Tiana Gairns of Prince George put the finishing touches on her Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup season Sunday in Veysonnaz, Switzerland, finishing ninth as the top Canadian in the women’s event.
Gairns was grouped in a tough quarterfinal bracket with world champion Sandra Naeslund of Sweden and Alizee Baron of France and finished third in the heat, which eliminated Gairns from medal contention.
Naeslund and Baron finished 1-2 in their semifinal heat and in the big final, Naeslund got to the line first, followed by silver medalist Fanny Smith of Switzerland and Baron.
“I had a little bit of stacked heat at the beginning but I think I skied really well, it just happened that I didn’t quite make it through,” said the 22-year-old Gairns. “I’m pretty proud of my skiing today. They’re some of the best people on the circuit.”
Reece Howden of Cultus Lake capped a spectacular season as the series points champion with a ninth-place result. Howden and Smith, the women’s World Cup champion, received their Crystal Globe trophies on the slopes of Veysonnaz.
“Seeing that his hard work and his attitude and the way he handles himself have gotten him there, that’s just so cool,” said Gairns. “Part of what makes us so proud to be Canadian is that in the sport of ski cross we’re always strong and when we show up somewhere people look around and they’re like, it’s Canada, better watch out.”.
It marked the second-straight season Canada has claimed the points championship. Kevin Drury of Toronto, the 2018 Olympic champion, won it in 2019-20. Drury suffered a season-ending leg injury in December.
“I was trying to do the best that I could,” Howden told Alpine Canada. “After Val Thorens in December when I got a couple podiums I realized there was a possibility if I kept skiing well that I could win the Globe.
“It is just amazing, I am super-blessed and excited.”
Despite missing several races with injuries Gairns ended up 12th in the standings with 217 points. A shoulder injury wiped out the entire 2018-19 season for Gairns and she suffered a torn ACL that cost her most of the last season. She returned to racing in December and after missing a month with a concussion she posted two fifth-place solo finishes as well as a fourth-place finish in the team event with Howden.
“It’s cool to get a solid season in the books, just to have enough results in there that I can see where I am standing in the world,” said Gairns. “It’s definitely given me the validation that I need that I am where I need be, skiing-wise.
“It’s cool. I still look at some of the people I’m racing with and I’m like, ‘wow, they’re so good,’ and then I realize I’m in the start gate racing them and sometimes I beat them. It’s kind of surreal but in the best way.
“Injuries are part of the game, as our team learned this year, and you have to come back from injuries at some point,” she said. “If you come back stronger and with more confidence that’s the best way to come back and the Canadian team provides us with the best resources, the best staffing and the best coaching to make it so we come back in that way.”
In the men’s event Sunday, Florian Wilmsmann of Germany picked up his second win of the season and third podium finish. Jonathan Midol of France won silver and Tim Hronek of Germany captured bronze.
In other Canadian men’s results Sunday, Kris Mahler of Canmore was 17th, while Jared Schmidt of Ottawa and Chris Del Bosco of Montreal each posted 25th-place finishes.
Howden totaled 691 points for the season, Del Bosco finished 26th (127), Brady Leman of Calgary was 28th (40), Mahler was 35th (80), Zach Belczyk of Banff was 36th (75), Schmidt was 38th (68), Drury was 40th (61), and Gavin Rowell of Prince George placed 51st (14).
Gairns and Rowell learned how to ski with the Prince George Alpine Racing Team at Tabor Mountain and Purden Ski Resort and Gairns encourages young skiers trying to follow in her tracks to stick with their training and continue to climb the competitive ladder.
“It’s exciting that I come from a relatively small town, it shows that you don’t have to go to a big fancy club to make it to a World Cup circuit,” Gairns said. “The most important thing is you just keep skiing and keep having fun doing it. Any kind of skiing you do, you learn.”
In other Canadian women’s results, Zoe Chore of Cranbrook also placed ninth, one spot down the list from Gairns, who was grouped with the two medalists in her quarterfinal. Hannah Schmidt of Ottawa was 13th.
2018 Olympic gold medalist Marielle Thompson of Whistler was unable to race Sunday due to a knee injury and dropped from second to third on the final World Cup standings with 475 points. Smith topped the season chart with 945 and Baron totaled 495. Courtney Hoffos of Windermere was sixth (382), Chore was 10th (274) and Schmidt was 16th (171).
Gairns has been in Europe since October. She will fly back with the team to Montreal on Monday and will spend three days in quarantine in a hotel before they head to Calgary. She hopes to be back in Prince George by Friday. After at least 40 COVID tests, she said she won’t miss the COVID protocols and the continual monitoring of the athletes. The team had a couple positive tests in October but they were isolated right away by Alpine Canada and the rest of the team did not miss any training.
The Canadian team will be back on the slopes in Whistler for a five-week camp next month.
