Team of 4 Selected for the World Alpine Ski Championships
The World Alpine Ski Championships kick off this week in Garmisch, Germany and Britain will be represented by 4 British Land Alpine Senior Ski Team athletes. As this is the most prestigious event of its kind, involving only alpine skiing, the team has been selected from a mixture of youth and experience.
Leading the way is 29 year old Noel Baxter from Aviemore. Noel, a 2 time Olympian, is having one of his best seasons on the European Cup tour and is hoping for a top 10 finish in his specialist discipline Slalom, an event where he has placed 15th in the last 2 World Championships. Joining Noel on the team is Kingston's Ed Drake. Ed a top flight SG skier ranked 49th in the World, finished 26th in last week's Chamonix Super- combined, the first British male to rank in the top 30 in a World Cup event in 4 years. This result gave him direct qualification for The Garmisch World Championships. Alongside Ed in the speed events and also the Giant Slalom, will be Norfolk's TJ Baldwin, who will be competing in his 1st major championships. TJ has just had his 1st full season on the European Cup and has also had opportunities to test his skills in World Cup to prepare him for these championships. Pendal's David Ryding completes the team and will race in the technical events with Noel Baxter. He is also having his best year on the European Cup tour, notching up 2 top 20's in Slalom. A competitor at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics Ryding is targeting a top 20 finish in Germany.
Watching from the sidelines will be World Cup racer Chemmy Alcott who is continuing her recovery back to the top flight after picking up a serious injury in the early part of the season. Joining Chemmy will be Bearsden's Dougie Crawford who has yet to return to full fitness.
The competition starts today (8th Feb) with the Women's Super G event, while the men's races get under way tomorrow, featuring Ed Drake and TJ Baldwin in the Super G.
Watch Out for the British Land Alpine Senior Ski Team in the following events:
Ed Drake: DH/SG/SC
TJ Baldwin: DH/SG/SC/GS
Dave Ryding :GS/SL
Noel Baxter : GS/SL
You can also keep up to date with all the results from the World Alpine Ski Championships, which runs until 20th February on the FIS website:
http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/1228.html?event_id=28178&cal_suchsector=AL
