For 99 per cent of the day, Brady Leman was the fastest man at Nakiska.
It’s the last one per cent that left him gutted, Saturday (Jan. 23).
The Calgary ski cross star dominated the qualifier, crushed the heats and appeared to have the first gold medal of the season around his neck when he made a slight bobble on the last roller 10 metres from the finish line.
The mistake was enough to allow competitors Jean Frederic Chapuis of France and Armin Niederer of Switzerland to blow past him, sending Leman tumbling to third place.
One small mistake cost him a home win and his first win of the season.
“When you’ve got the best guys in the world behind you, there’s no room for mistakes,” Leman said. “I made a really small bobble on the last double, and it gave them just enough to get by me.”
The slow motion camera saw Leman lost by less than an arm length, as Chapuis and Niederer were able to slingshot past the Canadian who had lead the entire course.
“It’s hard to see a gold medal slip away on my home hill,” Leman said. “Out front was a tough place to be today. The draft was big and those guys were breathing down my neck. I dominated for three rounds, was fast out of the gate. It’s tough to lose a photo finish.”
Chapuis is the world cup points leader and 2014 Olympic champion, while Neirderer is a former winner at Nakiska. It was Leman’s fifth podium in the past eight races, so it’s fair to say the final was stacked.
“Chapuis, unfortunately he’s got the best of me most of the time,” Leman said. “That was a very veteran final. Five podiums in eight races sounds great, but five finals without a win isn’t so great.”
He’ll have a chance next week to exact revenge at the X Games in Aspen, Colorado, where ski cross got its start. X Games courses have larger jumps and faster courses than the world cup but Leman likes his chances at securing the $25,000 in prize money at the invite-only event.
Canmore’s Kris Mahler, 20, reached the world cup heats for the first time in his career. Starting 44th, Mahler had the 15th fastest time in qualifying, and was motivated to flash his skills in the first heat. Unfortunately on the first corner, Mahler got into a shoving match with French competitor Sebastien Lepage and both went down hard. When the dust settled and a few glares were exchanged, Mahler ended the day in 21st.
“It’s not how I envisioned it going. Coming into the first bank, I thought I had the lead. He was getting pretty pushy with the elbows. I didn’t really like that,” Mahler said. “I had the inside on the corner. He was trying to pinch me out on the gate. It got a little shovey. The French are known for that.”
Since hair-raising crashes and bone-jarring tumbles are considered part of the sport, in the end, Mahler was satisfied with his weekend.
“Overall, I’m super stoked. That was the breakthrough I was hoping for. I was starting at the back and moved up from 44th to 15th. No one else managed to do that,” Mahler said.
The rookie is having a strong year debut on the world cup. Before Nakiska, his top result on the top circuit was a 36th-place finish and the team believes the lanky racer has a big career ahead of him.
Banff’s Louis-Pierre Helie finished 39th in the qualifier, which wasn’t the result he was looking for. On the hunt for the fastest line, Helie took risks in the qualifier, but on race day they cost him.
“I wasn’t skiing that well, but I was skiing fast. I wanted to be in the top eight and I went into the qualifier going harder. I made a huge mistake at the top and pretty much did a hockey stop. At that point I knew it was over. I tried a miracle line, but the snow was soft. The stop cost me 1.5-2 seconds, and I was only a half second from qualifying. I know I’m skiing fast. It’s not the end of the world,” Helie said.
Canmore’s Tristan Tafel finished 40th in the qualifier. He lost speed on the tricky double roller section which cost him more than a second. Even though he missed the heats, he was still happy with his skiing.
“In the training run before the qualifier, I was eighth. Knowing I can still punch it in is great. I’m just looking for more consistency and performance on demand,” Tafel said.
In the past, Tafel has shown he is one of the best ski cross racers in the world, earning his place on the podium. But after a rough 2015, he’s focused on building himself up again.
“I’m just trying to work on my speed. I’m basically taking a year to find my stride and get comfortable again. It’s a bit of a struggle and a challenge. No path to success is a straight arrow. Sometimes you have to take the scenic route and it takes a bit longer,” Tafel said.
“I know I can ski fast, but at times I can’t find that overdrive gear. That’s what you need to compete with the best in the world.”
Kevin Drury was the only other Canadian to make it to the semifinals. He also crashed and finished 10th. Chris Del Bosco was 17th, Ian Deans 42nd and Banff’s Zach Belczyk finished 44th.
