COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colo. -- Coming off a career-best fifth place in giant slalom, Canada's Allison Forsyth was looking for more riches on Friday.
What she got was another lesson in the education of a young ski racer."I placed really well in Tignes. It was a really good course for me, tough; the weather conditions were pretty bad," the 21-year-old Canadian said. "I pride myself on skiing strong no matter what the conditions on the course.
"It boosted my confidence, but I didn't do that well on the first run today," said Forsyth, who ranked only 36th and failed to make the top 30 who qualified for a second run of Friday's women's World Cup giant slalom.
"That teaches me that every race is different," she said. "This hill's a lot different than anything I've ever skied, on the World Cup anyway. It's very easy and straight, and I didn't carry my speed very well. I'm sitting about where I deserve to be sitting.
"My best course is the steepest and most technical course, so as far as courses go, this is the worst possible for my type of skiing.
"That's what I've got to learn, how to ski on all kinds of courses. That's what World Cup is all about; the most well-rounded skier is going to win. That's where I want to be."
The fifth in Tignes served only to confirm the confidence boost Forsyth received in last winter's world championships, when she placed 10th in slalom and 16th in GS in Vail, Colo.
"I realized I could be in the top 15 in this event and in slalom," she said. "I don't have any worries about crashing the top 15. The world championships was the first time it showed me I'm in there with the best in the world."
Friday's result, however, showed it's not going to be easy.
"I'm only 21 and in my second year on the circuit, so I'll have some losers as well as winners, that's for sure," she said. "I don't expect every day to go well."