Les Contamines, France – Canada’s Nik Zoricic was going for gold Sunday, but he was happy to end the day with a bronze medal draped around his neck following a dramatic ski cross final at the Les Contamines World Cup stop in France won by Switzerland’s Alex Fiva. Didrik Bastian Juell finished second.

The 28-year-old Zoricic, from Toronto, Ontario, found himself on the podium thanks to a late passing move that came after he saw his shot at claiming his first career World Cup race slip through his fingers.

“I feel relieved, to be honest,” said Zoricic, who has had what he describes as a “disastrous” start to the 2011-12 ski cross World Cup season. “Today it could have been worse. It could have gone better, but it’s nice to kind of stop the bleeding and remind myself that I belong and that I can do this.

“Given the position I had and where I was in the final, I should have been able to close it out. But all in all, it’s fine. If you had told me at the beginning of the day I would be third, I would have taken it.”

Zoricic’s result was the highlight of an otherwise disappointing day for Canada’s ski cross team. World champion Chris Del Bosco, of Montreal, Quebec, and Brady Leman, of Calgary, Alberta, were eliminated at the quarter-final stage and finished 11^th and 14^th, respectively, with American John Teller in between in 12th. American Joe Swensson was 23rd, followed by Stan Rey, of Whistler, British Columbia,  was 26^th and Tristan Tafel, of Canmore, Alberta, was 32^nd. With Fiva taking the win and Juell finishing second, Leman drops to second in the overall ski cross World Cup rankings with 231 to Fiva’s 295.

Ironically, it was Fiva that Zoricic found himself battling in Sunday’s final.

“I had a good start. I was out ahead and then I had Alex Fiva on my left and I just gave him a little room,” said Zoricic. “I didn’t want to completely pinch him out – I should have, but I didn’t.

“We were side by side into the second turn and he just cut uphill. I jumped over his skis and then I remember being pretty frustrated, pretty angry that I let him through and then he kind of pinched me pretty hard, which I can’t blame him for.

“I was charging on his tails, thinking, ‘There’s no way I’m going to let you win, not after that,’ and got in behind him and was setting him up when I just kind of hit a hole, bounced really low before a jump, then had to climb up hill and the guys in third and fourth passed me.

“I got past the guy that was in third but it was bittersweet, for sure. I was in the right position, I just didn’t do the right thing.”

Zoricic earned his first career World Cup podium in January 2011 with a second-place finish in St. Johann, Austria. He started this year with the goal of winning his first World Cup race but in his first three races he was off the pace, finishing 36^th, 21^st and 37^th. Last week in Alpe d’Huez, France, he showed signs of getting back to his best with a seventh-place result.

“We are obviously very excited for Nik Zoricic getting back on the podium,” said Brent Kehl, assistant coach with the Canadian ski cross team. “He’s worked really hard this year without getting too many results but in qualifying yesterday he skied really well. I called it yesterday. I thought he was going to do really well today and he did.”

On the women’s side, Switzerland’s Sanna Luedi took the win and opened up a big lead in the overall standings with 389 points. French duo Alizee Baron and Ophelie David finished second and third, respectively, in Sunday’s women’s final. Canadian Kelsey Serwa, of Kelowna, British Columbia – who is currently out with a knee injury – remains in second place in the standings with 276 points.  Whistler’s Marielle Thompson won her quarter-final but she was eliminated at the semifinal stage to finish eighth on Sunday.  No American women entered Sunday’s race.

Next up for ski cross is the Winter X-Games in Aspen, Colo., from Jan. 27 to 29.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
FIS Ski Cross World Cup
Les Contamines, France – Jan. 15, 2012

Men:

Women: