BLUE MOUNTAIN, ONT.
Unseasonably warm temperatures through Tuesday night and into Wednesday forced minor delays of Wednesday's training run at the Audi FIS World Cup Ski Cross stop at Blue Mountain, Ontario, but come Thursday qualifying run temperatures had dipped well back into the negatives and the already challenging Blue Mountain course had taken on an even nastier disposition.
A fast, challenging pitch featuring a several large jumps and a sweeping bottom section, Blue Mountain's “Smart Alec” course forced several DNFs on the Ladies side and had more than a few of the men shaking their heads in frustration at the bottom, including men's World Cup Ski Cross points leader Alex Fiva.
“Today we had to brake out there, but tomorrow, with four, I don't think anyone is going to want to brake. (To win tomorrow) you're going to have to go hard and don't crash,” said Fiva following his run.
Local boy Dave Duncan was the fastest Canadian qualifier (3rd) at this lone Canadian stop on the Audi FIS World Cup SX tour, and had a more positive outlook after finishing his run on the hill where he grew up learning to ski.
“It felt pretty good. The jumps here are pretty big and they'll send you long, so I just tried to control my speed and make it to the bottom. Some guys are having a tough time with it, but I knew if I just played it safe I would be all right. It's nice when you come down and feel that way. It gives you some good confidence and motivation going into tomorrow's heats.”
On the Women's side, Norwegian Hedda Berntsen led qualifying, followed by Canadian Marielle Thompson and Australian Sami Kennedy-Sim. For the men, the top three finishers were Austria's Andreas Matt, Finn Jouni Pellinen, and the aforementioned Duncan.
(Full women's results can be found here and draw lists for Friday here. Men's results can be found here and draw lists for Friday here.)
Men's and Women's ski cross finals get underway Friday, Feb 3rd at 12:00EST on Blue Mountain for what promises to be a highly entertaining and hard-fought stop on the Audi FIS World Cup tour.
