Jared Schmidt was a bronze medalist at the Arosa Ski Cross World Cup on Tuesday in Switzerland, on a day where Canada captured half the medals at stake. Her compatriots Marielle Thompson and Zoe Chore were decorated with gold and bronze in the women’s final.
For the Mont-Tremblant skier, this is the second World Cup podium of his career. Last February, he also finished third at the Bakuriani stage in Georgia.
“This third place is even better (than the first in Bakuriani), because I felt it was coming because I have been skiing well in Europe in recent weeks. So it’s not a big surprise for me. I was confident on my skis, as I was twice in the points in Val Thorens (last weekend). […] I kept my cool and trusted my skills, ”revealed Schmidt after the races presented in the spotlight.
The 24-year-old remained well placed in a compact field early in the final and was third at the first turn behind Frenchman Terence Tchiknavorian, second, and Sweden’s David Moberg, then in the lead. The short course which was hurtling down in about thirty seconds was not conducive to overtaking and this meant that the order remained the same until the finish line.
“My goal was to get out of the start quickly to be in a good position and be competitive. Then you had to be solid and confident in the bottom section, ”added Schmidt.
Chris Del Bosco of Montreal placed 38e.
Competition will be fierce for the Canadian team, both men and women, to see who will represent the country at the Beijing Olympics in two months.
“This result puts me in a good position to maybe qualify, but for now I’m just focused on my next races. We will then see what happens for the Games. There are still four races to go before the selection process is complete and plenty of medals to go for. Our team is very strong. ”
Two Canadians on the podium, Hannah Schmidt in the B final
In the women’s final, the Swedish Sandra Naeslund had a collision with the Swiss Fanny Smith in a jump at the end of the course. Reigning Olympic champion Marielle Thompson was able to cleverly sneak past them and score her first victory of the season.
In her semifinal round, Hannah Schmidt could have emulated her brother and made it to the final. This did not materialize as she seemed to run into an obstacle in the first few meters of the course. In the B final, the 27-year-old skier experienced the same problem coming out of the starting gate and finished fourth, good for eighth place overall.
In her quarter-final wave, Brittany Phelan faced Sandra Naeslund, winner of the two stages contested in Val Thorens. The slow start of the skier from Mont-Tremblant penalized her and she finished third, an insufficient place to advance to the semi-finals. The Quebecer finished the day in tenth place.
The team competition will take place on Wednesday evening on the same course.