Thomsen races to second consecutive World Cup downhill top 10 on icy Italian track

Calgary, Alta. (Dec. 28, 2018) – Invermere, B.C.’s Ben Thomsen, 31, placed 10th in Friday’s downhill on the icy World Cup course in Bormio, Italy.

Thomsen’s finish is his second consecutive 10th-place result in downhill this season, and marks his best-ever finish on the challenging Bormio track where he clocked in 1.61 seconds behind the day’s leader, Dominik Paris of Italy.

“I’m very happy with my result, but I’m still very hungry for more,” said Thomsen. “I have some work to do on the top section of this course, but it was really nice to see some challenging conditions again.”

This is his eighth career top-10 result in World Cup downhill.

In ladies’ World Cup giant slalom racing in Semmering, Austria, Mikaela Tommy (Wakefield, Que./Edelweiss Ski Club) was the top Canadian, finishing 18th and 2.16 seconds off the pace after two runs.

Valérie Grenier (Mont-Tremblant, Que./Mont-Tremblant Ski Club) climbed three spots to finish 25th after two runs, while Marie-Michèle Gagnon (Lac-Etchemin, Que./Mont Orignal) laid down identically timed runs of 1:04.06 in both runs to finish 29th for the day. Roni Remme (Collingwood, Ont./Alpine Ski Club) did not qualify for the second run.

UPCOMING RACES:

Saturday Dec. 29, 2018

Men’s super-G (Bormio, ITA) - 11:45 a.m. CET / 5:45 a.m. EST

Ladies’s slalom (Semmering, AUT) - 10:30 a.m. CET / 4:30 a.m. EST – 1st run