Winter Park, CO – Canada stole another men’s speed title from its American neighbors on Friday as Dustin Cook claimed the super G crown at the U.S. National Alpine Championships in Winter Park – the third U.S. championship race won by a Canadian in the last two years.

Friday’s race included 73 U.S. skiers, three Norwegians, two Japanese and New Zealand skiers, one Czech racer and Cook, of Lac-Sainte-Marie, Quebec, the only Canadian entrant. Cook has never won a Canadian championship but he has two U.S. titles to his name after adding to his golden performance at last year’s U.S. downhill championships in Aspen, Colo. The 23-year-old was also part of a three-man Canadian sweep at this year’s U.S. downhill championship held in Aspen in February.

“There’s spring series in Canada but I really wanted to do some speed so I came here,” said Cook, who didn’t get the chance to compete in downhill or super G at this month’s Canadian Championships at Le Massif in Quebec because both events were cancelled due to unseasonably warm temperatures. His victory on Friday was even more impressive as he traveled to Winter Park without a support staff. “My serviceman prepared the skis in Le Massif. I just scraped and brushed them last night. Everyone in the start is putting on overlays and I don’t have anything!”

Warm temperatures and sunny skies softened the course in Winter Park on Friday.

“It was a little ragged out there,” Cook added. The snow was pretty soft, which normally I don’t like. But I think I (nailed it) pretty good at the bottom. It was such a tight race.”

Cook finished just 0.04 seconds ahead of the Bend, Ore.’s Tommy Ford, the official U.S. super G champion as the top U.S. racer on the day. Jared Goldberg and Brennan Rubie, both from Utah, were tied for third.

“You’ve got to ski fast to beat me here. Soft snow is good for me,” Ford said. “The snow is a little inconsistent, but it was fast and turny. You just needed to hang with it – it was a fight though. You had to be a really balanced skier and be willing to let it go to be fast.”

Cook said his U.S. counterparts were gracious about his victory – to a point.

“They were like, ‘You are not going to be invited back next year,’ ” said Cook, laughing. “My year has been pretty rough. I just wanted to (finish strong).”

Vermont’s Ryan Cochran-Siegle claimed the top junior honor ahead of Bryce Bennett, of Squaw Valley, Calif., and Anchorage, Alaska’s Kieffer Christianson.

“It’s a nice way to end it for sure,” Cochran-Siegle said. “I’m glad that I was able to get some World Cup points, world juniors was awesome. My season’s been really good.”

Ford, Staples Win Combined Titles

Despite narrowly missing the super G win on Friday, Ford collected the eighth national title of his young career with gold in the combined, a paper race pairing the fastest time in Thursday’s slalom and Friday’s super G. Park City, Utah’s Kiley Staples, the 2011 NorAm overall champion, snagged the women’s combined title for the first U.S. Championship of her career. Top juniors were Cochran-Siegle and Lila Lapanja of Incline Village, Nev.

“I’ve always been kind of in there in the combined, but I’ve never won it. This is a big step for me,” said Staples. “I’ve had a tough year, especially in super G, so I didnt’ really know what was going to happen going into this. I was really excited how I did in the slalom and would have liked to have skied better in the super G, but it looks like it was enough.”

OFFICIAL RESULTS
Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships
Winter Park, CO – Mar. 30, 2012
Men’s Super G