Finland’s Erika Pykalainen wins 2017 Longines Future Ski Champions race
Aug 31, 2018·Alpine Skiing
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Finnish skier Erika Pykalainen wasnervous before launching down the most challenging and preeminent course of heryoung ski racing career, but that didn’t stop the 15-year-old from hanging ontoher first run lead and handily winning the 2017 Longines Future Ski Championsrace held at St. Moritz, Switzerland, following the World Ski Championships men's alpine combined.
The fourth annual Longines Future Ski Champions giant slalomrace took place on the same course used for the 2017 World Alpine SkiChampionships, featuring one carefully selected skier under theage of 16 from the 13 countries that host the FIS Alpine World Cup. The eventalternates genders every year and on Monday, the field of young femalecompetitors delivered a level of competition well-suited to the high-profilevenue.
“This was the biggest competition ever,” Pykalainen said inthe finish area, where late afternoon shadows fell across the course in thesecond run, hardening the snow and adding an extra challenge as racers gaspedfor breath upon crossing the finish line.
“The conditions were [changing] between runs, but I likedthis,” Pykalainen said. “Before the first run I was nervous, but I handled thisgood for the second run and had so good a feeling when I finished.”
Still, the teenager surprised herself when she crossed thefinish line with a one-second lead on the rest of the field, winning with atwo-run combined time of 1 minute, 34.89 seconds, ahead of second-place racerAline Hopli of Switzerland, who finished in 1:35.89 and France’s ClarisseBreche in third place with a time of 1:37.00.
For the victory, Pykalainen received a crystal globe, a goldmedal, a Longines watch and a check for 20,000 U.S. dollars benefitting theFinnish Ski Association.
The young skier said she hopes the result was the first ofmany great things to come. Her dream is to follow in the footsteps of herracing hero – World Cup overall leader Mikaela Shiffrin, who, as a Longinesambassador and former Future Ski Champion, presented the bibs prior to Monday’srace.
“It was the first time I got to talk to her and it wasamazing,” Pykalainen said.
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