Reliving the Mont-Tremblant Women’s NorAm Tech Event

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Featured Image: Stifel US Ski Team athlete, A J Hurt racing giant slalom in the Tremblant World Cup. Credit: GEPA

Last week, from December 13th to the 16th, the women competed in an exciting NorAm in Mont-Tremblant, Canada. It was four days of tech events with two slalom and two giant slalom races. The event was the second women’s NorAm of the season and the first that focused on tech events. The start list was more extensive for the Tremblant races than the week of speed at Copper Mountain. Over 80 women were pushing out of the start gate for each tech event, while only 30-40 participants started at Copper each day.

Tremblant marked the initiation of the women’s NorAm tech races, with four out of the five events happening in Canada. Quebec is known for its deep-rooted commitment to alpine racing, which was prominent during the NorAm week.

The women inspecting the slalom course at the Tremblant NorAm. Credit: Leslie Firstbrook

Highlights from the Giant Slaloms (Dec. 13th and 14th)

The excitement was vibrant on the hill during the first day of racing. For many, this was their inaugural NorAm of the season, and for others, they exuded anticipation to race for a top result. The excitement went even further than the athletes and spectators when a deer tried to race on the course as well! There were no injuries endured from the sprinting deer, but everyone could agree that the giant slalom days were not short of excitement.

Luczak Magdalena of Poland shined with two superb victories in the giant slaloms. Luczak is on the World Cup circuit, and this year has scored at both tech World Cup events in Killington and Tremblant. She was able to compete at the Tremblant World Cup the week before the NorAms, so she brought confidence from her top-30 finish into this race. Luczak has scored four times in the World Cup, and this marks her first two NorAm starts of her career.

Podium from the first day of NorAm giant slalom in Tremblant. Magdalena Luczak (1st-place), Elisabeth Bocock (2nd), Erika Pykalainen (3rd). Credit: Leslie Firstbrook

The Stifel US Ski Team Bocock sisters also came with an eagerness to podium. On the first day of GS, Elisabeth Bocock achieved a 2nd-place result, just +0.11 off Luczak’s winning time. Her sister Mary Bocock was not far behind, earning herself fourth. Elisabeth stated at the start of the season, “I focus a lot on just being as aggressive as possible and not giving up at all.” She took that focus into this race to achieve a strong NorAm finish.

Mary stated, “I was happy with my performance on the first day. It gave me confidence that I can compete with girls who are getting second runs at World Cups and reinforced that I am also capable of scoring World Cup points,” She continued, “The first day was really important for me because I was struggling a little bit after my first two World Cups, so it was reassuring to ski well again.”

Unfortunately, neither of the sisters finished the second day of GS. Mary explained, “The next few days were not as successful as the first one, which is always disappointing, but I still had some good turns.”

Tatum Grosdidier, a Stifel US Ski Team teammate, achieved a milestone in her NorAm GS racing by securing her highest result in 7th place.

She stated, “Getting 7th place in the GS was definitely a good start to the NorAm season,” she continued, “I will definitely take some confidence out of these races, knowing that this is just the beginning of what’s to come this season.”

Stifel US Ski Team coaches at the start of the NorAm race course in Tremblant. Credit: Leslie Firstbrook

Alpine Canada Alpin, Sarah Bennett had a challenging start to the series. She did not finish the morning run on the first day of the giant slalom. But, she turned on the gas for the second day, achieving a 3rd-place result. It was her 8th podium finish and second podium in giant slalom on the NorAm Cup circuit.

Highlights from the Slaloms (Dec. 15th and 16th)

The field was grateful for another two days of partly cloudy skies and ideal snow conditions for the slalom races. Also, thankful for the absence of any further deer sightings. A J Hurt from the Stifel US Ski Team and Justine Lamontagne from Alpine Canada Alpin showcased exceptional performances during the two days, securing the top steps of the podium.

Before this race, A J Hurt had achieved nine victories on the NorAm circuit. However, these two races marked the first wins in NorAm slalom. Her ski racing career thus far has proven that Hurt can be competitive in every discipline. Hurt has been scoring World Cup points since 2020, and before Tremblant, she raced the World Cup on the same hill and earned her best result in the World Cup, a 9th-place finish.

Podium of the first giant slalom day at the Tremblant NorAm. A J Hurt (1st-place), Justine Lamontagne (2nd), Sara Rask (3rd). Credit: Leslie Firstbrook

After her best result in the World Cup, Hurt explained, “My plan was just to ski confident, be aggressive, and fight my way down. I didn’t want to let the course ski me.”

Starting bib-32 and bib-12 in the NorAm slaloms, Hurt skied with notable confidence and secured 1st place in both races.

Lamontagne was on Hurt’s tail, gunning for the win, but a few tenths kept her in the 2nd-place position. Tremblant was a big week for Lamontagne, achieving her 2nd and 3rd podium NorAm finish, the first two in slalom. She further proved to herself that she could be very competitive amongst the women at the World Cup level. The Canadian athlete has started several World Cups but is looking to score her first points this winter, and the NorAms are a fantastic segway to elevate confidence for that level.

The junior podium on the last day of giant slalom at the Tremlbant NorAm. Credit: Leslie Firstbrook

For the Bocock sisters, Elisabeth Bocock had a successful two days of slalom, finishing with a 5th and 6th result. Elisabeth stated, “I was super happy with my slalom results. Historically I have really struggled in finding some consistency and speed in slalom. It wasn’t often that I flipped a NorAm slalom last season, but I worked on it a lot this summer and things have started to click more.”

Unfortunately, Mary did not have the slalom days she had hoped for but she has not gotten a lot of slalom training before the NorAm. Mary stated, “My slalom needs a lot of improvement, but I haven’t had that much slalom training in the prep period, so it’s progressing quickly, given the circumstances.”

There was an outstanding “attack from the back” moment in the slalom from Paige Dehart, skiing for Sun Valley Ski Education. Dehart kicked out of the start gate wearing bib-72; she showed strength and aggressiveness, earning a 10th-place finish. It was her first top 10 in a slalom NorAm. From the prior two days, she proved she could be on the leaderboard in GS by earning 8th and 10th-place finishes, but this slalom solidified her contingency to be at the top.

The week of racing was exciting for the tech women. Anything can happen in ski racing, and NorAms are a thrilling display of that. Mary Bocock explained it excellently, “After this week, I was reminded that anything can happen in a race, so you should never count yourself out…”

The next NorAm for the women will be the only NorAm of the series in the United States. Stratton Mountain will host another week of tech events, starting January 2nd until the 5th.