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Preview
- Downhill -
Giant Slalom - Super
G - Combined Champs
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A new resort for the British Land National Ski Championships
means new challenges and both Finlay Mickel (26, Edinburgh) and
Lynn Sharp (18, Glasgow) proved that Meribelıs Du Corbey piste,
part of which formed the 1992 Womenıs Downhill at the Albertville
Olympic Winter Games, proved well up to the task when they collected
the respective Menıs and Women's Downhill titles today.
New location in Meribel
As the championships visit the traditional British stronghold for
the first time, any thoughts of waning snowcover were eliminated
as 15 cms of fresh snow fell during the preceding 24 hours to leave
Meribelıs race team with a major task to get the course back into
shape.
Helped by an overnight freeze the course was in good shape and the
rollers and regular terrain changes were more than enough to keep
the title challengers skiing to their best. With periods of flat
light and limited visibility the weather gods smiled for just long
enough for the race to be completed.
Mickel victory in Men's Downhill
Mickel could not manage to build the same kind of two seconds margin
he showed on the first training run and as he did when he won the
title last year in Tignes. Skiing conservatively he concentrated
on maintaining his stability in the bouncy conditions and staying
on the optimum line, winning by 0.74 of a second ahead of his fellow
Scot Roger Cruickshank who served notice that it may not be long
before he is giving the regular world cupper a run for his money.
'The great thing about Roger is that he has the real appetite for
speed that you need as a downhiller. Without that need for the 'fear
factor' you will not get all the way in downhill and he clearly
has that.' Mickel commented, 'I was bounced around a bit and it
was not easy but it's a title in the bag and at this stage that
is what counts.'
Lynn Sharpe takes women's downhill title
For Lynn Sharp her first major senior title came as a result of
a tight, attacking run which proved her growing technical skills
as well as her own hunger to go faster:
'I had only done two downhills before: last year's British and one
in Innerkrems a few weeks back, but I am really getting a liking
for that being on the edge of control and the speed and really want
to do more downhill' said Sharp who will be favourite for tomorrowıs
Super G and who also won the Women's British Junior Downhill title.
Duncan White, who skis with the British Home Nations Development
Team won the Boys' British Junior Downhill title.
The British Land National Ski Championships, Downhill - Men:
1 F Mickel (Edinburgh/The British Land Alpine Ski Team) 1 min 14.70
secs,
2 R Cruickshank (Banchory/The British Land Alpine Ski Team) 1:15.44,
3 R Green (Falkirk/The British Land Alpine Ski Team) 1:15.71,
4 A Morison (Perth) 1:17.04, 5 D White (Dorking/The British Home
Nations Team) 1:17.49.
The British Land
National Ski Championships, Downhill - Women:
1 L Sharp (Glasgow/The British Land Alpine Ski Team) 1:20.43
2 K McGarry (Ireland) 1:24.87
3 S Bream (Conwy) 1:25.03
4 E Sarsfield (County Durham) 1:26.12
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