Home News Product Reviews Health & Fitness Features Healthy Eating

ARCHIVE NEWS

If it is not your content, try to search here:
Skiing - 05. April 2008.

Alcott is British Ski Champion


Winning the respective Men's and Women's Giant Slalom titles today Ed Drake (22, Kingston on Thames) and Chemmy Alcott (25, Twickenham) secured the overall British Championship titles.


World Cup skier and double Olympian Alcott lifted the championships' top award for the sixth time, the Victrix Ludorum trophy for the overall champion who aggregates the most points over all four main disciplines, adding to wins in 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2007.


Alcott, world ranked 28 in Giant Slalom, was on electric form in her preferred, foundation discipline and set herself a lead of 2.2 seconds over Louise Thomas (18, Val d'Isere/West Horsley, Surrey).


Her second run may have been more of a consolidation but Alcott still earned a comfortable overall margin of 2.53 seconds over Thomas, while Scotland's Sophie Readman (19, Dunblane) skied to third place.


In the Men's giant slalom Drake's attack matched that of Alcott, with whom he has trained each summer for many years. He laid the foundations of his fourth win of the week when he built a first run lead of 1.09 seconds over top seeded Dave 'Rocket' Ryding (22, Leyland). Skiing the quickest second run as well, his final margin over Ryding was 1.19 seconds. Dougie Crawford (21, Bearsden, Glasgow) proved he has recovered from a stomach illness which affected him over the last few days, when he took third.


The new 2008 champions live only ten minutes apart and have been friends since children's age-group racing. Through the summer they often do their strength and conditioning training in Kingston on Thames and routinely cycle hard miles in and round Richmond Park.

"It's not really sunk in," grinned Drake, "You just come here hoping to do your best but I don't think I ever expected to win the overall title. I suppose I am relieved that I've done it. I was pretty nervous after the first run today, needing to re-create the same focus as I had for the first run, racing 30th down when it is so bumpy and soft."


"Chemmy and I have been close since we raced on the dry slopes at about eight or nine years old, so it's great to share this today. We Obviously we follow different programmes but she is always great for bouncing ideas off. She has a lot more experience than me but we really try to help each other."


Alcott has just one race left before she puts what has been a season of mixed fortunes behind her and heads for Bali. In June she plans to climb Kilimanjaro with Olympic gold medallist Julia Mancuso.


"I am really glad to win today because I've been on good form in GS." said Alcott who added her native British giant slalom title to national GS titles she won at the Croatian and French championships in March.


"It was a nice course for the first run with the snow really hard and I like that, so I was really able to hammer down and get a bit of a lead and then enjoy the second run a bit." said Alcott.

 

"I do enjoy these British championships but I am a real creature of habit with very definite routines, and that all goes out the window here, so I do feel a bit of extra pressure with a different set of commitments and pressures here. Having won before then the pressure is always on not to lose."


"It's been a good week for me. I had a real up and down season, learning many things. I am really looking forward to getting back and training as part of the British team set up next year."


TJ Baldwin (18, Norwich) completed a clean sweep of all the Men's Under 18 titles to

Thank you so much, if you tweet or share
UP
Have you read it?
England Women squads named for white-ball tour to New Zealand
Gilles & Poirier Golden at ISU Four Continents Championships
Please follow us