Michael Janyk (Whistler, BC) is back in Canada preparing to resume the World Cup season after finishing in third place on Saturday in the 2nd annual FIS Alpine Ski Champions Cup in Moscow, RUS.

Janyk, racing in front of thousands of spectators in the exhibition single pole parallel slalom event, won his first two races before being knocked out of contention by France’s Steve Missillier in the semi-final.

“It was pretty cool. It was totally different from anything that I have experienced before,” said Janyk, who picked up $10,000 US for finishing third. “The course was built on this massive, massive scaffolding. It was crazy.”

The FIS-sanctioned event used a 2500 ton steel construction stand that was equipped with two elevators and boasted 5000 cubic meters of snow. The races were covered live on national TV in Russia, as well as other European countries.

This was the second straight year the event was held in Russia, but Janyk was the first Canadian to participate. The total prize money was $315,000 US with first place winners in men’s and ladies competition receiving $30,000 US each.

Janyk said it was a great experience to compete in such a unique atmosphere against the world’s best slalom skiers.

“It was totally fun and joking around beforehand but once it got time to race, there was a lot of money on the line, and we are all really competitive so we wanted to win,” he said.

“That being said it was still a total fun atmosphere and the guys were having a great time,” added Janyk, the reigning GMC Canadian slalom champion.

Men’s Team Head Coach Paul Kristofic, who was also on site, said the event was a boost for ski racing’s global appeal.

“I thought it was a great race. It was very exciting to watch and there were a lot of spectators. It was a glitzy event and a lot of fun as well as being very competitive,” Kristofic said.

Austria’s Marcel Hirscher finished a top the 16-person men’s field while Therese Borssen of Sweden took top prize among the field of eight women.

As for Janyk, he has returned to Canada and expects to do some forerunning in Lake Louise before heading to Beaver Creek, USA for World Cup competition in early December.