ALPINE:

Lavigne podiums in Copper Mountain parallel slalom

Nov. 20, 2010 ― Canada Snowboard 

COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colorado ― Ariane Lavigne of Mont-Tremblant, Québec, rode to third in the parallel slalom podium Friday on the second day of the FIS Nor-Am Cup at Copper Mountain in Colorado. Pat Farrell of Oakville, Ont., took fourth place in the men’s race.

“I am very satisfied. Certainly, I would have loved to go the distance and win. The course was really damaged by the end of the race, and quickly deteriorated. It was certainly one of the toughest races of my career with regards to conditions. I was on pure adrenaline, which helped me throughout the day,” said Lavigne.

Lavigne added, “It’s a good sign. I am feeling really well right now, it’s only a question of time to translate the success on the World Cup. I will do everything in my powers to get there. I don’t want to skip any steps. I trained a lot this summer, and it showed today.”

After Caroline Calvé credited sport psychology for her win Thursday, Lavigne also praised the benefits of this tool: “Psychologically, I see less and less the competition as a stress. I was really relaxed today, and focused on what I had to do. I am currently reading the book ‘In Pursuit of Excellence’ by Terry Orlick, a sport psychologist who worked with Canadian athletes. I catch myself relating quite a lot to the book.”

Patrick Farrell narrowly missed the podium, conceding the victory in the dual for the bronze to finish fourth.

The team will now enjoy a few days off before attending a training camp at Mont-Sainte-Anne, Québec, prior to first parallel giant slalom race of the 2011 LG Snowboard FIS World Cup at Limone Piemonte, Italy, on Dec. 10.  S-Magazine