Super-size my GS

ASPEN The Aspen Times Town Race Series resumes this weekend with the third and final giant slalom on the exceptionally long Golden Horn/Thunderbowl course.Racers clock two-run combined times of more than three minutes – a course length comparable to a World Cup track.”Years back, everyone would turn out for the Gigantissimo, a four-minute GS on Aspen Mountain from the Sundeck to Little Nell,” Aspen Skiing Co. race director Scott Nichols said in a news release. “The final GS at Highlands is the same kind of event. It’s something we look forward to all year and is consistently one of the most popular events of the season.”Because of its different pitches, winding terrain and overall length, five-time World Cup champion Marc Girardelli said the Golden Horn/Thunderbowl is one of his favorite courses in the world. Girardelli occasionally trained there when he was a World Cup racer and participated in a Town Series GS two years ago.Racing kicks off Saturday with the advanced division and continues with the snowboard, Telemark, kids and recreational divisions Sunday. Race-day signup is between 8:30 and 10 a.m. at Crust on the Highlands mall. Entry fee is $25. Lift tickets are available for racers for $42. There will be a postrace party from 3:30-5 p.m. at Zane’s Tavern in Aspen with free beer, appetizers, video replay from the day’s competition, a raffle for merchant donations and the crowning of the Town Race Series giant slalom champions.