If the crown fits, wear it.
Reece Howden of Cultus Lake earned his the hard way Saturday at the Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup in Sunny Valley, Russia.
Howden grabbed the lead right out of the start gate in the men’s big final and held it all the way to the finish to earn his fourth World Cup win of the season. The FIS points champion has already clinched the Crystal Globe and Saturday’s win came with the coveted Golden Crown presented annually to the respective men’s and women’s winners in Sunny Valley.
“I was feeling really confident going into the big final,” said Howden, on fis-ski.com. “At the first few heats of the day, I was a little bit nervous at the start, but as I made my way through the competition, the confidence came back. And standing in that start gate just now, I was feeling so good, so I just sent it and I am so happy with the result.”
Ryo Sugai survived a tight battle for second place with Joos Berry of Switzerand to earn his first career World Cup podium result. Terrence Tchiknavorian of France was fourth.
Kris Mahler of Canmore placed 12th and Chris del Bosco of Montreal was 26th.
Crystal Globe season champion Fanny Smith of Switzerland captured the women’s Golden Crown, the fourth of her career. Smith tucked in behind Sandra Naeslund of Sweden and held second spot in the four-skier big final until the bottom roller section when she made her move on Naeslund, winning in a photo finish. Katrin Ofner of Austria claimed bronze.
Courtney Hoffos of Windermere crashed near the top of the course and placed fourth overall.
"It was a good day overall," Hoffos said. "I had a lot of confidence felt really dialed in my first few heats. I felt like I was skiing well. It was too bad bad that I caught an edge and went down."
Tiana Gairns of Prince George, 22, won the women’s small final to post a fifth-place finish, matching her career best on the World Cup circuit. Gairns qualified ninth-quickest.
In other Canadian results, Hannah Schmidt of Ottawa was 13th and Marielle Thompson of Whistler placed 14th.
The World Cup finals are set for next weekend in Veysonnaz, Switzerland. Only the top 16 women and top 32 men are invited.
Gairns, who missed several races this season, most recently with a concussion in December after joining the circuit late in the fall coming off knee surgery, just missed the cut for the finals. She ranks 17th with 188 points, three points behind 16th-place Ekaterina Maltseva of Russia, who did qualify for Veysonnaz.
