ALPINE:

Ontario's Halbert speeds to 1st career Nor-Am win

Dec. 9, 2010 — Alpine Canada 

LAKE LOUISE, Alberta — Kelby Halbert of Bradford, Ont., won Thursday's Northwest Funds Nor-Am Cup men's downhill race at Lake Louise Ski Area, picking up the first Nor-Am win of his career.

Halbert, the reigning GMC Cup overall men's champion who finished second in Wednesday's opening Nor-Am downhill, won Thursday in a time of 1 minute, 30.91 seconds.

"It feels great. This is the kind of day that I have been working toward and thinking about since I started skiing at age two," said the 20-year-old Halbert, from the Toronto Ski Club. "Today was a little weird. It was overcast and tough to see. I didn't know if my time was going to stand up because there were so many good skiers behind me. Thomas (Biesemeyer) had won a training run and he had yet to come down. And I have been training with (Louis-Pierre) Hélie, (Tyler) Nella, (Dustin) Cook and those guys, and they were still to come so I was nervous for a while. I am really happy with how everything went for me today."

Hélie, the overall Nor-Am champion from two seasons ago, was second, 0.25 behind Halbert. It was a significant improvement for Hélie over Wednesday's ninth-place finish. Biesemeyer of the USA was third.

Thursday's women's downhill was won by American Julia Ford, her second career Nor-Am win. She finished in 1:35.50, 0.27 ahead of Georgia Simmerling. Quebec Ski Team member and participant in the national prospect program, Victoria Stevens, placed third, picking up her second Nor-Am podium result in as many days.

The Northwest Funds Nor-Am Cup presented by Continental Tire continues Friday with the final events at Lake Louise Ski Area, men's and women's super-G races.  S-Magazine