Calgary, Alta. (September 1, 2017) – Calgary, Alta.’s Erik Read went two for two in giant slalom races at the men’s Audi Quattro Winter Games NZ/ FIS Australia New Zealand Cup (ANC) at Coronet Peak. In a field of over 80 men from 22 countries, early season wins are important for Canadian Ski Team athletes who took to New Zealand to chase points ahead of the World Cup season.

In the first race, Read sat in second-place after his first run, but was able erase his deficit and take the win with a combined time of 1.49.77 seconds. 

“The first run conditions were amazing and even though I started in bib 19, I had a good chance,” Read said. “It was softening a bit in the second run, but you could still feel it underneath. I think these races are some of the best you can get in the Southern Hemisphere in our summer.”

Joining Read in the top-ten were teammates Trevor Philp (Calgary, Atla.) in sixth-place and Phil Brown (Toronto, Ont.) in seventh-place.

In the second of two giant slalom races, Read sat fourth after the first run, but put the hammer down in the second to take the win with a combined time of 1:46.46 seconds, winning by 0.03 seconds.

“To do it by three-hundredths of a second, there’s just nothing in it,” Read shared. “I was really pleased to win the first day and to do it a second time just solidifies (my form) for me. It was definitely more challenging today with flat light in the second run.”

With the 2017-18 World Cup season less than two months away, these early races lay the groundwork for the athletes to have success leading into the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games.

Full results for the series are available here: https://data.fis-ski.com/alpine-skiing/results.html

With files from skiracing.com.

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