NorAm Finals Wrap Up with a Battle in the Men’s Slalom and Women’s Giant Slalom
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Ellie Hartman
Featured Image: Cassidy Gray competing in giant slalom at NorAm Finals. Credit: Gary Jones
After two more days of exciting tech races in Panorama Resort, British Columbia, the NorAm Finals concluded. The season wrapped up with international podiums, a dominating Tormis Laine in the men’s slalom, and a strong Canadian showing in the women’s giant slaloms.
The athletes continued to battle warmer weather, but the snow conditions held up nicely for the final races of the season.
Men’s Slalom
The excitement was pulsing through the air as the men were gearing up to take on their final races of the season. The athletes focused on finishing the season on a high note with leaderboard results and increasing their NorAm Cup standings.
Tormis Laine, an Estonian competing for Global Racing dominated the field on both days. He concluded each race triumphantly with over an eight-tenths lead. It marked the athlete’s second and third NorAm Cup victories this season.
First Day of Slalom
On the first day of slalom Simon Fournier a SYNC, Canadian athlete was the first to kick out of the gate. Unfortunately, he did not finish and as the race progressed the rate of finishers continued to diminish. 52 racers did not find the finish line, with most not finishing on the first run.
Nevertheless, Laine punched his way down the course and established his lead, -0.38 ahead of Norwegian, Christian Oliveira Soevik. However, Laine knew he could not get too comfortable as he had established the lead in the giant slalom, but lost the victory on the second run.
Laine held strong through the second run and skied tactically smart, finishing with a 4th-place second run time, which was more than enough to put him on the top step of the podium.
Matej Vidovic of Croatia and Adrian Meisen of Germany both threw down two solid runs, which earned them 2nd and 3rd-place finishes.
The second-place result moved Vidovic further into the lead on the slalom NorAm Cup standings. Vidovic had two podiums and three top-10 finishes this season on the NorAm circuit, so this marked his third podium this season.
The first North American on the leaderboard was Asher Jordan of Alpine Canada Alpin. The athlete put together two confident runs, which earned him a 4th-place finish, +0.30 off the podium.
A highlight performance was Benjamin Richie of the Stifel US Ski Team. Richie wore Bib-31 and had a tough first run, finishing in 20th place. However, he took advantage of running 10th on the second run and threw down the winning second run. He was able to move up to an 8th-place result.
Second Day of Slalom
Declan McCormack the Alpine Canada Alpin and University of Vermont racer was third out of the start and hit the track ready to make a mark. From top to bottom, the athlete was punching it. He set the fastest first-run pace.
However, German Adrian Meisen and Laine were not far behind Mccormack’s pace, with less than 7-hundredths separating the three athletes. The tight competition added the pressure heading into the second run.
Laine did not let the added pressure affect his performance and he was able to put down a solid second run that earned him a consecutive slalom victory.
This season, Laine competed in his first World Cup season this winter and with his added experience, next year he will be aiming to score his first World Cup points.
Matej Vidovic finished the day in 2nd place again with two solid runs.
Slovenia’s Tijan Marovt made a remarkable recovery after finishing 18th in the first run, ultimately clinching victory in the second run and securing a well-deserved 3rd place overall.
Marovt skied the World Cup circuit this season but was disappointed in his results. He stated on social media, “The last World Cup this year for me. I wasn’t skiing well in the World Cup races, made too many mistakes, and didn’t score points this season.”
The podium result was a confidence booster for the athlete heading into the off-season to prepare for the 2025 season.
The first North American on the leaderboard was Justin Alkier of Alpine Canada Alpin who finished in 5th place. He was closely followed (+0.03) by Stifel US Ski Team athlete Stanley Buzek.
Stanley Buzek made up time on his second run, finishing with the second-fastest time, which moved him into 6th place. This was Buzek’s second top-10 NorAm finish.
Women’s Giant Slalom
The women started their competition later than the men and were prepared to race their best to conclude the season. The surface was a bit more peely for the women, but they were ready to give it their all.
First Day of Giant Slalom
Canadian Justine Lamontagne, competing for Montana State University started the women off wearing bib-1. She attacked the line from beginning to end and set a strong pace for the field, holding off six racers.
But, when Canadian Arianne Forget of S1 Racing came down, she surpassed Lamontagne’s time. However, no one could hold off Cassidy Gray. Gray skied down wearing bib-18 and pulled ahead of the field by +0.48. Gray set a strong lead heading into the second run.
Gray had another fast run on the concluding lap and dominated the top of the podium, finishing -0.81 ahead of the field. This was her fifth win on the NorAm Cup circuit and her first of the season. She aims to continue her success focusing again on the World Cup circuit next season.
Forget concluded the day in 2nd place and Adriana Jelínková of the Czech Republic rounded out the podium.
Jelínková also competed in the World Cup this year and was working to make her mark in the circuit. She stated on social media, “It has been quite a bumpy roller coaster- shaped by health issues and many close calls for the second run. Nevertheless, I’m happy with some of my fast runs and sections, delivering some points for the Czech (Czech Republic flag).”
The North American women dominated the top-10 with seven racers skiing into it. Liv Moritz was the only Stifel US Ski Team athlete in the top 10, achieving 5th place.
Women’s Day 1 Giant Slalom Results
Second Day of Giant Slalom
The second day of giant slalom concluded with the same three girls on the podium steps, Cassidy Gray, Arianne Forget, and Adriana Jelínková. However, on the second day, Jelínková pulled ahead, triumphant over the Canadians by a -0.16 lead.
Cassidy Gray and Arianne Forget skied two impeccable runs to conclude their season on the podium. Gray achieved 2nd place and Forget rounded out the top 3.
Amelia Smart of Alpine Canada Alpin and a University of Denver skier achieved the biggest jump in the giant slalom. Impressively, moving up from bib-55 to 4th place. She came to the NorAm Finals for FIS points but came out with a win in slalom and a 4th in giant slalom.
Smart stated, “This season had a lot of ups and downs. I struggled to perform my best in a lot of races. Although, I am really happy with where my skiing is in training and I built back some race pace performance through the season so I am looking forward to carrying that into next season!”
Once again, the North Americans achieved the most athletes in the top-10 with eight skiing onto the leaderboard.
Women’s Day 2 Giant Slalom Results
The NorAm Finals have concluded and the athlete’s consensus is that they are looking forward to some recovery, rest, and off-season training.
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