Moscow 21st November 2009 -- The 2nd edition of the Audi FIS Alpine Ski Champions Cup parallel slalom invitational event was carried out Saturday night in Moscow (RUS). The promotional event was staged as a knock-out event on the grounds of the Moscow City Palace of Children's and Youth Creativity.

The victory in the ladies' event, making its premiere in Moscow, went to 24-year-old Therese Borssen of Sweden who narrowly beat Germany's Maria Riesch in the Big Final. In the Small Final, Sweden's Frida Hansdotter beat Sandrine Aubert of France.

In the men's race, 20-year-old Marcel Hirscher followed in the footsteps of Germany's Felix Neureuther who took the victory in the first edition of this event held on 2nd January 2009. Hirscher beat France's Steve Missilier in the men's Big Final. In the Small Final, Michael Janyk of Canada, the bronze medalist in the 2009 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, beat the reigning slalom world champion Manfred Pranger (AUT).

Both of the winners netted USD 30'000. Each racer also received USD 10'000 as start money.

There were estimated 30'000 spectators at the venue. The race course had 20 gates, and was 205 m long with an altitude drop of 70 m. Run-time ca 20 sec.

RESULTS

Men

Big Final: Marcel Hirscher (AUT) vs. Steve Missillier (FRA) +0.59 sec

Small Final: Michael Janyk (CAN) vs. Manfred Pranger (AUT) +2.73 sec

Semi-finals:
Hirscher vs. Pranger +1.20 sec
Missillier vs. Janyk +1.00 sec

Ladies

Big Final: Therese Borssen (SWE) vs. Maria Riesch (GER) +0.03 sec
Small Final: Frida Hansdotter (SWE) vs. Sandrine Aubert (FRA)

Semi-Finals:
Borssen vs. Aubert +0.25 sec
Riesch vs. Hansdotter +7.61 sec

Comments

Marcel Hirscher (AUT), 1st place men: It was so special to be here in Moscow today. The competition was really unbelievable though we had very heavy conditions. But it was a very good preparation for us before the Vancouver Olympic Games. And I am sure the Champions Cup will give a huge impulse for further competitions in parallel slalom as well as for the development of Alpine Skiing in general.

Steve Missillier (FRA), 2nd place men: I am very tired at the end of the day. But I feel proud of myself. I`m sure this event will greatly promote further competitions of this kind. I have done my job and took the second prize. I am happy.

Michael Janyk (CAN), 3rd place men: It was really rock-and-roll. I feel excited and very happy. That is what you want. It was very exciting when to be racing down from the top of the slope and the great crowd's in front of you and your competitors are next to you. I am pretty satisfied with my results. After all it's a competition and all of us want to win the first prize.

Therese Borssen (SWE), 1st place ladies: It was a soft, fun and super fun race. I just beat Maria, I did my best to race as well as I could and won. It was raining, so the snow was soft and really wet and such conditions create some problems of course.

Maria Riesch (GER), 2nd place ladies: Of course this rain and wet snow were a problem for all of us. But anyway I am excited and happy with my second place. For me it was perfect training for the following competitions in the USA.

Frida Hansdotter (SWE), 3rd place ladies: It was a very good beginning for the season and I enjoyed this perfect atmosphere. The women racers are going to the USA for the next competitions now. So I am waiting for the further good results there. This Champions Cup was just a beginning.

Atle Skaardal, FIS Race Director for the ladies' FIS World Cup: "Today's event delivered great entertainment in a good atmosphere. There was a great show before and after the competition. The even larger ramp made it necessary to ski well to win the race. The ladies' event debut presented great skiing, and in addition, everyone seemed to be having a great time. Everyone was very positive and I'm sure they would be glad to return next year."

Hans Pieren, FIS Race Director for the men's technical events, in charge of the ramp preparation: "For us it meant a lot of work to prepare the hill in these weather conditions. We were out there on the ramp all last night but luckily we had some good people helping us out and putting in a lot of effort. The cooperation with the team on the ramp was very pleasant, they're really friendly. Overall it is impressive what is possible here: the amount of effort is truly massive."

www.fisalpine.com
Saturday 21 November 2009

***

"Moscow is an excellent initiative to promote skiing"

FIS President Gian Franco Kasper met with some journalists on Saturday morning at the Audi FIS Alpine Ski Champions Cup venue in Moscow (RUS).

"It has been an excellent initiative by the Russian Ski Association to stage this exceptional event here in Moscow. The Audi FIS Alpine Ski Champions Cup brings the best slalom skiers of the world into the heart of the Russian capital. The huge ramp here in Moscow is unique and it is not possible to build such ramps everywhere, for reasons such as snow availability as well as wind, because the safety of the athletes remains a primary concern for FIS.

However, for FIS it is very important to bring our athletes and our sport to where the public is. Bring them away from the mountains to cities is truly excellent promotion for our sport.

I thank and congratulate the Moscow organizing committee for the success of this 2nd edition. We all know that this year it was not easy to prepare the ramp given the unseasonably warm weather and rain earlier this week. We even came close to having to cancel the event but clearly the hard work of the dozens of volunteers this week has paid off and the ramp is in a good condition.

In the future, FIS would like to have a few of such events, maybe in cities such as Paris or London as well as Moscow. We think that these types of events must not be too many so they remain something special but think that a couple would serve as great promotion for our sport.

We know that the design of the ramp is now available to be ‘lent' to other cities from the Russian designers. So why not use it elsewhere too?"

www.fisalpine.com
Saturday 21 November 2009