adminSeven Canadians made it through qualifying and will try to find their way onto the podium in Friday’s Ski Cross World Cup race in St. Johann, AUT.
On the men’s side, Nick Zoricic (Toronto, ON) led the way in qualifying for the Canadian team with a time of 43.25 seconds, good for 10th overall, on the highly technical and steep course. Jean Frederic Chapuis (FRA) was the top qualifier, with a time of 42.76, followed by Jouni Pellinen (FIN) and Tomas Kraus (CZE).
Davey Barr (Brackendale, BC) was 13th, Chris Del Bosco (Sudbury, ON) 16th, Stan Rey (Whistler, BC) 20th and Dave Duncan (Golden, BC), who was 26th, were the other Canadians who made it through to Friday’s World Cup race. Whistler’s Brian Bennett did not qualify.
“We’ve had good preparation. We’re expecting big things,” said Zoricic. “I want a podium finish – nothing less.”
On the ladies’ side, Danielle Poleschuk (Calgary, AB) was the top Canadian, finishing 10th with a time of 46.50. Ophelie David (FRA) led the way in 45:46, followed by Andrea Limbacher (AUT) and Katrin Mueller (SUI).
Kelsey Serwa (Whistler, BC) qualified 11th. Julia Murray, 25th, and Marielle Thompson, 18th (both of Whistler, BC), did not qualify. Olympic champion Ashleigh McIvor (Whistler, BC) chose to sit out this event.
“This is probably the most technical course on the circuit,” said assistant coach Brent Kehl. “It’s water-injected, it’s steep. We’ve been on the podium here before but anything can happen on this course.”
