SPEED SKIING:

Italy’s Origone hits 174 kph in Sun Peaks Velocity Challenge

March 9, 2011     ♦ Photos: The Sun Peaks speed skiing scene (top photo by John Cleaver; bottom by Glenn Martin)

SUN PEAKS, B.C. — It was a day for pushing limits on Sunday, the last day of the Subaru Velocity Challenge, as
 athletes in each category competed for prestige and cash prizes.

The Velocity Challenge is awarded to the fastest racer in each category during the four days of competition.

Italian speed skier Ivan Origone took the cake in the Men’s Speed 1 category with a 
blistering time of 174.72 km/h, while Sanna Tidstrand from Sweden won the Speed Ladies division at 170.65 km/h.

With her three wins, Tidstrand is very satisfied with the race results this year.

“It’s great,” said Tidstrand with a smile on her face. “Two years ago, I won the two World Cups and not the Velocity, but now I got all three.”

“The track has been beautiful every day,” she said. “We had a little bit of bad weather in the first day but then it has been great.”

Sweden’s Sebastian Lindblom clocked in with 161.12 km/h for the Downhill Men’s category. In the Downhill Junior’s division, Sun Peaks 15-year-old speed skier Joss Advocaat registered 152.46 km/h on the speed trap.

“It’s amazing. It was so close though,” said Advocaat, who was just ahead by 0.12ths of a kilometre of Cruize Cleaver.

“In the 22-year history of this event, it was probably one of the best events ever in one of the most adverse conditions ever,” said organizer Adam Earle. “We had high wind, powder snow, fog and we still managed to execute two World Cup races and the Velocity Challenge over the four days.

“We had 44 racers from 10 countries, which makes it a true international event at Sun Peaks Resort. It’s the only place in North America with an amazing start of the season for all the World Cup athletes — we’re the first race.”

“We had racers up to 174 km/h, which is only 3 km/h shy of the course record by local Kenny Dale, so he’s happy — his record’s intact,” Earle said. “And we did 350 speed skiing runs and one crash with minimal injury.”

In the first World Cup, Canada’s top finishers were Dale in fourth and Neil Munroe in seventh. In the second World Cup, Munroe skied to fifth, with Dale 7th. In the Velocity Challenge, Munroe rocketed to third place, with Dale sixth.

Earle noted the support of “our amazing group of volunteers that have been with the event for some 20 years, along with the local sponsors like Subaru Autosport and Subaru Canada and lots of local
sponsors and suppliers. Without their assistance this huge event couldn’t happen.”

Speed skiing first came to the Kamloops area in the mid 1980s. At this time a group of local racing enthusiasts, some who speed skied professionally, decided to hold a speed event at the resort formerly known as Tod Mountain. With the guidance of these seasoned racers and the support of the ski area, the local racers made a vision become a reality.

Over the next 15 years this group successfully hosted the Canadian and provincial championships and eight other Velocity Challenge speed skiing events. At each event a very important goal was met — a safe, structured speed skiing competition in which the average recreational skier could be coached and compete in one of the most exciting ski racing events in the world. The current course record of 177.21 km/ph was set at the 2002 Velocity Challenge.

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