The door was wide open for Hannah Schmidt to compete in a second ski cross World Cup final this season. Unfortunately for her, the door closed at the last moment in her semi-final run at the Veysonnaz World Cup on Sunday in Switzerland.
The Mont-Tremblant athlete ended her day in seventh place after finishing third in the small final.
In the big final, Canadian Tiana Gairns took third place just ahead of her compatriot Marielle Thompson. Gold went to Switzerland’s Fanny Smith and silver to France’s Jade Grillet-Aubert.
In an all-Canadian semi-final, Schmidt took control of the race as soon as he exited the start gate. The 28-year-old built a 5m lead at the halfway point, but it was down the stretch where she lost speed in the rollers and was edged out by Thompson and Gairns.
Schmidt was still undeterred when she delivered her post-race impressions to Sportcom.
“Honestly, it was one of my best runs today. [dimanche]. After the last turn, those behind were protected from the wind and as for me, I made a mistake [en passant mal les rouleaux] “commented the one who had been a silver medalist at the second World Cup in Val Thorens, France, in December.
“I’m still happy with my day, because I’ve had minor injuries over the past few weeks, so to ski with confidence feels good! »
Taking part in a semi-final with three training partners had a special cachet, noted the Ottawa native skier.
“It’s almost more comfortable to ski with teammates, but it’s also stressful, because you don’t want to cause any falls. We are still more competitive than in training. »
Jared Schmidt, Hannah’s brother, placed 17e of the men’s event after stopping in the round of 16. Canadian Reece Howden finished third behind Sweden’s David Mobaerg and Japan’s Ryo Sugai.
The Ski Cross World Cup circuit will move to the Ontario resort of Craigleith for the final stop of the season, which kicks off Thursday.