Harpenden skier Max Baggio insists he was satisfied with his performance at the English Alpine Championships, despite an up-and-down campaign in Bormio, Italy.

The championships, organised by national governing body Snowsport England, help provide an early glimpse of the stars of tomorrow.

And with 400 of the country’s best alpine skiers descending upon the Italian resort for the 20th running of the event, Baggio had his work cut out for him.

He skied out of both Slalom races before recovering to take second in the FIS National Junior Giant Slalom race and the highest-ranked Brit in a highly-rated international field.

And he went one better to claim the English national title in the Super G discipline, by just one-hundredth of a second from Ollie Davies.

But the 20-year-old, who also plays rugby for Harpenden RFC, admits there is work to be done in the second half of the season.

“The Super G was a good run for me and I was happy with it, but obviously the Slalom didn’t quite go to plan,” he said.

“I haven’t done much of the speed events this year - that was only my third - so I suppose I ski better in the technical events although obviously this week that wasn’t the case.

“It’s a good result to get the English title from the Super G even if I didn’t get down the Slalom.

“It’s always better when it is a tight result like that. Ollie and I have a friendly rivalry and it’s always a lot of fun racing him.

“There’s nothing too major on the horizon before the British Championships but we have a few FIS races to do, so hopefully those will go well.

“I won the overall title at the British last year so to do that again would be great, but I’ll just try and ski well, have some fun and see how it goes.”

The English Alpine Championships are seen as an important step for any young skier, with British Olympians Chemmy Alcott and Dave Ryding both having competed at the competition.

Alcott, now retired from racing, said: “The competition at this English Champs has been absolutely unreal. I’ve never seen such great skiing from British athletes of all ages, and I thank God I’m not racing in this age.

“The level is so high that these guys are all having to push themselves. It’s not just about finishing anymore and pushing the boundaries will reap the rewards.

“That’s what British skiing is about now and it is fantastic to see us trying to be the best.”

The English Alpine Championships, organised by Snowsport England, are run every year in the Italian resort of Bormio. Follow the action via www.englishalpinechamps.org.uk or @SnowsportEng on Twitter.

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