This morning the first events of the 34th edition of the Borrufa Trophy have taken place, with nearly 250 competitors participating. Due to weather conditions, which made it impossible to hold the competition in Ordino Arcalís as usual, the races were relocated to the Esparver slope in the El Tarter sector of Grandvalira. First up was the U14 giant slalom, which was decided in a single run, followed by the U16 slalom, which kept its original format with two runs. It was a good day for the Andorran delegation, winning four medals and thus confirming the excellent work that is being done in the Principality in the field of skiing, with a new generation of athletes who are rising strongly and with great quality.

Ot Cusidó claims the first gold in a U14 giant slalom with strong Andorran performance

In the U14 giant slalom, the Andorran team delivered an outstanding performance, taking home a gold, a bronze, and three other podium finishes. In his first participation in the Borrufa Trophy, Andorran Ot Cusidó won the event and took the gold with a time of 55.76. The bronze was also Andorran and went to Nil Bringue (+.39), while second place was claimed by Argentine Tommy Oseas Tossen (+.23). The podium was rounded out by Pol Arroniz (4th, +.76) representing Spain, and just two tenths behind, Andorran Martí Fernández (5th, +.78).

In the U14 girls' giant slalom, the gold went to French skier Charlie Blanchon with a fabulous time of 53.73. In second place was Gerda Kovari from the Hungarian team (+1.46), with Lidia González Vaquero (ESP) coming third (+1.49). The Andorran team managed to get on the podium with performances from Emma Guitard (+2.58) and Júlia Pifarrer (+3.14), who finished 4th and 5th. Another Andorran, Naia Antor, came very close to the podium, finishing sixth in 56.98 (+3.25).

Silver for Paula Ledesma and bronze for Thomas Breitfuss in the U16 slalom

In the U16 girls' slalom, Britain’s Darcy Davies was the winner, finishing the event with an excellent time of 1:36.67. Also notable was the performance of Andorran Paula Ledesma (+2.17), who secured a silver medal for the Principality. The podium was completed by France’s Clelie Sudre (+4.27), Claudia Mir (+5.88) and Sarah Mahay (+6.13), who finished in 3rd, 4th, and 5th place respectively.

In the U16 boys’ category, Thomas Breitfuss added another bronze for the Principality’s delegation, finishing third (+.65) behind French team member Simeon Garcia Essique (+.35) and Belgian Raphael Charbonnier, who claimed victory in this category with a time of 1:30.34. Bulgarian Yordan Stoychev managed to secure fourth after the second run (+.91), while Andorran Manel Romo finished fifth (+1.23).

Further changes to the schedule

Due to weather conditions, the Borrufa Trophy organizers have made further changes to the planned schedule for Wednesday and Thursday. Thus, the Esparver slope in the El Tarter sector of Grandvalira will again host tomorrow's race with a U16 giant slalom, which will be held over two runs, while the U14 skiers will have the day off to ski freely. On Thursday, the U14 slalom will take place, also over two runs, and this time it will be the U16 skiers who will enjoy a free day skiing at Grandvalira. The super-G scheduled for Thursday in Ordino Arcalís will ultimately not take place. The Borrufa Trophy will conclude on Thursday with the closing ceremony in the Plaza Mayor of Ordino at 4:30 p.m.

Follow the action

All the competition results can be followed daily on the website www.borrufa.com, as well as on the website of the Andorran Ski Federation, where there is a dedicated space for race results, including a live-timing feed that broadcasts the position of each competitor the moment they cross the finish line. You can also follow both the competition and the social aspects through the trophy’s social media: Instagram and Facebook. All official photographs of the racers, as well as of the various social events and award ceremonies, are available for download here.