AROSA, SWITZERLAND – Canmore’s Kris Mahler is on a roll.
Through four races this season, Mahler has not finished outside of the top six, including his first career world cup victory, a silver medal in Austria and a pair of sixth place finishes.
Mahler is currently second in the ski cross world cup points standings, behind fellow Canadian Kevin Drury.
Skiing at night, under the bright lights of Arosa, Switzerland, Tuesday (Dec. 17), the 24-year-old breezed through the early stages of the competition, easily booking a spot into the semifinals.
In the second heat of the semis, a slow start and jostling in the first corner cost Mahler a valuable position in the race. In the middle part of the course, he let his skis run nearly catching Switzerland’s Alex Fiva, but could not make a pass, settling instead for a spot in the small final, his second of the season.
In the small final, Mahler cruised down the twisting and turning track finishing behind France’s Bastien Midol for a respectable sixth place finish.
Drury, who finished second in Arosa in 2017, was able to hold on for his second victory of the season.
“The approach was to pull as hard as you can out of the start, and that was working for me. So happy with my skiing today and hopefully I can carry it into next week. The lights were really good, you could see the definition in the snow,” said Drury after his win in an Alpine Canada press release.
Fresh off his first career ski cross world cup victory on Dec. 7, in France, Mahler found himself in only his second big final of his career in Montafon, Austria last Saturday (Dec. 14).
Before the start of this season, Mahler’s career best seventh-place finish was on the track in Montafon.
Mahler was narrowly edged out for a second consecutive world cup victory by Swiss racer Ryan Regez, settling for a silver medal, and was followed in third place by his Canadian teammate Brady Leman, which was his best finish of the season.
“Today was an interesting race," said Leman in an Alpine Canada press release. "Really tough weather and tough conditions. I tried to take every run as it came. Always want to win, but I’m happy to be on the podium and get things started with a third place.”
Currently, the trio of Drury, Mahler and Leman are in the top five of the ski cross world cup standings, and on the women’s side there are five skiers in the top 10, lead by Whistler’s Marielle Thompson.
While the Canadians have been dominating the standings so far this world cup season, it is the preparation and training that assistant coach Sead Causevic said sets them apart from the field.
“While we may not ultimately have the fastest skiers, we make it work through detail-oriented preparation and teamwork.”
The ski cross tour of the Alps will continue this weekend in Innichen, Italy for a world cup double header event, the last stop before the new year.
