Unrelenting blasts of arctic air chilled Albertans to their very core, but they couldn’t keep Canadian Mariëlle Thompson from speeding down Nakiska to gold in -30 C weather at the Ski Cross World Cup stop on Saturday (Dec. 7).
“I’m super excited I can make the great crowd who’s been out in the cold all day proud,” Thompson said.
Untouchable in her heats, Thompson’s starts were unmatched all day. By the time she reached the final, it was simply a matter of staying on her skis.
“It’s all about the start on this course. I knew I had to have a rocket fast start and I pulled it off,” Thompson said.
Staying warm was key for Thompson, who was battling an illness on race day. Her face taped up to combat frostbite, Team Canada coaches heated her coat between runs.
The technique worked, as she beat Fanny Smith of Switzerland and Ophelie David of France in the final. The way the race was structured, athletes had to spend more than two hours on the hill in their thin race suits.
The result means the Whistler native will represent Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. Coupled with her 2012 Crystal Globe title, her confidence is sky high. She’ll try and build on the result as the team competes in France this weekend.
“It hasn’t hit me really yet. It’s super wild I can represent Canada.”
Canada’s Kelsey Serwa finished fourth as she won the B final. Serwa is coming off knee surgery and quickly rounding into form.
Calgary’s Brady Leman ensured Canadian men also walked away from Nakiska with a bronze medal. He narrowly missed the silver, but was happy with his day.
“I felt really strong. This course is long and tiring and I thought that suited me. I’m also a little more suited for the cold than the other guys here, growing up in Calgary,” Leman said. “It’s huge to race at home. All of my family and friends came to watch. I took pictures with my grandma who got to see me race against the best in the world. It makes it super special when I can have a great performance.”
Jonas Devousassoux of France won gold, while Armin Niederer of Switzerland took the silver medal.
Nakiska was supposed to host two world cup races, but athletes voted to cancel one of the races because of the cold weather. Ski cross doesn’t have a temperature cut-off, but all of the team captains thought it was the safest thing to do.
Team Canada wanted to improve on its performance after last year’s Nakiska World Cup, which was an emotional affair. It was the team’s first race together after Nik Zoricic’s death.
“It was so much better this year. Last year was such a tough race, the first since Nik’s death. We thought we were ready, but you’re never really ready,” Leman said.
It was a tough weekend for Canmore’s Tristan Tafel. He qualified 46th, which kept him out of the heats and he lost his chance at redemption when the race was cancelled.
“Honestly I couldn’t figure it out. Chris Del Bosco (who was 45th) and I thought we had a fast run, and Del was fifth in a training run. It shows the conditions were really challenging this year. It got the best of us,” he said.
Tafel has four races before Christmas and would love a podium to increase his chances of making the Sochi Olympics. The team is highly competitive and Tafel figures he needs two podium finishes to secure a spot on the team.
“Everyone is bringing their A game. Everyone wants a top result. The world cup level has been raised again,” Tafel said.
New Banff resident Louis-Pierre Helie qualified 30th and was knocked out of the heats. He was happy with his speed on the day and says the results will come.
