GEORGIA – A new venue and new race format made for a memorable ski cross world cup for Canmore’s Kris Mahler last weekend.
In the middle of the Caucasus Mountains, the Georgian ski resort of Bakuriani became the first host of the ski cross mixed-team event last Sunday (Feb. 28).
Each ski cross team comprised of one male and one female athlete, while each country had the opportunity to present more than one team. In the inaugural event, Canada was able to put forward five teams.
Mahler was teamed up with Cranbrook, B.C. native Zoe Chore.
“It was definitely different,” said Mahler in an email. “It was first of its kind in ski cross and everyone was having a lot of fun with it, but definitely we were focused on the top spot of that podium.”
The mixed-team competition was set up in a relay format. The competition was opened by male participants, and according to the time difference, the start gate was then opened for the second female participant of the team, once the men were in the finish.
It is the goal of FIS to include this new format into the world championships and Olympic Winter Games program.
The duo failed to reach the podium and instead settled for an appearance in the small final finishing eighth, after Mahler miscalculated his speed on a jump, overshooting his landing and falling on his hip in the semis. Canadian teammates Chris Del Bosco and Courtney Hoffos claimed the silver medal.
The new course, which will host the 2023 world championships, is very technical with a lot of rolls and tight turns and has an and old-school feel, according to Mahler.
Heading into race day, on Saturday (Feb. 27), Mahler qualified in fifth position, his highest qualification to date. Unfortunately, in the 1/8 finals, Mahler finish fourth in his heat and failed to advance.
“It’s always better to rank quite high in qualifications as you receive a red bib, which gives you gate choice throughout the rounds,” said Mahler.
“It was a disappointing 1/8 final with Reece Howden and myself not moving through the next round. We had a plan going in and it definitely didn’t play out the way we thought it might have.”
The heat was tight and all four skiers jostled for the top two positions throughout the course’s 1,270-metre length and fell to third and fourth on the final stretch heading into the finish. In both the women’s and men’s races, the final stretch had quite an effect on how the heat would play out, making for many photo finishes.
Canada’s Jared Schmidt was one skier who took advantage of the final straight stretch leading into the finish and claimed his first world cup podium, finishing third.
“It's always amazing to see your teammate do really well and especially one that is up-and-coming … I think it was definitely a solid boost of confidence for everyone,” said Mahler.
Despite Howden’s disappointing world cup, the 22-year-old became the second Canadian in a row to be crowned the Crystal Globe winner, holding a 215-point lead over Switzerland’s Jonas Lenherr with two races left on the calendar.
With a week off between races, Mahler is planning to rest his bruised hip, but might compete in the European Cup event in Reiteralm, Austria as a way to stay mentally sharp for the upcoming world cup event at Sunny Valley, Russia on March 12-13.
