St. Johann, Austria – Canada’s Brady Leman was inches away from claiming his second gold medal in three races Saturday but had the satisfaction of regaining the red bib as the overall ski cross World Cup leader following his silver medal in St. Johann, Austria.

The 25-year-old from Calgary, Alta., who made his return to competitive racing last month after breaking his leg three times, narrowly lost a dramatic duel with Switzerland’s Alex Fiva Saturday to claim second place in the men’s final.

“He’s got longer arms than I have,” joked Leman after he and Fiva crossed the line shoulder to shoulder in a photo finish. “Second is cool and everything, but you want to win.

“Having the red bib again is sweet – it was cool to have it after the first race. I like this thing so I want to hold on to it.”

Leman’s result comes after he claimed gold and his first career World Cup win in the season-opener in Innichen/San Candido, Italy, on Dec. 17. He was 27^th in the second race at the same venue the following day. Leman leads the overall ski cross World Cup standings with 184 points, just two points ahead of Fiva.

“It was rough racing out there,” said Brady, who was second in his first heat Saturday and went on to win his quarter-final and semifinal. “Conditions were tough and I knew it was going to be a battle out there. I got kind of lucky in the first (heat). My first start was just tragic but I nailed the next two. It was a great race.”

Canada Ski Cross assistant coach Willy Raine said he saw Leman during breakfast on race morning and thought he looked ready for a big day.

“I said, ‘Dude, I’ve got a good feeling about you today,’ ” explained Raine. “He responded by saying, ‘I’ve got a good feeling about myself.’ He had the confidence.”

Germany’s Daniel Bohnacker was third in Saturday’s men’s final, while Austria’s Patrick Koller finished fourth.

World champion Chris Del Bosco, of Montreal, Quebec – still seeking his first podium of the season – made a daring move on the last jump in his semi-final but fell at the line and did not make it through to the final. He also fell in the small final when another racer caught his trailing ski as he moved into the lead. Del Bosco got back on his feet and finished seventh overall.

“Del (Bosco) had a few incidents and run-ins,” said Raine. “We are happy that he’s in there and back to being the aggressive Chris Del Bosco that we know.

“It’s a great race. It’s a pretty amazing venue . . . there’s a lot of rubbing elbows, a fair bit of contact on the course. The conditions were pretty wild. There was a huge snowstorm while we were racing.”

There was plenty of drama on the women’s side, too. French veteran Ophelie David won the women’s final Saturday, with Germany’s Anna Woerner second and Alizee Baron, of France, third. Canada’s Kelsey Serwa, who finished 10th on the day, holds on to the red bib as the overall World Cup leader with 226 points, ahead of Sanna Luedi, of Switzerland (189).

Next up for ski cross are men’s and women’s World Cup races in Alpe d’Huez, France, on Wednesday.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
FIS World Cup
St. Johann, Austria – Jan. 7, 2012
Ski Cross

MEN:

WOMEN: