A sport that isn't as well known in Australia is showing a big presence at Perisher this weekend. Athletes from the U.S, Italian, Swiss, Australian, New Zealand and many other international racing teams are all training and racing in the FIS Continental Cup Slalom and Giant Slalom races, currently being held at Perisher. Now's your chance to catch a glipse of what these powerful athletes are capable of, and watch them in action. 

Ross Peraudo

While Ross was technically born in Torino, Italy, we've claimed him as our own! You will know his name as he competed for Australia at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games. This was his first time competing at the Olympics, and all at the age of just 21. 

Peraudo started his career at the Junior and Senior World Championships in 2013 where came in 40th in the Giant Slalom at the FIS Junior World Ski Championships in Mont St Anne, Canada. It was at this event that Ross was the only Australian male ranked inside the top 200 in the world for slalom, racing in the Junior and Senior World Championships in 2013. 

Ross competed in events for Slalom and Giant Slalom at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games, however unfortunately he crashed out on his first run, on what was tough conditions on the Slalom course.

We think that we've only seen the very beginning of this racer's bright career.

Roberto Nani

Roberto is one of the top alpine skiers in the world, and you can watch him training and competing here at Perisher right now. The career of this Italian racer is outstanding with a 6th place at the World Ski Championships at Vail / Beaver Creek earlier this year, and has also won two European Cups.

Roberto enjoys competing in both Slalom and Giant Slalom, and has had numerous top 10 finishes in the FIS World Cup circuit. It’s was no surprise that Roberto was selected to compete for the Italian National team in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games.

Markus Vogel

Specialising in Slalom, Markus has been named Switzerland’s top Slalom skier, something that every Swiss skier dreams of achieving. Vogel has a massive resume, having competed in an astonishing 43 World Cups and 89 European Cup races. He has placed 12 times in the top 20 at various World Cup's and twice he has been placed in the top 10 in the world.

Maskus showed what he is really made of when he placed 6th in the 2013 World Cup series and is now currently ranked 22nd in the world for Slalom. Markus lives and breathes ski racing, and we think there's still many successes for this talented racer.

Marc Gini

Marc is another Swiss racer who is currently calling Perisher home, while he trains for the upcoming Slalom events. Gino started his career at the turn of the century and has since been the Swiss Slalom Champion four times running, as well as the Swiss Giant Slalom Champion!

Marc stood proud on the podium winning the gold at the 2007 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, and has then gone on to consistently rank in the top 10. He’s been on the podium eight times, which included two gold medals at the 2009 and 2010 European Cup's.

Marc competed in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, finishing 15th in Slalom. If you want to watch someone put in some seriously quick turns, you’ll want to catch this guy training and racing in our backyard.

Zampa brothers

Let us introduce the Zampa brothers. Adam and Andreas are well known Slovakian racers who both challenge each other by competing in multiple disciplines.

Their career highlights definitely include when Adam and Andreas were selected to compete at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games, something every athlete aspires for.

Adam finished 6th in the Slalom events and 5th in the Combined event. That's not where he stopped though, also competing in the Giant Slalom and Super-G events. Andreas competed in the Giant Slalom event and has also placed in the top 20 at numerous World Ski Championships.

The Slovakian brothers dominated the podium at the Audi Quattro Winter Games NZ Australia/New Zealand Cup (ANC) Giant Slalom at Coronet Peak, winning the gold and bronze medals respectively. These brothers are definitely the ones to keep your eyes on while here at Perisher.

Robbie Kelly

Robbie Kelly has Olympic blood running through the family. He is the son to Lindy Kelley, an Olympian who skied on the U.S Ski Team for eight years. He’s siblings also ski for the U.S Ski Team.

He certainly has the results to back up his family legacy. He joined the U.S Ski Team in 2012 and obtained his first World Cup points at one of the most challenging and legendary Giant Slalom tracks in ski racing, Adelboden in Switzerland

Training in both Slalom and Giant Slalom, Robbie won Silver defending his title against fellow teammate during the U.S Championships for Giant Slalom.

Zak Vinter

Zak is the young gun from Scotland who has had numerous top ten finishes in both Slalom and Giant Slalom in FIS Races. He’s finished in the top 10 for the National Junior Championships and recently scored two top 20 finishes in the National Championships in Australia earlier this month.

We expect to see some big things from Zak over the years, with his own ambitions to compete for Team Great Britain at a Winter Olympics.