Wanaka, New Zealand – 1 August 2010 – The New Zealand Men’s and Women’s teams had their first taste of the Southern Hemisphere racing season this week as the four-day Wanaka Tech Series concluded at Treble Cone Saturday with another impressive performance by Queenstown’s Adam Barwood and a New Zealand sweep of the women’s podium in the series’ final slalom races.
Harriet Miller-Brown, Guenther Birgmann (Coach), Adam Barwood - Men & Women Overall winners
Barwood, who trains at the Treble Cone Race Academy and coached by Guenther Birgmann, won both Thursday’s GS at Cardrona and Friday’s GS at Treble Cone, then went on to place second in the slalom on Saturday, also at Treble Cone, wrapping up a solid week.
Adam Barwood racing giant slalom at Cardrona on 29th July
“It was a great way for Adam to start the season,” said Snow Sports New Zealand Alpine Manager James Lazor. “His results were well below his current FIS points, so I’m pleased to see him headed in the right direction.”
Willis Feasey also turned in two solid performances in the GS races, placing fourth at Treble Cone on Friday and fifth at Cardrona on Thursday.
Lucie Tait-Jamieson, who trains with Cardrona High Performance and coached by Jonny Rice, led the charge most of the week for the New Zealand Women’s Team. She followed up Wednesday’s win in the slalom at Cardrona with victories in Thursday’s GS at Cardrona and Friday’s GS at Treble Cone.
“Lucie did well on her home field to start the series, and showed that she’ll be a consistent force all season with a third straight win at TC,” said Lazor. “Even more encouraging, though, was to see the depth of the results from the New Zealand Women’s Team. It’s shaping up to be an extremely competitive season.”
Indeed, Harriet Miller-Brown had consistently strong results, taking first in Saturday’ slalom, third in Friday’s GS and third in Thursday’s GS.
Saturday’s slalom at Treble Cone saw a sweep of the podium by members of the New Zealand Women’s Team, with Miller-Brown at the top of the podium, followed by Taylor Smith and Monique Oosterbaan. Virginia Orange was fifth.
Smith, who finished fourth in Friday’s GS at TC, had the fastest time after the first run, but couldn’t hold off teammate Miller Brown in the series’ final race. Like training partner Lucie, Smith had a successful series with two seconds and two fourths.
A solid performance was also turned in by Emily Wright, who was sixth in Friday’s GS.
The competition picks up considerably this week for the men, as they will be competing in The Southern Lakes Cup, FIS race on Wednesday that will see some of the world’s top racers competing at Coronet Peak.
For complete results from the Wanaka Tech Series, follow this link…
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