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King of the hill claimed by Moe
Olympian earns second Town Downhill title and first since 2004.


Tommy Moe of Wilson soars off the pro bump of the downhill course Sunday on Snow King Mountain during his second run of the Town Downhill. The 1994 Olympic downhill skiing gold medalist reclaimed the top spot in the 29th annual race on the Town Hill. NEWS&GUIDE PHOTO / BRADLY J. BONER

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By Brandon Zimmerman, Jackson Hole, Wyo.
March 17, 2010

Recently, when Tommy Moe was checking out a list of past town downhill winners, something stuck out.

Many of his friends and fellow competitors had more than one Town Downhill title on their resume, such as Matt Murphy (1984, 1986, 1996) and Geoff Stephenson (2001, 2003).

“I was looking on the list of past champions,” Moe said. “And I realized some of those guys were on there twice. So I said, ‘Man, I really need to win this one more time.’”

So, Moe went out and did just that. The 1994 Olympic gold medalist added a second Town Downhill to his credits Sunday when he ripped off two sub-50-second runs to win the 29th annual event. Moe pieced together blistering runs of 49.43 seconds and 49.53 seconds for a combined score of 1:38.96.

His time was more than one second ahead of Jackson’s Zach Schwartz (1:40.57) and Shayne Hansen (1:40.76). For Moe, now 40, it was a sweet win over Schwartz and Hansen, both in their 20s.

“For me, it’s fun to get out there and race with all my friends and locals,” Moe said. “It’s always a pretty exciting race because it’s steep and intimidating. The sunny weather always helps out. It felt good out there.”

Moe came very close to winning last year’s event, finishing a mere twelve-hundredths of a second behind champion Travis Svensrud, of Bozeman, Mont. Svensrud had won all three downhills he had entered dating to 2005, but did not compete this year.

Moe said he skied on 213cm skis while his competitors used 204cm skis.

“Some of the young guys were on shorter skis,” he said. “I had a pair I used last year that were 204s that turned well. But this year I used longer skis and I think I made up time on the bottom with those. On the top I was surviving, but the bottom it was easy gliding turns. Nothing beats going 65 miles per hour off the pro jump.”

The pro division used the amateur course instead of the typical downhill chute due to the snow conditions.

“It was a little bit easier without the downhill chute,” Moe said. “The turns on the top were pretty technical. You have to lay it over to be fast. This year, I just wanted to win it.”

The event was held under sunny skies and temperatures in the low 40s. But course conditions remained solid.

“It was perfect,” Moe said. “It was kind of grippy and pool-table smooth.”

Wesley Barkan was fourth (1:40.89),  while Pete Jenkins was fifth (1:42.44).

Elisha Stephens won the pro female division with a combined time of 1:47.37. The remaining divisions had just one run.

Scott Mastaglio won the snowboard division (1:02.60). Brad Watsabaugh won the telemark division (50.30). Jamie Mackay won the amateur class (45.37), Pete Jenkins won the master 40-and-over division (44.67). Rob Watsabaugh won the masters 50-and-over (50.82), David Helgesen claimed the masters 60-and-over (54.62) and  Dana Evans won the fat and baggy (48.63). Finn Johnson won the junior division with a time of 37.30.



 
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