Montafon, Austria – The World Cup Ski Cross season started off with a bang for Canada over the weekend with two first-place results and one second in the season opener in Montafon.

Canadians Christoper Del Bosco and Brady Leman finished first and second, respectively, in the men’s race, and Marielle Thompson won the women’s contest, continuing her dominance on the circuit with her fifth consecutive World Cup victory.

Leman, who qualified first and looked the strongest throughout the day, won every heat until he met Del Bosco in the final. The big final featured the two Canadians, reigning World Cup and Olympic Champion Jean Frederic Chapuis of France and current World Champion, Slovenian Filip Flisar. Del Bosco and Leman dominated the final race with Del Bosco barely holding off Leman at the finish.

This was Del Bosco’s 20^th career podium and first win in two years. “I was feeling really great all week and had some close calls in the earlier rounds,” said Del Bosco about heading into the final. “I knew it would be a battle when I met Brady in the final but I managed to get a great start out of the gate. I knew Brady would be coming on strong through the course but I just kept my head down and got him by a little bit.”

Leman, who was overjoyed with the one-two finish, said, “I’m super happy with the day! I’ve been skiing really well and had lots of confidence going into the final. Del [Bosco] just rocketed out of the start and I almost caught him in one section but I’m super happy with the one-two finish. It’s a great way to go into the season.”

Thompson dominated every heat going into the final. She battled Sochi bronze medalist Anna Holmlund of Sweden in the big final and made a strong pass near the finish to secure her 18^th World Cup podium. This was Thompson’s first World Cup race since injuring her knee at the 2015 World Championships, proving her focused recovery period was just what she needed to regain her winning form.

“It’s such a good feeling to start the season off with a bang like this and know I’m in a good place coming back from injury,” said Thompson. “To have the lead again is exciting and to share it with Brady and Chris is a great start for Canada!”

Americans had a far less successful weekend, with Brant Crossan, of Steamboat Springs, Colo., and Mammoth Mountain, Calif.’s Tyler Wallasch failing to make it through their heats on Saturday, coming in 27^th and 29^th, respectively. On the women’s side, Tania Prymak, of Goshen, N.Y., was the top American finisher, just missing the heats in 20^th while top-ranked American Whitney Gardner, of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., took a hard fall in the qualifications and did not finish.

Ski Cross now heads to Val Thorens, France, for World Cup races this week.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup
Montafon, Austria – Dec. 5, 2015

Men’s Ski Cross

Women’s Ski Cross