Snowsport action this weekend
6th February 2004This weekend sees Chemmy Alcott (21, Twickenham) looking to extend her unprecedented run of form as she races in the world cup Giant Slalom in Zwiesel, Germany on Saturday 7th (1st run 915 2nd run Noon CET) and Alain and Noel Baxter race, in the Audi FIS Ski World Cup, on Sunday in Adelboden.
Injured Lesley McKenna is impressing the medical profession with her recovery from her recent injury to her jaw. She has been recuperating in Germany but plans to come back to the UK next week and will be happy to speak with selected media about her hopes for the rest of the season and how her injury has affected her. She is in good spirits.
Chemmy has spent the early part of the week resting and then training GS at the race and training piste used by The British Land Alpine Ski team at Hinterreit near Saalfelden in Austria¹s Salzburgerland. Her training has gone well this week and she is looking to improve on her career best 16th place she scored in Maribor, Slovenia¹s World Cup weekend two weeks ago, the best British result in World Cup Giant Slalom since the 1970¹s. She is looking forward to a break before her World Cup tour takes her to Scandinavia.
"For Chemmy a top 15 this weekend is a high target and she could be happy with a Top 20." Comments Snowsport GB's performance director Mark Tilston, " For her so much of the pressure is off because of what she has already achieved this season but she sets such high standards herself."
Alain and Noel head for Adelboden in good spirits. The equipment issues which thwarted Alain¹s last World Cup outing in Schladming are behind him. The problem arose because of 11th hour changes to his binding plates, changes which he already felt had made for an improvement in his skiing on the steeps perceived to be his weakness this season and he has been skiing his best yet this season over the last few days in Hinterrieit where the piste has been hard and icy.
Noel meanwhile has had an excellent week too. He scored a career best FIS points result in Giant Slalom on Tuesday in Kaprun and then went to Melchsee in Switzerland where he took 5th place in the FIS night slalom there. After scoring World Cup points for the first time in Slalom in Wengen, Noel theoretically- needs just one more result of the order of 26th-28th to ensure that Britain would get a third spot in World Cup Slalom as Noel would be inside the top 60 on the World Cup Slalom start list.
That would almost certainly go to James Leuzinger (21, Haetzingen, Switzerland) who proved he is up to the task with a sixth place in the FIS Slalom yesterday Noel¹s success in Melchsee.