Alpine Canada – Calgary, Alta. (March 23, 2016) – Under tough and typical Whistler weather, the 2016 Sport Chek Canadian Championships kicked off today with the men’s and ladies’ downhill. Fog, rain and snow all played big factors in today’s races causing delays, a slew of DNFs and extra slipping time. 

The men pushed out of the start gate first today and it was a great homecoming for Whistler, B.C. native, Morgan Pridy who captured today’s top spot.

“It’s really great to be back here and it’s so nice to race at home! I feel like I have a small advantage being back here but it’s a great group to race with,” said Pridy of his winning run and being back at his home hill. “The visibility was pretty good but the course was a bit soft; that’s springtime skiing for you!”

Teammate and fellow Whistler, B.C. local, Broderick Thompson, joined Pridy on the podium in second-place, trailing by just 0.65 seconds. Riley Seger, U19 athlete from BC Ski Team, took third place, finishing just 1.05 seconds back from the first-place time.

The weather caused big delays for the ladies’ race as bad weather rolled in and out. It was a tough start for the ladies as the first three racers put up DNF results, but Mont Tremblant’s Valérie Grenier, came down with a blazing run to capture first-place winning the Canadian Championships downhill title. This win comes after Grenier secured first-place at the World Junior Championships downhill in Russia earlier this month.

“I’m really happy to finish first here today. It’s what I was going for and I’m glad I could finish off the season with a first-place result,” said Grenier of today’s finish. “It was a pretty decent run despite the track being pretty slow from all the snow.”

 

U19 athlete, Stefanie Fleckenstein of BC Ski Team, who also represented Canada at the World Junior Championships in Russia, took second-place today finishing 0.97 seconds back from Grenier.

“I’m really happy to be on the podium! It was my goal to land on the podium and I’m especially happy to be standing next to Val,” said Fleckenstein. “Having been able to ski the downhill at World Juniors was really great preparation for me and it’s been great learning so much from Val.”Rounding out the podium is Katie Fleckenstein, another U19 athlete (and sister of Stefanie), who sat 3.20 seconds off the lead-time.

The next 2016 Sport Chek Canadian Championship race will be a super G. Stay tuned for results and updates.

Ladies’ Downhill Podium

1 – Valérie Grenier (CAN)

2 – Stefanie Fleckenstein (CAN)

3 – Katie Fleckenstein (CAN)

Men’s Downhill Podium

1 – Morgan Pridy (CAN)

2 – Broderick Thompson (CAN)

3 – Riley Seger (CAN)

For further information or press inquiries, please contact Ashley Shantz at ashantz@alpinecanada.org or call 587.226.3007.