(Montreal) On the podium at the last three ski cross World Cups, Hannah Schmidt had to be content with a presence in the small final on Friday at the Alleghe event, in Italy, finishing the day in seventh place.
Three Canadians were at the start of this small final while Schmidt was accompanied by the British-Columbian Marielle Thompson as well as the Quebecer Brittany Phelan.
Thompson took the lead right out of the blocks, while Phelan and Schmidt followed behind. The order remained the same until the very end of the race when Phelan accelerated just before the finish line. Thompson, however, held on to secure fifth place on the day.
Phelan and Schmidt therefore finished sixth and seventh, respectively.
“I think I had a good day overall. I was stuck at the back a few times, partly when I didn’t get a good start. This was the case in the semi-final and the small final. It was difficult to overtake. I’m happy with my skiing, very confident and I’m looking forward to another event in Italy tomorrow (Saturday),” Schmidt told Sportcom.
The women’s grand final was the affair of another Canadian, the British-Columbian India Sherret, who won ahead of the Swiss Saskja Lack, second, and Talina Gantenbein, third. This is the first World Cup victory of Sherret’s career.
In the provisional general ranking of the discipline, Hannah Schmidt (565 points) remains in first place despite her seventh place on Friday. She is 35 points ahead of her closest pursuer, Frenchwoman Marielle Berger Sabbatel. Phelan (394 points) is in sixth place.
On the men’s side, Jared Schmidt saw his day end in the round of 16 where he placed third in his heat behind the Swiss Alex Fiva and Tobias Baur. The Mont-Tremblant athlete thus finished 20e.
The Swede Erik Mobaerg won the gold medal ahead of the Swiss Alex Fiva and the German Niklas Bachsleitner. Reece Howden of British Columbia won the small final.
Thanks to his fifth place, Howden (376 points) managed to overtake Schmidt in the provisional general classification for the season. The Quebecer, second, is 10 points behind his compatriot.
The Alleghe Ski Cross World Cup continues Saturday. All the Quebecers in the running obtained their ticket for the elimination races.