Mount Gay Rum Sise Cup Races at Middlebury and Suicide Six January 16, 2001 By: Warren Palmer On Saturday January 13, 2001 The New England Masters once again ascended on the Middlebury Snow Bowl to face the challenges and the test of skill that the Snow Bowl's giant slalom course demands. The New England Masters Sise Cup schedule brought the Masters to the Middlebury Snow Bowl for the first time three years ago. The steep pitches, long flats, rolling terrain, blind gates and of course the hard snow challenged even the best of the best, but left all wanting another shot at the hill that had humbled them. Last year many racers returned to Middlebury for that shot only to find that due to the lack of snow elsewhere on the mountain it was not possible to close the entire race hill to run a giant slalom. Instead racers were treated to an equally challenging slalom. This year however all was well with plenty of hard snow, good weather and a giant slalom course that was set and ready for inspection when the Masters pulled into the parking lot. Even with plenty of time for inspection many racers found the fast line to be elusive and in some cases racers found themselves searching for the next gate. This certainly was the case during both of my runs Saturday, my new Atomic skies failed me in the first run, so I returned to my trusty Rossi's for the second run only to find that they were just as slow. Why can't one of these ski companies make some good skis? For the women's overall it was class 3 racer Lisa Densmore (138.78) with an impressive 6.74 second margin of victory. Apparently Lisa had no problem finding that line that proved so elusive to some of us. Lisa was followed by Nadine Price class 5 (145.52), Karen Nash class 4 (148.47), Margaret Zuccotti class 2 (148.83), and Margaret Vaughn class 4 (149.00) to round out the top five overall. In class 10 it was Jane Cooke, class 8 Anne Nordhoy, class 7 Stefi Hastings , class 6 Cynthia Berlack, class 5 Nadine Price, class 4 Karen Nash, class 3 Lisa Densmore, class 2 Margaret Zuccotti, class 1 Mara Rendi . For the men's overall it was class 4 racer Dave Lamb (132.91) followed by James Nash class 4 (134.26), Ron Gifford class 3 (134.80), Bob Hill class 4 (135.03) and Kenneth Lubin class 1 (136.00) to round out the top five. In class 11 it was George Caner, class 10 David Duffy Dodge, class 9 Robert McGrath, class 8 Steven Foley, class 7 Dwight Conant, class 6 William McCollom, class 5 Robert Resek, class 4 David Lamb, class 3 Ronn Gifford, class 2 Kyle Tracy, class 1 Kenneth Lubin. On Sunday January 14, 2001 the Mount Gay Rum Sise Cup brought The New England Masters to Suicide Six for two runs of slalom. This year's snow conditions were well suited for slalom racing, the firm well groomed surface held up well for even the late runners. This slalom is a favorite to many because of it's challenging terrain and transitions. Why is it that we always say the hills that humble us the most are our favorites? This year's start was a little slow but quickly dropped racers onto a steep icy pitch, then a left footed transition led racers onto the flats where it was critical to carry their speed, before they dropped onto the last pitch before the finish area. Once again racers and spectators alike were treated to what is being called the super seed. Based on the results from the first run, the top ten overall men are grouped together to form the super seed, which runs after class 6 and before class 5. It's great to see the ten fastest men on the hill run back to back with the fastest being at the end of the seed, that is unless you have the honor of leading class 5 after the first run, in which case you get to run right after the fast guy. Lucky for me I struggled on that first pitch the first run. For the women's overall it was class 2 racer Carolyn Beckedorff with a smoking first run (36.91) and a clean second run for a combined time of (79.52) to give her the victory. Had Carolyn been scored with the men, she would have tied for second place the first run. Nice run Carolyn. Carolyn was followed by Margaret Zuccotti class 2 (80.20), Lisa Densmore class 3 (80.47), Karen Nash class 4 (84.37), Cheryl Crawford class 2 (85.56) to round out the top five. In class 10 it was Alice Pepper, class 9 Wendy Hill, class 8 Anne Nordhoy, class 7 Stefi Hastings, class 6 Gay Folland, class 5 Meg Nutter, class 4 Karen Nash, class 3 Lisa Densmore, class 2 Carolyn Beckedorff, class 1 Katherine Mason. For the men's overall it was class 3 racer Steven Willey with a combined time of (71.06) followed by Ronn Gifford class 3 (73.90), Neal McNealus class 5 (73.99), David Roberts class 3 (75.08), John Weitz class 4 (74.32) to round out the top five. In class 12 it was Tony Hyde, class 11 George Caner, class 10 David Duffy Dodge, class 9 Robert McGrath, class 8 Robert McKee, class 7 Dwight Conant, class 6 William McCollom, class 5 Neal McNealus, class 4 John Weitz, class 3 Steven Willey, class 2 Hans Schemmel, class 1 Vladimir Krylov. Many thanks to the talented race crews and many volunteers at both the Middlebury Snow Bowl and Suicide Six for a job well done. On behalf of The New England Masters I would like to recognize both the Middlebury Snow Bowl and Suicide Six junior race programs for the fine work they do with so many young skiers, we The New England Masters are proud to support these programs and we look forward to racing with you in the future.