No Finals Invite for Disappointed Baxter
29th February 2004Despite winning a further 6 points to add to a top 30 end of season showing, it was a disappointed Alain Baxter (30, Aviemore) who commented on his 25th place performance, in today's (29/2/04) penultimate FIS Audi World Cup slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.
"The first run was really hard," said Baxter," I didn't find my rhythm until late in the course, and was too straight on many of the gates. The second run was much better, but it just wasn't enough. I was 2.18 out on the first run, which was too much to make up. I needed to be in the top 10 to stand a chance of making the Finals".
In fact, Baxter would have needed a 6th place on the day, alongside Palander and Grubelnik, to make the top 25 qualifiers for the multi-discipline end of season finals in Sestriere - a test series for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games.
Alcott (21, Twickenham) also narrowly missed out on qualifying, having fallen in last week's Super G. However, with top 30 series finishes in both Super G and Downhill, Chemmy will have no regrets regarding the 2004 season.
British hopes for the World Cup Finals now rest with recovering half-pipe rider Lesley McKenna (29, Aviemore), while the Men's World Cup Downhill tour reaches its penultimate stage next weekend, when Mickel races for Britain in Kvitfjell, Norway.
Snowsport GB athletes will continue to compete on the Europa Cup and FIS circuits over the coming weeks, rounding off the season with The 2004 British Land National Championships in Meribel, France.
RESULTS
Men's World Cup Slalom, Kranjska Gora, SLO
| 1 | KARLSEN Truls Ove | NOR | 49.82 | 52.90 | 1:42.72 | 0.00 |
| 2 | STIANSEN Tom | NOR | 50.45 | 52.35 | 1:42.80 | 0.44 |
| 3 | MATT Mario | AUT | 49.42 | 53.57 | 1:42.99 | 1.50 |
| 4 | SASAKI Akira | JPN | 50.41 | 52.63 | 1:43.04 | 1.78 |
| 5 | SCHOENFELDER Rainer | AUT | 49.74 | 53.55 | 1:43.29 | 3.16 |
| =6 | PALANDER Kalle | FIN | 49.78 | 53.57 | 1:43.35 | 3.50 |
| =6 | GRUBELNIK Drago | SLO | 51.10 | 52.25 | 1:43.35 | 3.50 |
| 25 | BAXTER Alain | GBR | 51.34 | 54.38 | 1:45.72 | 16.65 |
| DNQ | BAXTER, Noel | GBR |