Queenstown, New Zealand – Canadians owned the podium Wednesday in a tale of two races at the Southern Lakes Cup giant slalom at Coronet Peak ski area as the first run was affected by local snow squalls before clearing skies greeted the racers for the second of two runs.nCanadian World Cup skier Robbie Dixon, the favorite entering the race, showed great form in winning the Southern Lakes Cup with a combined time of 1:40.83. Teammate Tyler Nella took second in 1:41.25 and fellow Canadian Ryan Semple was third in 1:41.42.

“I’m stoked about it for sure. It’s obviously early but my GS skiing and training is coming together pretty nicely,” said Dixon. “It’s always a great feeling to win a race. I still need to work hard but this gives me a big time confidence boost. There is still a lot to do but everything really worked out today for sure.”

New Zealand native Ben Griffin’s time of 1:41.69 was good enough for a tie for fourth with Canadian Manuel Osborne-Paradis.

“Wednesday was a great confidence builder for Ben and a solid result,” said Snow Sports New Zealand Alpine Manager James Lazor.

Queenstown’s Tim Cafe was the next best Kiwi, finishing eighth in 1:42.50.

“The race department at Coronet Peak did an amazing job preparing the course for the races today,” added Lazor, “especially considering the recent weather and the fact that it snowed during the first run.”

The Southern Lakes Cup was calendared by the Canadians as their first race of the southern hemisphere season after two weeks of training in New Zealand leading up to the race.

Six countries participated in the Southern Lakes Cup, with a full field of international teams expected for the next scheduled FIS race, the Japanese FIS races, scheduled for Aug. 21, also at Coronet Peak.