Remme & Radamus Crowned NorAm champions
Every winter, ski resorts in the USA and Canada host NorAm Cup races to determine the best skiers from North American. This season, Loveland, Lake Louise, Panorama, Stowe, Whiteface, Copper, and Kimberley organized the 56 events in downhill (6), super-G (12), alpine combined (6), giant slalom (16) and slalom (16).
The Overall winner on both the ladies’ and men’s side qualify for all the events on the World Cup Tour for the following season. The two first athletes of each discipline standings also get a personal qualification for the World Cup in the respective discipline.
LADIES
In 2017/18, Roni Remme dominated on the ladies’ side, finishing the season with a total of 1174 points and the win in two disciplines. She is more than 240 points ahead of her two closest contenders, American Nina O’Brian and Mikaela Tommy from Canada.
The 22 years old Canadian skier Roni Remme clinched her Overall win thanks to her excellent results in the downhill, the super-g, but also the slalom. She started very strong into the season, with her first World Cup starts in Lake Louise, followed by four straight wins in the speed disciplines and two further slalom wins on the Nor-Am Tour. Those good results gave her the opportunity to participate in more World Cups and score a career best 11th rank in the slalom in Zagreb. She also made her debut at the Olympic Games, with a 27th place in the slalom and a 23rd place in the downhill. Returning on the Nor-Am Tour in Copper Mountain (USA) and for the Finals in Kimberley (CAN), she was able to score enough points to defend her lead for the Overall title and to grab the victory in downhill and super-g. She also finished 2nd of the alpine combined ranking.
Three other women claimed their personal qualifications in the speed disciplines. Canadian Valerie Grenier, 6th of the Olympic alpine combined, was able to claim her first title on the Nor-Am Cup, after finishing second of the Overall ranking in 2015. Stefanie Fleckenstein, from Canada as well, earned the second place in the downhill season’s ranking thanks to her three podiums out of three races and will be able to race for her first World Cup points next season. American Nina O’Brien is not only the second of the Overall standings, but also of the super-g ranking for the second year in a row. The current US champion in slalom and super-g podiumed three times in the super-g on the Nor-Am Cup this season.
In giant slalom, the spotlight was on Mikaela Tommy, as like in 2013 the Canadian won the discipline ranking. With three wins and three further podiums out of the six races she participated in, she claimed her personal qualification for next season’s World Cup Tour in the giant slalom and a third place in the Nor-Am Overall ranking. In second place, the athlete from the Netherlands Adriana Jelinkova skied very strong, but can’t claim the personal qualification due to her nationality. Third one in the giant slalom ranking, the 18 year old AJ Hurt from the Squaw Valley ski team earns the qualification spot.
After winning the Nor-Am title in giant slalom last season, Amelia Smart, from Canada, won the slalom ranking this season. No win, but four podiums and three further Top 6 places (out of 8 races) were enough to clinch the title. She is followed by the American Lila Lapanja, who won this ranking in 2014 and 2016. The skier from Lake Tahoe could celebrate only one podium at the Finals, but was very constant and never left the Top 7 this season in slalom.
Ladies' Nor-Am Cup standings 2017/18
Ladies' Nor-Am podiums 2017/18
MEN
A very tight battle for the Overall title concluded with the win of River Radamus on the men’s side. The triple Youth Olympic Champion from 2016 in Lillehammer (GS, SG, AC) and triple National Junior Champion (SL 2015, SG 2016, SG 2018) made a big step forward on the international stage this season, winning his first Nor-Am races and starting in his first World Cup races.
The young American from the Ski and Snowboard Club Vail walks away with the Overall title on the Nor-Am Cup, but couldn’t claim a discipline ranking. In slalom, he finishes second behind American World Cup skier Mark Engel. Two podiums early in the season and two wins at the Finals were enough for the member of the Sugar Bowl Ski Team to grasp the title.
For the third year in a row, James Crawford from the Whistler Mountain ski club in Canada, finished within the Top 3 of the Nor-Am Overall Cup, but for the first time, he was able to win a title. He even won two, as the 21 year old won the super-g and the downhill standings, never skiing out of the Top 7 in both speed disciplines and scoring respectively 2 wins and a podium (SG) and 1 win and a podium (DH). Also in the alpine combined he claimed a personal qualification spot, as he finished second.
In those disciplines, three other athletes were in the spotlight this season. Jefferey Read, Ken Read’s son, finished in second of the downhill season ranking, starting with a 20th place on home soil in Lake Louise, improving to a second place and a win in Copper Mountain. Canadian Sam Mulligan is the runner-up in the super-g standings thanks to his win in Lake Louise and two further podiums. He had the honour to make his World Cup debut in Kitzbuehel. In the alpine combined, the 2017 Junior World Champion in downhill Sam Morse (USA, 1996) walked away with the season title thanks to a win and two second places in that many races this season.
Brian Mclaughlin dominated the giant slalom this season, with three wins and a second place. The 24 year old athlete from the Dartmouth ski team earns his first continental cup title and will be able to ski on the World Cup circuit next season in that discipline.
