Baxter on way back to his best

Published on Tuesday 16 December 2003 00:00

THREE years since he first broke into the world’s top ten for the first time on the same piste, Alain Baxter proved he is still one of the world’s best slalom ski racers as he secured 11th place in a World Cup race in Italy last night.

It is Baxter’s best result since his Olympic bronze-medal winning run in 2002 in Salt Lake, and the 11th place he gained last year in Japan, and the Scot is convinced his luck is finally turning.

Baxter ran close to the wire in the first run, posting the 24th fastest time from his start number of 34, to endure an agonising wait until the last skier had crossed the line to ensure he clung on to his 30th place.

This gave him an unprecedented advantage as he opened the second course for the first time in his career. His time stood only for a couple of runners before he was toppled by the American Chip Knight, but Baxter did finish the night delighted with the sixth-quickest second run and a chance to climb back into the world’s top 30 again.

" It felt good to be back here. It’s an awesome hill when you look at it from the bottom, pretty steep, but I guess I looked back and knew I had made a good result here and it just went right. I made a couple of mistakes, but, it’s a solid result, and that means a lot to me. It’s a nice, early Christmas present which means I can go home and relax a bit."

The winner was Croatia’s Ivica Kostelic.

Meanwhile, the Glenshee Chairlift Company has announced that Glencoe Ski Centre will open at weekends this season, when there is sufficient snow.

The company announced last month that Glencoe was to be mothballed because the centre was not viable, but the owners say that weekend opening has been made possible "due to the outstanding public support we have received from the local community and the Scottish skiing public at large".