Dave Ryding and Ed Drake are the joint holders of the title after a packed week of racing went to the wire on Saturday with the Giant Slalom in the French resort.

However, Aviemore star Noel Baxter fell out of the running in the early stages of the The British Land National Ski Championships because of a high-speed smash in the Super G.

Baxter described it as the biggest crash of his life and said he was just relieved to walk away uninjured.

It has been a rollercoaster of a week in Meribel for the Aviemore man.

His coach, Slovenia Rasto Aznoh, was unexpectedly laid off much to Baxter's dismay by GB ski bosses midweek and half-brother ,Alain, announced his retirement.

Recalling his fall, the 27-year-old said: "I pretty much did a front flip at 60mph. Fortunately, I did not hurt myself but I was really shook up by the crash.

"I came in with the wrong line and tried to adjust but hit this bump as I tried to put pressure down to make the turn.

"I got it all wrong. I didn't even turn but went straight into the netting. When I was flying through the air I was thinking "Oh, my God."

Baxter, who has a history of knee injuries, said: "I was able to get up straight away, but I was shaken when I started to think about what had happened later on."

With no points from the Super G for his men's overall title charge and still reeling from the fall, Baxter contemplated withdrawing from the super combined race later that day.

He said: "I had it in my head not to start the race but then I thought if I did not this crash would stick with me for longer so I gave it a go although I'm the first to admit I was tentative in the GS part of the combined."

Baxter made up some of the time deficit from the GS in the slalom discipline of the combined to finish in third place 0.34 seconds behind winner Dougie Crawford.

Commenting on the depature of his coach, Baxter said: "I really was shocked and saddened; there was no indication."

On a more upbeat note, he said that he was delighted that Alain had been given a fitting send-off.

The British Team athletes made a guard of honour as Alain crossed the line in Thursday's slalom race in which Noel finished third overall.

He said he was disappointed with the result in a race he had targetted to win.

He said: "I should have done better, but there was a lot going on so maybe that affected my performance a little bit.

"I've known all week that Alain was leaving but it did not make it any easier when it came down to it. It was tough, he was a huge influence on my career, I probably would not be where I am today without him.

"The way his career turned out, the more I thought about it, the harder it became, to know that he deserved so much more than he received.

"In the end I'm glad that he went out in style rather than sneaking quietly away."

Ryding, who claimed victory in the men's senior slalom, said: "I'm not going to lie; I shed a tear when Alain was coming down the Stade for the final time. He is my idol and my hero and I have always looked up to him, he is also a great guy.

"He helped me so much last year, he brought me on in my slalom and I just want to say thanks to him for that."

A close and exciting men's Giant Slalom brought the curtain down on the senior category of British Ski Championships with a clutch of GB racers all in contention for the men's overall title in what was the closest competition in recent years.

After the first run only 0.78 seconds separated the top five and there was less than 0.30 seconds between the top three – Baxter, Noble and Drake, making for a close second run.

Crawford, (22), from Bearsden, put down the fastest second run time of 1.00.28 but that was only good enough for him to take fourth place.

The second fastest time on the second run was by Ryding, (22), from Leyland but it was not enough for the win which was taken by Drake, (23), from Kingston-upon-Thames in a combined time of 1.58.84.

Andy Noble, (25), from Edinburgh, took third and Baxter, finished fifth.

The result meant that Drake and Ryding were joint winners of the overall title with an equal number of points.

Drake said: "I'm really pleased with taking joint first in the overall. It was one of my goals for the championships but I'm happy to be sharing it with Dave.

"I'm happy with first in the Giant Slalom, I was concentrating on my technique and it went pretty well in both my runs.

"I enjoyed last year but this year it's been great and with all the guys back and creating that extra bit of competition between us all, it has made this year much more exciting.

"I now have a few days in Meribel and then I'm heading home for a break. It's hard living out of a suitcase all the time so I'm glad to be heading home for some R and R."

Ryding said he was over the moon to be joint first in the overall standings. "I didn't think I had much of a chance to take the overall title coming into the championships but I did all right in the end and to top it off taking second place in the Giant Slalom is brilliant.

"I had to pull out a fast second run again but I did enough to take second.

"The first run was really straight and easy and then the second one had a few more turns in it. I'm now heading off to the Scottish Championships in Courchevel to have a few races over there to finish off the season."

Noel Baxter, who did not race in the men's downhill because of other race commitments, finished fourth overall in the men's GB title race.

He is competing today (Wednesday) and Thursday against a good quality field in the Italian resort of Pampeago in a bid to collect more FIS points to take him up the world rankings and lower his starting number for next season.

He will then enjoy a short break before the first British training camp starts on April 20 in the Austrian resort of Kaprun.

As expected, Chemmy Alcott retained her ladies' British title at a canter. She said: "It was a really good week as I managed to pull off some really good turns, so I'm really happy with how I skied and the girls put up a good fight which is good for racing."

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