski season. 

Marie-Michèle Gagnon (Qc) is ready for this first giant slalom following both knee and shoulder operations in December 2017, and a full year of recovery. She is in very good shape, has been training heavily this past year and is looking forward to see how her focus on speed races will turn out for her. “I am feeling strong and have been preparing for this race for several months now. I don’t feel any pain from my knee and shoulder, I am ready and excited to pull out from that starting gate”, she says. Valérie Grenier is also back from a surgery. Since spring, she has fully recovered and is ready to hit the slopes and make us proud! Candace Crawford from Toronto will be racing alongside her younger brother Jack for the first time in history. 

Another new comer is Brodie Seger, who has had only a few World Cup starts last season. He is on the GS Sölden World Cup starting list for the very first time. This 22 year-old multi-discipline skier from BC has shown great results in the past few seasons. He is now in the big leagues and will give his all to reach the podium this year. “It looks like my season will be starting earlier than expected, but I’m very excited for the opportunity to race my first World Cup GS. This is what we’ve been preparing for all summer, and I can’t wait to go up against the best GS skiers in the world.” says Seger. Trevor Philp is one of our most promising technical skiers, he capped off last season winning the Canadian Championship title in giant slalom for the fourth year in a row and is back for another season. And last but not least, Erik Read from Calgary, is the one to watch this season. A consistent technical skier that still have plenty of results to show for, he finished 11thin last year’s PyeongChang Olympics.

Where: Soldën, Austria

When: Saturday, October 27 – giant slalom ladies

1strun : 4:00 am ET – (10:00 am CET)
2ndrun : 7:00 am ET – (1:00 pm CET)

Sunday, October 28 – giant slalom men

1strun : 4:00 am ET – (10:00 am CET)
2ndrun : 7:00 am ET – (1:00 pm CET)

Where to watch: https://data.fis-ski.com/alpine-skiing/live-timing.html

Athletes entries

“We are all excited and looking forward to this first race. We have had good preparation, good training. What is most important to me is to have Canadians in the result list since there are two runs in giant slalom, I am hoping all our men and women will get to the bottom of each run to make it in the result list. That’s my main focus for this first World Cup.” – Martin Rufener, Head Coach.

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ABOUT ALPINE CANADA

Alpine Canada is the governing body for alpine, para-alpine and ski cross racing in Canada, as well as for Canadian ski coaches, providing education, certification, insurance and compliance with the coaching code of conduct. With the support of valued corporate partners and donors, along with the Government of Canada, Own the Podium, the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Coaching Association of Canada, Alpine Canada develops Olympic, Paralympic, World Championship and World Cup athletes to stimulate visibility, inspiration and growth in the ski community. In 2020, Alpine Canada will celebrate 100 years of rich tradition in competitive skiing in Canada.

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Catherine Lacasse

819 421-0353 | cat@catherinelacasse.com

PJ Kwong
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