Whistler Mountain alpine skiers set to open World Cup season

Four of Whistler's own alpine speed merchants will take to the slopes this week when Lake Louise hosts the FIS Ski World Cup from Nov. 25 to 27. James "Jack" Crawford, Broderick Thompson, Brodie Seger and Kyle Alexander will all represent Whistler Mountain Ski Club (WMSC) in the first men's downhill and super-G event of the season. 

Training runs will take place Tuesday to Thursday this week before the downhill race kicks off on Friday at 11:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday will bear witness to the super-G (or super giant slalom), so called because it features wide, consistent turns resembling a much larger version of slalom. 

Crawford, 25, won the first training run on Tuesday, four one-hundredths of a second ahead of Italian Mattia Casse. He is the defending Olympic bronze medallist in the alpine combined event, which mixes one run of speed-oriented downhill with two runs of technical slalom. Born in Toronto, Crawford grew up skiing at Georgian Peaks Club in Thornbury, Ont. before moving to Whistler. 

Thompson, 28, is the senior veteran of the group, born and raised in Whistler. He has four top-20 finishes under his belt, including a bronze medal in super-G last year on the World Cup circuit in Beaver Creek, Colo. Thompson's best Olympic result is an eighth-place finish in alpine combined this February in Beijing. His older sister, Marielle, is a Canadian ski cross racer with Olympic gold from 2014 and silver from 2022. 

Seger, 26, is a North Vancouverite who placed ninth in alpine combined at his first Olympic Games in Beijing. He has a pair of notable top-five finishes to his credit, including fourth in super-G at the 2021 FIS World Championships in Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy, and gold in the 2020 Giant Slalom Nor-Am Cup in Spruce Peak, Vt. 

Alexander, 23, is also from North Vancouver. He is ranked fourth overall, first in super-G, second in alpine combined and third in downhill on the Nor-Am Cup circuit and will be looking to make noise in World Cup action this year. Alexander's older brother, Cameron, is also a member of Alpine Canada's ski team. 

The WMSC alumni will be in tough against elite opposition, such as 13-time World Cup champion Aleksander Aamodt Kilde of Norway and three-time Olympic gold medallist Matthias Mayer of Austria. 

For more information, visit the Alpine Canada website.