BANFF, Alta. – Matt Leduc of Comox, B.C., earned his first career victory and medal on the GMC Cup alpine skiing circuit on Saturday at Mount Norquay winning the men’s slalom race.  Tianda Carroll of Edmonton took the women’s slalom.

In the men’s slalom, Leduc clocked a two-run time of one minute and 35.16 seconds.  Cody Pedersen of Banff was second at 1:36.62 and Michael Law of Cochrane, Alta., third at 1:41.45.  Leduc was first after the opening run

"I am pretty excited about the win,” said Leduc, 19.  “I have never been first after an opening run so I was pretty nervous for the second.  The course was a good fit for my skill set.  You had to be aggressive and you had to know how to negociate the problem areas.”

It was also a first medal on the circuit for Pedersen, who is a second-year member of the Alberta Ski Team.

“On the first run,  I made a costly mistake and was lucky to finish,” he said.  “The second run was better and I skied smart and fast. I will try to clean up my first run tomorrow and challenge for first spot.”

Law was fifth after the first run.

“I skied really well,” said the 16-year-old celebrating his first medal on the circuit.  “I really had to hold on in places and the course was pretty tough.  I thought fifth after the first run was great since a lot of skiers were not able to finish.’’

In the women’s slalom, Carroll continued her solid skiing since the New Year clocking 1:41.88.  Sarah Freeman of Fernie, B.C., was second in 1:42.18 and Celine Ritz of Fernie, B.C., a downhill winner at the previous stop at Apex Mountain last month, was third in 1:42.71.  Both Ritz and Freeman are with the B.C. Ski Team.

‘’It feels great to get the win,’’ said Carroll, with top-10 showings in her last seven races including three wins.  ‘’The courses really suited me and I had fun. I was able to stay focused and it continues a good season for me.’’

Freeman overcame a very painful sore throat to nab the silver.

‘’I’ve raced with pneumonia before so I wanted to race today no matter what,’’ said Freeman.  ‘’I was sipping tea at the start gate and just barely had enough energy to make it down.  I’m a little surprised to get second place.’’

The series is the brain-child of Olympic champion Nancy Greene Raine, who approached GMC more than four decades ago with the concept of creating a strong domestic ski racing series for up-and-coming Canadian alpine racers.

GMC has a rich history as a benefactor to communities and to amateur support. Thus, the original series was launched, developing some of Canada’s best alpine racers including Kathy Kreiner, Gerry Sorensen, Laurie Graham, Karen Percy, and the Crazy Canucks.

Several current members of Canada’s Alpine Ski Team are also GMC Cup alumni including past GMC Cup overall winners Michael Janyk (Whistler, BC) (2004), Brigitte Acton (Mont-Tremblant, QC) (2002, 2003), Shona Rubens (Canmore, AB) (2005), Marie-Michèle Gagnon (Lac-Etchemin, QC) (2007) and Erin Mielzynski (Guelph, ON) (2008).

Manuel Osborne-Paradis (Vancouver, BC) and John Kucera (Calgary, AB) are two Canadian World Cup winners who are also alumni of the program.

Last season’s Coupe GMC Cup winners were Ashley-Kate Durham (Montreal, QC) and Benjamin Thomsen (Invermere, BC).

Be sure to also check out the Coupe GMC Cup website (www.gm.ca/cup) which features new Canadian Alpine Ski Team bios, videos from Erik Guay (Mont-Tremblant, QC), Janyk, Kucera and Osborne-Paradis as well as other exciting new features. 

Saturday’s leading slalom results at a GMC Cup alpine skiing competition in Banff, Alta

Men: 1. Mathieu Leduc, Comox, B.C., 1:35.16; 2. Cody Pedersen, Banff, Alta., 1 :36.62; 3. Michael Law, Cochrane, Alta., 1:41.45; 4. Curtis McKillop, Banff, Alta., 1:42.35; 5. David Law, Banff, 1:46.34; 6. Brydon Coombe, Panorama, B.C., 1:47.28;7. Ford Swette, Whistler, B.C., 1:47.34; 8. Douglas Doyle-Baker, Banff, 1:49.00, 9.Alastair Wycliffe-Jones, Banff, 1:49.34 ; 10. Connor Tweed, Lake Louise, Alta., 1:49.67

Women: Tianda Carroll, Edmonton, 1:41.88; 2. Sarah Freeman, Fernie, B.C., 1:42.18; 3. Celine Ritz, 1:42.71; 4. Noelle Barahona, Chile, 1:43.28; 5. Victoria Michalik, Banff, 1:44.02; 6. Mackensey Young, Fernie, B.C., 1:45.37; 7. Jocelyn Ramsden, West Vancouver, B.C., 1:45.58; 8. Kaitlyn Gibson, Calgary, 1:45.90; 9. Catherine Wood, Calgary, 1:46.06; 10. Hannah Ordman, Calgary, 1:46.09.

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