Penultimate World Cup slalom races decided

The penultimate slalom races of the 2014-15 IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup season were contested in St. Moritz, Switzerland, on Wednesday (4 February), highlighted by a win for Canada’s Mac Marcoux over Russian Paralympic champion Valerii Redkozubov.

Marcoux (1:18.50) and guide Robin Femy followed up on their success in the giant slalom from Tuesday (3 February), producing the only sub-40 second run in the men’s visually impaired field in the crucial second runs.

As a result, they finished ahead of Slovakia’s Jakub Krako (1:19.68) and guide Martyn Motyka in second, and Redkozubov (1:20.19), guided by Evgeny Geroev in third.

The women’s equivalent saw Danelle Umstead (1:44.58) and husband guide Rob reclaim the top spot on the podium. Great Britain’s Millie Knight (1:45.90) with guide Jen Kehoe, and Belgian Marie-Morgane Dessart (1:55.98), guided by Alain Struman, were second and third respectively.

Russia’s Paralympic champion Alexey Bugaev (1:18.72) completed two fastest runs to maintain his perfect record in World Cup slalom in the men’s standing.

Switzerland’s Thomas Pfyl (1:21.86) returned from a fourth-placed first attempt to seal second place, whilst Austria’s Matthias Lanzinger (1:21.90) completed the podium.

The women’s standing featured a win for France’s world champion Marie Bochet (1:27.83) over German Paralympic champion Andrea Rothfuss (1:32.60). Dutch skier Anna Jochemsen (1:37.99) was third.

Paralympic and world champion Anna Schaffelhuber (1:30.03) continued her winning ways in the women’s sitting. Alongside teammate Anna-Lena Forster (1:36.45), the pair sealed a one-two for Germany.

Austria’s Claudia Loesch (1:36.46) missed out on second by a hair’s breadth, completing a trio of World Cup podiums in technical events for the season.

Croatia’s Dino Sokolovic (1:24.29) managed to put his inconsistent form aside, posting the two quickest runs in the men’s sitting. Austria’s Dietmar Dorn (1:25.43), a Worlds bronze medallist from 2013, was second as compatriot Roman Rabl (1:26.96) rounded-off the top three.

Full results are available at the IPC Alpine Skiing website.

Races continue in St. Moritz on Thursday (5 February) with slalom races.

The 2015 season is headlined by the IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships in Panorama, Canada, which will feature around 130 of the world's best skiers from 30 countries.

Media accreditation for Panorama 2015 is available at the Panorama 2015 website.