Press Release
Issued by Snowsport GB
Saturday 28th January
06
Cortina d Ampezzo, Italy
Garmisch Partenkirchen, Germany
Back to
back 25th places on two of the season s toughest courses may leave
Finlay
Mickel (28, Edinburgh/The British Land Alpine Ski Team) with room
for
improvement, but after last weekend s 25th in Kitzbuehel, Austria
and
today s repeat score on the gnarly, oppressive Kandahar downhill in
Garmisch
Partenkirchen Mickel is happy to have scored more world cup points
and to
have taken on new lessons for the future.
Mickel, skiing
seventh down the track, set a time of 2 minutes 00.01
seconds to finish 2.45
seconds behind Austria s Hermann Maier who conquered
a course which was bumpy
and a testing mix of hard, icy snow at the top and
the bottom, with difficult
mixed terrain where the light was at its
flattest. Maier skied 1 minute 57.56
seconds to win his first downhill this
season.
It was another tough
one. Admitted Mickel, It was bumpy and dark and it
has got harder and harder
each day. The top section was just rock hard
like an ice rink and the bottom
was icy patches. This is the first time I
remember it being like this. It s
back to being what it traditionally was.
But it s a challenge to be learnt. I
did not ski it technically well the way
I wanted to. So much is dictated by
the first turns. I wanted to be rolling
into them and wasn t the way I
wanted. I felt rushed and that is not a good
feeling.
Mickel s
imminent date with his first ever Olympic downhill is prominent in
his
thoughts, but so too is his desire to make the World Cup finals in
Are,
Sweden in March. Needing to stay in the Top 25 rankings for the season
he
lies 25th at the moment and has scored world cup points in all but
two
downhills this season.
In Cortina d Ampezzo Chemmy Alcott (23,
Twickenham/The British Land Alpine
Ski Team) scored her second World Cup
Downhill top 30 this season when she
placed 26th on the Olympia delle Tofane
track where she skied her career
best 9th in 2004.
She finished1.83
seconds behind the winning time skied by Austria s
Renate
Goetschl.
The course was still affected by fresh snow which had
fallen for the last 48
hours, forcing the start to be lowered below to the
Super G start level.
I m a bit disappointed to be honest after training
so well the other day. I
caught an edge and made some mistakes. It s
frustrating because I knew I
could do well and was maybe just trying too hard
in the soft snow. But, I
still got some points here which is important. Said
Alcott.
Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, Men s Downhill, Garmisch,
Germany.
1 MAIER Hermann AUT 1:57.56
2 KROELL Klaus AUT 1:57.83
3 BUDER
Andreas AUT 1:57.84
4 NYMAN Steven USA 1:58.00
5 AAMODT Kjetil Andre
1:58.10
6 30 510478 KERNEN Bruno SUI 1:58.17
6 BUECHEL Marco LIE
1:58.17
8 HOFFMANN Ambrosi SUI 1:58.33
9 DEFAGO Didier SUI 1:58.36
10
WALCHHOFER Michael AUT 1:58.54
10 STROBL Fritz AUT 1:58.54
GBR: 25 MICKEL
Finlay GBR 2:00.01
Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, Women s Downhill,
Cortina, Italy:
1 GOETSCHL Renate AUT
2 MANCUSO Julia USA
3 GOERGL AUT
1:09.94
4 DORFMEISTER Michaela 3 AUT 1:09.99
5 AUFDENBLATTEN Fraenzi SUI
1:10.22
6 STYGER Nadia SUI 1:10.26
7 FANCHINI Nadia ITA 1:10.37
8
RECCHIA Lucia ITA 1:10.38
9 KILDOW Lindsey C. USA 1:10.42
10 MERIGHETTI
Daniela ITA 1:10.51
26 ALCOTT Chemmy 1982 GBR
1:11.47