Thursday produced a surprise as Ross Green beat hot favourite Finlay Mickel to the British Downhill title.

Finlay Mickel, 24 (Edinburgh) is a well established World Cup downhiller, fresh from encouraging results at this year¹s World Cups in Val d¹Isere, Val Gardena and Wengen, whereas after six years on the British Alpine Ski Team Ross Green, also 24 (Falkirk), has struggled to make major progress up the world ranking ladder.

By comparison with Mickel, who has been well backed by his family since he was very young, Green has sometimes struggled for funding and spent the past summer working in a supermarket to help fund his racing. Even in terms of physical stature they are opposites: Mickel tall and slender, Green best describes himself as having a 'low centre of gravity¹.

However it proved Green¹s day as for the second successive British Downhill Championship on the same Zwolferkogel mountain Mickel failed to land the title. Two errors robbed him of the championship. The first came on the jump when he once again flew too high and wavered, but the more serious was when he lost control coming out of a critical hairpin and momentarily spun with
his skis across the hill. His recovery was no less spectacular, but he was left over 1.5 seconds behind Green.

In contrast Green¹s technical skill, on a piste he admits to be among his favourites, won the day.
'Sometimes it¹s like this. Sure it¹s disappointing and I really wanted to win on this piste, but in the end I¹m much happier it wasn¹t worse and I did not damage myself,' explained Mickel,

Green was both pleased and relieved: 'Any British title is important. I should have won the Giant Slalom and the Super G as these are what I am best at, but this will do just fine. In truth it¹s more important in terms of World Rankings to land good Europa Cup results, but when you say to your family or sponsors that you are British Champion then it means much more to them, so this one is for my family.'

If the Men¹s title ignored the form book, the Women¹s did not and Chemmy Alcott completed her clean sweep of all four titles so far to win the British Women¹s Overall Alpine Champion title with a day to spare.

British Championships Downhill:
1 R Green (The British Land National Ski Team/Falkirk)
2 F Mickel (The British Land National Ski Team/Edinburgh)
3 M Jachacy (Scottish Alpine Ski Team/Aviemore)
4 R Baggett (Chelmsford)
5 C Mitchell (Scottish Alpine Ski Team/Inverness)

British Championship Downhill:
1 Alcott (The British Land National Ski Team/Twickenham)
2 D Bosher (Teddington)
3 T Chapman (GBG Girls/Kingston upon Thames)
4 M Crawford (Scottish Alpine Ski Team/Oban)
5 P Scott (Scottish Alpine Ski Team/Aviemore)

British Junior Downhill:
1 James Barcock (The British Land National Ski Team/Bath)
2 C Mitchell
3 Y Sclimati (Switzerland)

British Junior Downhill:
1 Alcott
2 Bosher
3 Scott 1¹34.65

Day 1: Super G
Day 2: GS

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