Lachute’s golden boy comes in 5th at FIS World Cup

With snow now deep on the ground, Lachute native Julien Cousineau is doing what he does best: gliding down steep slopes at incredible speeds and showing the world that the Canadian Ski Team can tackle any hill.

Cousineau competed in the FIS World Cup alpine men's slalom race, held in Val-D'Isere in the French Alps on Sunday, December 12, where he tied his personal best time and finished fifth.

His combined two-run time was 1:45.83 and he was the highest-placed Canadian at the event, followed by Trevor White of Calgary in 12th place. Michael Janyk of B.C. and Brad Spence of Calgary both had strong first runs but failed to complete the second run of the course.

In a news release following the race, Cousineau said that he would have loved a podium, but despite a hard charge for the gates, he couldn't compete with the fact that he came out on the wrong side.

"I had a good solid week of training in slalom so I was feeling good and the hill looked like it was in great shape," he said on his website. "What a race this morning! Steep and very tight gates made it a very difficult course, but I was up for the challenge. I finished fifth after the first run and I knew I would have to 'bring it' in the second run."

"When I crossed the finish line I knew I had accomplished my goal. This is the second best result in my career so I was thrilled. The podium is now in sight and I just have to keep moving in that direction."

Cousineau is a 29-year-old native of Lachute who excels on the slopes and who held the world in thrall last year, when millions of viewers watched as he glided down the fog-shrouded slopes of the 2010 Olympic men's alpine skiing slalom course, where he came in eighth place with a combined time of 1:40.66.