Donek Rider Wins Alpine Rider of the Year

[Guest Randy S.]

I just got the latest issue of SkiRacing magazine. Great picture of Michelle Gorgone on a Donek board. She won "US Alpine Rider of the Year" in their awards category. Pretty cool. A picture is below, but not the same one that was in the print version of SR (that one showed the Donek logo on top of her board). Here's the text of the piece on her:

U.S. Alpine Rider of the Year

Michelle Gorgone

Age: 20

Hometown: Sudbury, Massachusetts

Sponsors: Donek, Carerra

Last year, Michelle Gorgone came to the U.S. Team and the World Cup circuit with a toe-side turn that made the women and men on the team cringe with envy and -- admittedly -- a little fear. In only her second full year on the World Cup, Gorgone proved that she's on track for the Turin Olympic Games. She started the season with an early win in a Continental Cup in Colorado in November, followed that with her first World Cup podium in Whistler and a handful of top-10 World Cup results, making her the American woman with the most World Cup points at the end of the season. Gorgone finished the season on a high note with a PGS win at the U.S. Alpine Nationals but remains humble about her accomplishments. "It's intimidating to train with the other women on the team, because they've been around forever, and I used to want to get their autographs when I was little," explained Gorgone. At 20, Gorgone is leading the veterans into next season.

[D-Sub]

props to Michelle!