Two-time World Cup winner Thomas Grandi (Canmore, AB) will make his return to World Cup ski racing this weekend, one of nine Canadians involved in the season’s first slalom races Nov. 15 to 16 in Levi, FIN.
It will be Grandi’s first race since announcing this summer that he was coming out of retirement after one season away from the World Cup.
Grandi, 35, is joined in Sunday’s men’s race by Michael Janyk (Whistler, BC), who was on the podium in a World Cup slalom event in Beaver Creek in 2006, along with Patrick Biggs (Orleans, ON), Julien Cousineau (Lachute, QC), Scott Barrett (Toronto, ON) and Trevor White ( Calgary, AB).
“If you look where we are going to be starting, we are all outside the top 30 right now and that means we will have our work cut out for us,” said Men’s technical team head coach Dusan Grasic. “But I have been watching these guys training and I’ll tell you, they are fast. We have just come out of a very successful training period, we are healthy and we are ready.
“As a result, I have very high expectations for this group. Now, it’s time to go out there and see where we are at on race day,” Grasic said.
The ladies kick things off on Saturday with Canadians Anna Goodman (Pointe Claire, QC), Brigitte Acton (Mont-Tremblant, QC) and Shona Rubens (Canmore, AB) competing.
“Anna had a good season last season, and we’re really looking for her to pick up where she left off. She is steady and has proven that she is right in there,” said ladies technical team head coach Jim Pollock. Goodman had the first three top 30 World Cup results of her career in the 2007/08 season, the best being a 19 place finish in slalom at Zagreb, CRO.
“With Brigitte, we’re starting over again a little bit,” Pollock said. Acton, a two-time medalist at the FIS Alpine World Junior Ski Championships, missed much of last season due to a fractured sacrum.
“She’s going to be starting from way at the back and we know that already. We know that it will be a challenge from back there but she’s really focused and knows what she needs to do,” said Pollock.
“Shona is working hard on her slalom skiing. We are looking forward to getting to the season underway and seeing where we stack up against the rest of the world. We’re looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead.”
World Cup ski racing returns to Levi after being moved to Reiteralm, AUT last season due to poor snow conditions in Finland. Race organizers have indicated the conditions this year are good and the FIS also gave its approval during snow control last week.
