Ritchie Skis to a Career Best 13th
On day two of the Levi World Cup weekend, Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete Ben Ritchie posted a career best result in slalom, snagging a 13th place. He also took home the Stifel Bibbo Award, jumping from bib 48 to the 13th position.
“I am really happy with the result today. I thought I skied very well,” said Ritchie. “Some mistakes here and there but that’s how it goes in racing.”
The crowd was noticeably larger and livelier on Sunday as the best slalom skiers in the world made their way to the Levi slope - the first time since 2019 for the men. The hill was also much icier than the day before, which meant it would be in great shape for racing toward the end of the men’s field.
On the first run, all five of the Stifel U.S. Ski Team men showed promising speeds however only one made it to the second run. Jett Seymour was blazing on the top until he straddled coming onto the pitch. Teammate Luke Winters also skied well until he got a bit late and could not complete the next turn. Ritchie however started his day right, making it down calm, cool and collected to give himself a strong chance on the second run.
“There’s definitely a little extra nerves today in the first race of the year with new equipment and a new team around me,” remarked Ritchie. “We spent a lot of time skiing this summer and put in a lot of work.”
The work paid off for Ritchie in the end as he skied an aggressive line all the way to the finish just a mere 0.16 off the leader at the time. Skier after skier did not come close to Ritchie’s overall time and he watched his name climb the leaderboard. Ritchie ended up 13th with his whole team cheering him on from the sidelines.
“I think the training sessions have all been extremely competitive between the four of us so I think it's some good momentum for the slalom skiing and I think we will all bring our best skiing next weekend in Gurgl,” said Ritchie.
The winner of the race was French skier Clement Noel, second was Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen and third place went to the Swiss Loic Meillard.
It was also a first for up-and-comer Camden Palmquist who experienced his first World Cup this weekend. While he did not make a second run he was thrilled to get his first turns in on the professional circuit in front of family.
“It felt alright, I did an ok job handling the nerves and I had a lot of fun. I could have been a lot faster in spots but it's good," said Palmquist.
The alpine World Cup tour now heads to Austria for another dual weekend of racing with a women’s slalom Saturday and men’s slalom Sunday.
RESULTS
Men's slalom
