Local alpine ski racer Ben Thomsen found himself again competing in the most prestigious race of FIS Alpine Ski World Cup circuit in Kitzbuhel, Austria.

The 73th Hahnenkamm race took place last weekend, with the Super G on Friday (January 25), Downhill on Saturday (January 26) and Slalom on Sunday (January 27). Thomsen skied to 17th place overall, with his strengths  most notable during Saturday’s Downhill event. His crowd-pleasing pole waving after one of his runs didn’t go unnoticed by local fans who were following his performance at the Fairmont ski chalet.

“That’s Ben!” quipped one of his fans watching the race on the chalet’s flat-screen TV.

Thomsen’s teammate, Eric Guay of Mont-Tremblant, Que, placed second, the first Hahnenkamm podium of his career, while Manuel Osborne-Paradis of Vancouver finished 10th and Jan Hudec of Calgary placed 18th.

The top finisher after the weekend races was Norwegian Aksel Lund Swindel. A Canadian hasn’t won the tournament since 1983. The Hahnenkamm Races began in 1931 and were incorporated as a World Cup event in 1967.

For more information on the race, visit www.hahnenkamm.com.