World Pro Ski Tour Bear Valley - Mazda Far West Pro Classic GS Recap

Bear Valley was once the home to historic World Pro Skiing races including legends like three time Olympic Gold Medalist, Jean Claude Killy, Billy Kidd, Jimmie Huega, Spider Sabich and more. Today, the modern era of the World Pro Ski Tour revisited the Sierra Nevada mountains with pro racing for the first time in over thirty years, joined by new official automotive and SUV partner, Mazda, for the Mazda Far West Pro Classic GS races.

Boasting a wild snowpack that towers over cars as they drive into the ski area, more snow continued at Skyline Bear Valley Resort throughout the morning, delaying the start of Giant Slalom qualifiers several times. Once qualifying began, racers were able to get into a groove and we saw many regular Tour characters qualify to the Men's Round of 16, including Michael Ankeny, Nolan Kasper, Drew Duffy and Simon Breitfuss-Kammerlander. Qualifying in the first seed was Germany’s David Ketterer, who raced on the WPST at last year's 2022 Taos World Championships. Bear Valley is Ketterer’s first Tour stop on the 2023 season because he is currently racing World Cup.

WOMEN

On the women’s side, Canada’s Erin Mielzynski qualified first, alongside her Team Sports Insurance.com teammate and 2022 WPST Champion, Tuva Norbye. Other notable women joining the field included U.S. Ski Team’s Stephanie Lebby, Canadian Mikaela O’Brien, and Slovakian Olympian, Sona Moravcikova.

Old injuries plagued the women’s field with a round of eight reduced just to six with one bye and two DNS athletes. Even with a bye, Erin Mielzynski decided to ski her first heat so that she would be warm once it was time to face competitors. Sonia Moravcikova defeated O’Brien, while Norbye (who also skied the first run of her heats unopposed) moved on due to her opponent’s DNS.

Thing heated up for the women in the quarterfinals where Mielzynski clearly outskied local athlete Michelle Morozinski; Morozinski knew she had been defeated and tried to take it easy down the rest of the course but caught an edge just before the last jump and did a dramatic tumble down the hill. Moravcikova put up a solid fight against Norbye, but Norbye’s skiing was notably elevated and she skied to a clear victory.

Morozinski was not seriously injured from her spills on the course, but she decided to accept a fourth place finish instead of facing Moravcikova in the small final. The final matchup was between teammates Norbye and Mielzynski; the two had traded course feedback and tips throughout the day, but both are familiar with the transition from a team to an individual sport with their time on the World Cup. Mielzynski kept her dominant edge and skied to victory, but it was hugs between teammates again in the finish. “It was a long day,” said Mielzynski, “but we were so happy to be here and the racing was solid.”

MEN

The Men’s Round of 16 displayed aggressive skiing across the board, with an especially tough heat coming between 2022 WPST Rookie of the Year, Drew Duffy, and Slovenian Miha Kuerner, who has had inconsistencies in his racing this season. In the second heat, Kuerner pulled up short and let Duffy take the victory.

Duffy then had to face David Ketterer in the quarterfinal round; with Ketterer’s skiing solid and consistent, Duffy did not progress to the next round. Newcomer Keiffer Christianson beat out Cameron Smith to make his way to the semi-finals where he would have to face off against Ketterer. A solid battle was had between Norway’s Joachim Lien and Tahoe native, Nick Cohee, who traded leads but had to do a re-run of their second heat when Lien failed to exit the gate. Lien skied strong to victory after Simon Breitfuss-Kammerlander defeated Tour veteran Nolan Kasper, who fought hard against the Austrian but got a little wild on his skis after the second jump and was not able to recover enough for a win

In the semifinal round, all athletes knew that they had to ski both courses solidly; the second jump paired with steep and icy terrain proved challenging all day, and racers rarely got both skis to the ground at the same time. Ketterer was one racer who mastered that jump and skied confidently into the finals, beating Christianson. Breitfuss-Kammerlander put it all on the line, pushing his skiing to the limit as he narrowly defeated Lien to move to the finals.

In the men’s small final, Lien defeated Christianson, who was visibly tired, but skied well throughout the day. The men’s final was a matchup between Ketterer and Breitfuss-Kammerlander; and while Breitfuss-Kammerlander offered up aggressive and clean skiing, Ketterer crossed the line first.

Racing will return to Bear Valley Sunday, February 12 for the Men’s and Women’s Super Slalom.

RESULTS

WOMEN