Kananaskis Valley (AB), Canada – Canada’s ski cross team got its 2013-14 World Cup season off to a hot start in freezing conditions on Saturday as Marielle Thompson won the women’s final and Brady Leman finished third behind Jonas Devouassoux of France and Switzerland’s Armin Neiderer in the men’s race in Nakiska Ski Area in Alberta.

Thompson, of Whistler, British Columbia, dominated all three of her heats and did the same in the final to take top honors and become the first Canadian ski cross racer to punch her ticket to the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games.

“I’m super excited that I could make this great crowd that’s been out in the cold all day proud and I’m excited our team’s doing really well,” said Thompson, the 2013 world championship silver medalist. “It’s all about the start on this course. I was in that far gate so I knew I had to have a rocket start. I pulled one off and just led the whole way down. It’s just super wild that I can represent Canada in the Olympics.”

Thompson, who in 2012 became the first Canadian to win an individual ski cross Crystal Globe as the overall World Cup champion, was flying out of the start gate all day, where her father, Rod, was working as a volunteer.

“My dad was lifting the start gate at the top. He was cheering for me every time – it was pretty cool,” said Thompson. “This is going to be great for my confidence. I had some great results at the end of last season so I was really trying to build on those coming into this season.”

Swiss ace Fanny Smith finished second in the women’s final and French veteran Ophelie David was third.

Leman produced a typically gutsy performance to advance from a tough semifinal and came within inches of second place in the men’s final as he made a last-gasp push at the finish line. Ranked No. 2 in the world two years ago and with some big goals set for himself this season, Leman had to work hard for his place on the podium. He won his first two heats Saturday but found himself at the back of the pack in his semifinal before he managed to claw his way into second place to advance. In the final he almost caught Switzerland’s Niederer, but ended up just behind the Swiss ace and France’s Devouassoux, the winner.

“I was feeling good all day. This course is long and tiring and I felt like that really suited me,” Leman said. “I had to make a couple moves in the semis to make the finals and once I was there I wanted to win so bad. I’m happy that I still came away with a medal with bronze. It was a tough race and I was close to getting silver but just ran out of room there at the end.”

Leman grew up in nearby Calgary, and he was cheered on by a large group of family and friends on Saturday.

“It’s huge for me to race at home,” he said. “It’s so cool all my family comes up to see me race. I was just taking pictures with my grandma – it’s super special to have a good performance with my friends and family watching.”

Temperatures approaching -30ºC led to Friday’s race being postponed to Saturday, while Saturday’s race was cancelled. Although temperatures were much warmer at the start of the round of 32 heats on Saturday, later in the day it became extremely cold and conditions were uncomfortable for racers, coaches, volunteers and fans.

“It’s cold out here and it’s hard on the body but I’ve done thousands of runs at Nakiska and in the Rockies so I’m used to the conditions,” said Leman, who hasn’t officially qualified for Sochi but believes he’s likely done enough. “I think I need one more decent result but the podium was the big one I needed. I ticked that off in the first race and it’s over and done now.”

Next up for World Cup ski cross is a race in Val Thorens, France, on Dec. 14-15.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup
Nakiska (AB), Canada – Dec. 7, 2013

Women

Men