Skiers continue World Championships warm-up

Alpine skiers from the Netherlands, Austria, Slovakia, Canada, Italy and Germany reached the top of the slalom podium at the World Cup in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, on Thursday (19 January).

Their winning performances come just three days before the Opening Ceremony of the 2017 World Para Alpine Skiing Championships taking place just over the border in Tarvisio, Italy, on Sunday (22 January).

Dutch skier Jeroen Kampschreur fought off a challenge from Japan’s Worlds silver medallist Taiki Morii to claim the victory in the men’s sitting.

Kampschreur was in pole position after the first run, whilst Morii could only manage 12th place.

But Morii improved on his second run to post the fastest time. It was not enough in the end however, and the Dutch skier took the win.

The USA’s Joshua Elliott secured his first World Cup slalom top-three finish in third.

Germany’s Paralympic champion Anna Schaffelhuber triumphed over Austria’s world title holder Claudia Loesch in the women’s sitting.

It was Schaffelhuber’s second win in Kranjska Gora, having topped the giant slalom on Wednesday (18 January). The German leads the slalom rankings with another race still to run on Friday (20 January).

Japan’s Momoka Muraoka was third.

Austria’s Thomas Grochar continued his unbeaten run in the men’s standing, securing his third win of the season.

Grochar came close to losing out after his first run, but pulled it back during the second to finish just 0.21 seconds clear of teammate Martin Wuerz.

Australia’s Mitchell Gourley reached his latest slalom podium of the season in third.

Canada’s Alana Ramsay claimed the lead at the top of the rankings with the win in the women’s standing.

Just 0.15 seconds behind was the USA’s Stephanie Jallen, stepping onto her first technical World Cup podium of the season.

Germany’s Anna-Maria Rieder was third, following up on her giant slalom top three from the day before.

Italy’s Giacomo Bertagnolli secured his second win in as many days in the men’s visually impaired with guide Fabrizio Casal. Following up on his giant slalom victory from Wednesday, Bertagnolli skied to two leading runs.

Slovakia’s Miroslav Haraus, guided by Maros Hudik, was second. Spain’s World Championships bronze medallist Jon Santacana Maiztegui and guide Miguel Galindo were third.

Slovakia’s Paralympic bronze medallist Henrieta Farkasova was quickest in both her women’s visually impaired runs with guide Natalia Subrtova.

The USA bagged a podium double as teammates Staci Manella, with guide Sadie de Baun, and Danelle Umstead, guided by her husband Rob, were second and third respectively.

Racing concludes in Kranjska Gora on Friday (20 January) with another slalom. All the action is being streamed live at www.worldparaalpineskiing.org alongside live results.

It is the final chance for skiers to test themselves ahead of the 2017 World Para Alpine Skiing Championships which gets underway in Tarvisio, Italy, on Sunday (22 January).