News

Canadian Olympians return to roots at GMC Cup

Saturday, 06 March 2010 00:00

CHELSEA, Que. - Canadian Olympians Patrick Biggs and Ryan Semple, both of Ottawa, returned to their roots on Saturday and won gold and bronze medals respectively in the men's slalom at the GMC Cup alpine skiing competition.

In the men's slalom, Biggs clocked a two run time of one minute and 28.20 seconds with Dustin Cook of Toronto second in 1:29.00 and Ryan Semple of Ottawa third in 1:29.01

"I worked out some kinks in the first run and let it all out on the second," said Biggs, 35th in the giant slalom

at the Vancouver-Whistler Games.  "It's great to comeback to this circuit and help out.  This is so important in the development of Canadian skiers. To get this exposure, gain some success and get that confidence when you're young is a big part of a skier's development.

Cook was surprised to see himself ahead of the two Olympians and atop the leaderboard after the first run.

"Those are two awesome slalom skiers so I didn't expect that result on the first run," said Cook, who leads the current Super G and overall standings on the Nor-Am circuit.  "Unfortunately I made a bunch of mistakes on the second run.  I tried to do the same thing but it didn't work out."

Semple was 15th in the super combined event at the Games.  The GMC Cup program has also been an important step on his road to becoming an Olympian.

"It was just great to come out here after the Olympics, have some fun and see some friends and family," said Semple.  "This circuit was super important and that's why I wanted to come back and race some of these guys because they don't get an opportunity to compete against us very often.  It brings back a lot of great memories and Patrick and I want to support this series as much as possible."

In the women's slalom, Madison Irwin of Toronto, won the gold medal in 1:43.02 clocking the fastest time on both runs.  Laurence Vallerand of was second in 1:44.78 and Marilou Morin-Perrin of third in 1:44.86.

Irwin was mired in a nasty slump having not finished her first or second run in 11 of her last 12 races.

"It took a lot of effort to maintain my confidence through that slump," said Irwin, 18, whose previous competitive victory was the slalom race here last year.  "You have to constantly remind yourself that you can do it.  Today I just skied smart.  I didn't let the run control me. I just wanted to slow down a bit, finish my runs and get some confidence back."

Vallerand posted her best result this season.

"I wasn't too pleased with my first run (she placed third) but I was happy come back strong in the second," said Vallerand, 17.  "I controlled my stress much better and my skiing was technically strong especially in the second run.  It's great to see that I'm improving."

Morin-Perrin underwent knee surgery last season and started racing this season only in mid-December.

"It was a bittersweet day for me," said Morin-Perrin.  "I skied well in certain sections but made big mistakes on both runs. My season is not going as smoothly as I would have liked.  My knee is still causing me some discomfort and it's been hard to get that confidence back."

The series is the brain-child of Olympic champion Nancy Greene Raine, who approached GMC more than four decades ago with the concept of creating a strong domestic ski racing series for up-and-coming Canadian alpine racers.

GMC has a rich history as a benefactor to communities and to amateur support. Thus, the original series was launched, developing some of Canada's best alpine racers including Kathy Kreiner, Gerry Sorensen, Laurie Graham, Karen Percy, and the Crazy Canucks.

Several current members of Canada's Alpine Ski Team are also GMC Cup alumni including past GMC Cup overall winners Michael Janyk (Whistler, BC) (2004), Brigitte Acton (Mont-Tremblant, QC) (2002, 2003), Shona Rubens (Canmore, AB) (2005), Marie-Michèle Gagnon (Lac-Etchemin, QC) (2007) and Erin Mielzynski (Guelph, ON) (2008).

Manuel Osborne-Paradis (Vancouver, BC) and John Kucera (Calgary, AB) are two Canadian World Cup winners who are also alumni of the program.

Last season's Coupe GMC Cup winners were Ashley-Kate Durham (Montreal, QC) and Benjamin Thomsen (Invermere, BC).

Be sure to also check out the Coupe GMC Cup website (www.gm.ca/cup) which features new Canadian Alpine Ski Team bios, videos from Erik Guay (Mont-Tremblant, QC), Janyk, Kucera and Osborne-Paradis as well as other exciting new features.

The circuit concludes Monday and Tuesday in Collingwood,Ont.

Saturday's leading slalom results at a GMC Cup alpine skiing competition at Camp-Fortune, Que..

Men: 1. Patrick Biggs, Ottawa, 1:28.20; 2. Dustin Cook, Toronto, 1:29.00; 3. Ryan Semple, Ottawa, 1:29.01; 4. Kelby Halbert, Bradford, Ont., 1:29.76; 5. Braden Long, Toronto, 1:30.18; 6. Simon-Claude Toutant, Montreal, 7. Kevin Frury, Toronto, 1:30.42; 8. Mathieu Bertrand, Beaconsfield, Que., 1 :30.97; 9. Dominique Rolland, Laval, Que., 1 :31.94; 10. William Schuessler Bedard, Sutton, Que., 1:32.04.

Women: 1. Madison Irwin, Toronto, 1:43.02; 2. Laurence Vallerand, Verdun, Que., 1 :44.78; 3. Marilou Morin-Perrin, St-Laurent, Que., 1 :44.86; 4. Victoria Stevens, Ottawa, 1 :45.41; 5. Maude Longtin, Laval, Que., 1 :46.01; 6. Rebecca Nadler, Ottawa, 1 :46.15; 7. Sandrine David, St Sauveur, Que., 1 :46.28; 8. Emilie Lamoureux, Mont Tremblant, Que., 1 :46.56; 9. Marissa Riopelle, Midhurst, Ont., 1 :46.75; 10. Stephanie Gould, Orleans, Ont., 1 :47.66.

INFORMATION:

Janice Avon Coupe GMC Cup (604) 318-1081 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it