Brittany Phelan was in heaven after the Secret Garden World Cup on Saturday in China. On her first start since February 2020, the ski cross specialist won the small final to place fifth.
“I’m incredibly happy with my races,” said Phelan, in an interview with Sportcom.
The Mont-Tremblant athlete was deprived of the grand final after having had a bad start in the semi-final, finishing the race in fourth place. She was able to recover later in order to finish strong on the future Olympic course.
Sweden’s Sandra Naeslund won the gold medal. She edged Fanny Smith of Switzerland and Marielle Berger Sabbatel of France.
Ranked fifth after qualifying, Quebecer Hannah Schmidt was limited to one race on Saturday. She finished fourth in her quarterfinal heat and is at 14e rank of the final classification.
Christopher Del Bosco suffered a similar fate on the male side. He finished third in his group in the round of 16 to take the 22e rank. Jared Schmidt failed to qualify on Thursday.
A return that feels good
Brittany Phelan has come a long way, she who fell at the Courchevel World Cup in February 2020 and seriously injured her left knee on the streak. The anterior and lateral external cruciate ligaments were torn and a meniscus was partially torn, marking the start of a long rehabilitation.
After undergoing surgery, the Olympic silver medalist from PyeongChang did everything in her power to get back on her skis as quickly as possible.
“It’s been a long and hard rehabilitation, so to be able to resume racing and win the small final today (Saturday) after almost two years of absence, it’s great. Fifth place is worth gold! I’m really happy with my ski and can’t wait to build on this result for the other races. ”
Phelan had finished 13e qualifying Thursday, which left her hungry for more. She had been successful in training and expected better for the start of the season.
“I thought I was faster because I didn’t make a lot of mistakes, but watching the video, I saw that I was trying too hard,” she explained.
“I was happy to qualify and I had already reached my goal so I just wanted to ski well technically and strategically and then enjoy every second of my races. I think I succeeded, except for my poor start in the semi-final. ”
The next Ski Cross World Cup will take place in Val Thorens, France, from December 9 to 12.