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3rd August 2010

The New Zealand Mens and Womens 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 Queenstowns Adam Barwood and a New Zealand sweep of the womens podium in the series final slalom races.

Barwood, who trains at the Treble Cone Race Academy and coached by Guenther Birgmann, won both Thursdays GS at Cardrona and Fridays GS at Treble Cone, then went on to place second in the slalom on Saturday, also at Treble Cone, wrapping up a solid week.

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 Im 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 Womens Team. She followed up Wednesdays win in the slalom at Cardrona with victories in Thursdays GS at Cardrona and Fridays GS at Treble Cone.

Lucie did well on her home field to start the series, and showed that shell 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 Womens Team.  Its shaping up to be an extremely competitive season.

Indeed, Harriet Miller-Brown had consistently strong results, taking first in Saturday slalom, third in Fridays GS and third in Thursdays GS.

Saturdays slalom at Treble Cone saw a sweep of the podium by members of the New Zealand Womens 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 Fridays GS at TC, had the fastest time after the first run, but couldnt 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 Fridays 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 worlds top racers competing at Coronet Peak.

For complete results from the Wanaka Tech Series, follow this link