Crawford and Alcott claim second titles at Delancey British National Alpine Ski Championships
Day three of the Delancey British National Alpine Ski Championships in Meribel saw both Dougie Crawford and Chemmy Alcott claim their second 2014 British title in the Downhill, the blue riband event of the Championships.
The Downhill race was blessed with perfect blue skies, with racers fired up and eager to make it on to the podium. GB racer Chemmy Alcott - who has announced that she will retire at the end of the Championships – followed her Super G victory with a win in the Ladies’ Downhill, clinching the title of British Downhill Champion. She was 4 seconds in front of second placed Cara Brown with Darcie Mead claiming third. This victory for Alcott is her 7th British Downhill title.
Chemmy Alcott said: “After winning my last ever Super G on Sunday I put a lot of pressure on myself to win my last Senior Downhill on such a challenging hill; the Super G was so much fun, I wanted to win again. It was a great course, we had great conditions and everyone skied really well. There are a few promising girls coming up so I think it’s really important to nurture those talents to go the whole way, it’s great to be here to offer advice and technical help to my peers.”
For the men, Dougie Crawford took the title of British Downhill Champion with a strong run in a time of 1.38.66. Close behind Crawford was 19 year old Jack Gower (1.39.29) who put in an impressive performance to fight off the challenge of TJ Baldwin (1.39.30) by the narrowest of margins.
Dougie Crawford said: “It always feels great to get back to back wins and I was pleased to beat team mates Jack and TJ into 2nd and 3rd. The piste was in great shape today, the sun wasn’t quite on it so the slope was much harder and held up well; it was challenging but enjoyable, it’s great to be in Meribel.”
This is the 11th year of the 2014 Delancey British National Alpine Championships, the biggest event in the British Alpine ski racing calendar. Supported by Delancey - Principal Sponsor of British Ski and Snowboard - for the 6th year, the Senior and Junior Championships take place from 30 March to 7 April followed by the Under 16 and Under 14 Championships from 8 April to 11 April.
Dan Charlish, Director of Snow-Camp, Delancey’s new charity partner and an innovative snowsports youth charity that changes the lives of disadvantaged, inner city, young people by combining snowsports and intensive youth work to engage, motivate and provide qualifications for employment was at the race today.
Dan said:“ This is a fantastic opportunity for Snow-Camp to be here at the Delancey British National Alpine Championships and I think it’s wonderful that Delancey, having sponsored the elite of snowsports for so long, are now looking at the other end of the snowsports spectrum and supporting the demographics of the young people we work with. It’s great to have some of our patrons here, Chemmy Alcott, Dougie Crawford and Jack Gower, all performing well and making the podium. Having their support and Sir John Ritblat behind us is a major help for a small charity like ours.“
Delancey British National Alpine Championships 2014 – Downhill results (British racers only):
Men’s: 1st - Dougie Crawford: 1.38.66, Jack Gower: 1.39.29, TJ Baldwin: 1.39.30.
Women’s: 1st – Chemmy Alcott: 1.43.63, 2nd – Cara Brown: 1.47.32, Darcie Mead: 1.50.49
Full results from the Delancey British National Alpine Ski Championships can be found on the official website: www.britishalpinechamps.com.
Further information on British Ski and Snowboard visit www.teambss.org.uk and on Delancey and the services they provide visit www.delancey.com.
