ALPINE:

McLeish wins slalom to wrap up GMC Cup in B.C.

March 1, 2011 — Alpine Canada  

ROSSLAND, B.C. — Canadian world junior team member Madison McLeish of Canmore, Alta., posted a convincing win in women's slalom Monday to conclude the final Western stop on the GMC Cup alpine skiing circuit.

McCleish posted the fastest times on both runs and clocked 1 minute, 38.98 seconds. Sarah Elliot of Oyama, B.C., collected her third medal in four races, finishing second in 1:41.86, and Vanessa Berther of the U.S. was third in 1:42.37.

''My slalom has been pretty inconsistent this season, so this was a nice way to wrap up this competition,'' said McLeish, 18, who posted two top-15 results at the world juniors in early February. ''I've been working on a lot of technical changes this year and I'm still trying to fine tune things. Still this whole season has been a big step ahead for me.''

Elliot gained a ton of confidence over the past four days. She had missed two of the last three seasons due to an injured knee.

''I definitely passed a big test here,'' said Elliot, 18. ''Spending some time in Europe in last month I got an opportunity to learn a lot there and I used that here. I was definitely more aggressive and really charged well.''

In the men's giant slalom, Michael Bansmer of the U.S. was a repeat winner in 1:50.57. Sean Alexander of Calgary took second in 1:52.48 and Cody Pedersen of Banff, Alta., was third 1:53.39.

What appeared as a successful competition for Alexander on paper (three silver medals) wasn't in reality.

''Frankly I wasn't happy with my performances here,'' said Alexander, 21. ''Both at the result level and the skiing level. I felt after every race there was a lot more left in me. I continue to be inconsistent in competition and not duplicating what I can do in training.''

Pedersen made his second trip to the podium in four days.

''I've been struggling a lot with the GS this season,'' he said. ''Today my first run wasn't clean but I was pleased with how I came back with a better second run.''

The next stop on the circuit is March 4-5 at Camp-Fortune, Que.

Monday's leading results at the GMC Cup stop at Red Mountain:
Men giant slalom
1. Michael Bansmer, U.S., 1:50.57; 2. Sean Alexander, Calgary, 1:52.48; 3. Cody Pedersen, Banff, Alta., 1:53.39; 4. Michael Radford, U.S., 1:54.06; 5. Jeffrey Bell, Calgary, 1:54.39; 6. David Law, Cochrane, Alta., 1:54.41; 7. Filip Gigic, Calgary, 1:54.52; 8. Michael Law, Cochrane, Alta., 1:55.35; 9. Jonas Haehlen, Calgary, 1:55.40; 10. Curtis McKillop, Banff, Alta., and Kevyn Read, Banff, 1:55.44.

Women slalom
1. Madison McLeish, Canmore, Alta., 1:38.98; 2. Sarah Elliot, Oyama, B.C., 1:41.86; 3. Vanessa Berther, U.S., 1:42.37; 4. Sarah Freeman, Fernie, B.C., 1:42.67; 5. Tianda Carroll, Edmonton, 1:42.72; 6. Courtney Altringer, U.S., 1:42.83; 7. Stephanie Irwin, Calgary, 1:44.20; 8. Yina Moe-Lange, Denmark, 1:45.30; 9. Hayley McIntyre, Banff, Alta., 1:47.23; 10. Mackensey Young, Fernie, 1:47.63.