Mickel and Sharp win Downhill titles
23rd March 2004A new resort for the British Land National Ski Championships means new challenges and both Finlay Mickel (26, Edinburgh) and Lynn Sharp (18, Glasgow) proved that Meribel's Du Corbey piste, part of which formed the 1992 Women's Downhill at the Albertville Olympic Winter Games, proved well up to the task when they collected the respective Men¹s and Women¹s Downhill titles today.
As the championships visit the traditional British stronghold for the first time, any thoughts of waning snowcover were eliminated as 15 cms of fresh snow fell during the preceding 24 hours to leave Meribel¹s race team with a major task to get the course back into shape.
Helped by an overnight freeze the course was in good shape and the rollers and regular terrain changes were more than enough to keep the title challengers skiing to their best. With periods of flat light and limited visibility the weather gods smiled for just long enough for the race to be completed.
Mickel could not manage to build the same kind of two seconds margin he showed on the first training run and as he did when he won the title last year in Tignes. Skiing conservatively he concentrated on maintaining his stability in the bouncy conditions and staying on the optimum line, winning by 0.74 of a second ahead of his fellow Scot Roger Cruickshank who served notice that it may not be long before he is giving the regular world cupper a run for his money.
"The great thing about Roger is that he has the real appetite for speed that you need as a downhiller. Without that need for the Œfear factor' you will not get all the way in downhill and he clearly has that.²"Mickel commented, "I was bounced around a bit and it was not easy but it¹s a title in the bag and at this stage that is what counts."
For Lynn Sharp her first major senior title came as a result of a tight, attacking run which proved her growing technical skills as well as her own hunger to go faster:
" I had only done two downhills before: last year¹s British and one in Innerkrems a few weeks back, but I am really getting a liking for that being on the edge of control and the speed and really want to do more downhill." Said Sharp who will be favourite for tomorrow¹s Super G and who also won the Women¹s British Junior Downhill title.
Duncan White, who skis with the British Home Nations Development Team won the Boys¹ British Junior Downhill title.
The British Land National Ski Championships, Downhill;
Men:
1 F Mickel (Edinburgh/The British Land Alpine Ski Team) 1 min 14.70 secs,
2 R Cruickshank (Banchory/The British Land Alpine Ski Team) 1:15.44,
3 R Green (Falkirk/The British Land Alpine Ski Team) 1:15.71,
4 A Morison (Perth) 1:17.04,
5 D White (Dorking/The British Home Nations Team) 1:17.49.
Women:
1 L Sharp (Glasgow/The British Land Alpine Ski Team) 1:20.43, 2
K McGarry (Ireland) 1:24.87,
3 S Bream (Conwy) 1:25.03,
4 E Sarsfield (County Durham) 1:26.12.