Whistler鈥檚 Marielle Thompson is used to standing on World Cup podiums.
Despite all the strangeness that defined 2020, the Olympic champion ski cross racer closed out the year in that familiar territory after charging her way to third place in Val Thorens, France on Dec. 21. It marked her third World Cup podium in as many races, and her 44th career podium.
鈥淭oday I tried to be a bit faster on my starts, still ended up having to make a few moves and some pretty good passing. I鈥檓 really happy with how I skied today and I鈥檓 really excited for a break,鈥� said Thompson in a release.
She similarly finished third the previous day (two World Cups were scheduled for Val Thorens), after earning second place at a World Cup race in Arosa, Switzerland on Dec. 16, and beginning her season with a 25th-place finish in Arosa one day earlier.
Thompson wasn鈥檛 the only Canadian to land on the podium in France over the weekend, with Cultus Lake, 小蓝视频鈥檚 Reece Howden taking first place in the men鈥檚 race the same day. The victory鈥擧owden鈥檚 third-ever World Cup podium鈥攚as extra-sweet for the 22-year-old ski cross racer, as it came just one day after the second podium of his career.
Howden won his first-ever World Cup race on home snow in Nakiska, Alta. in January of this year, effectively bookending 2020 with first-place finishes. He now finds himself heading into 2021 as the leader of the Ski Cross World Cup tour.
The event didn鈥檛 end so positively for 2020 Crystal Globe winner Kevin Drury.
The reigning World Cup overall champ went down early in the day on Dec. 20, suffering a leg injury.
鈥淣ot the way I wanted to come home for Christmas, but that鈥檚 the risk of our sport,鈥� Drury posted to Instagram on Tuesday, Dec. 22, underneath footage of the crash and an X-ray shot of what appears to be a fractured fibula. 鈥淪uper unlucky crash but VERY glad it wasn鈥檛 more serious.鈥�
He added, 鈥淚鈥檒l be back though!鈥�
Drury鈥檚 Canada ski cross teammates are scheduled to return to the World Cup start gate on Jan. 15, 2021, in Montafon, Austria.
WMSC alums out after crashing in Val d鈥橧s猫re World Cup
Unfortunately, Drury won鈥檛 be the only Canadian skier who will be spending the Christmas holidays recovering. Two members of the men鈥檚 alpine team had an unfortunate start when they kicked off their 2020/21 World Cup season in Val d鈥橧s猫re, France on Dec. 13.
Whistler Mountain Ski Club (WMSC) alum Cameron Alexander was taken off course by sled after suffering what looked to be a painful leg injury during a crash in the men鈥檚 downhill event. Alexander was poised for a strong start to the ski season, after posting his first top-10 World Cup result at his last race in Norway, in March of this year.
His fellow WMSC veteran and North Vancouverite Brodie Seger similarly ended up on the DNF list in the downhill, after taking a spill just before the final gate.
鈥淚 thought the hay was in the barn yesterday until that little snow snake came out of nowhere and got me right before the line,鈥� Seger posted to Instagram following the race. 鈥淧retty hard to wrap my head around how that happened, especially after reeling in some time on the bottom section. However, I鈥檓 feeling pretty lucky to be walking away from that with nothing but a shoulder injury.
鈥淚鈥檓 still in the process of assessing the injury, but unfortunately it looks like I will have to take some time away from racing,鈥� he continued. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the first time I will have to step away and rehab in the middle of the season, but I鈥檓 feeling determined to get to work. I鈥檓 very thankful for the team I have around me and can鈥檛 wait to watch the [Alpine Canada men鈥檚 team] crush it in the next races.鈥�
Though a spokesperson from Alpine Canada was able to confirm all three athletes鈥擠rury, Alexander and Seger鈥攈ad returned to Canada, where they are receiving further care and support for their injuries, the spokesperson was not able to provide any further information on specific injuries or when the athletes anticipate being able to return to racing.
On a more positive note, Whistler鈥檚 Broderick Thompson made his return to World Cup racing on Dec. 13 after two seasons away from the circuit. He suffered a dislocated knee, torn ACL, MCL, LCL, and a completely ruptured patella tendon during a crash while training at Nakiska in 2018. The injuries kept him off snow for more than a year.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great to push out of the gate again on the World Cup, it鈥檚 definitely a big milestone in my comeback, but there is a lot more to come,鈥� he said in an Alpine Canada Facebook post. Thompson finished 45th in his first race of the 2020/21 World Cup season.
Registration for Whistler Half delayed until February
If you were planning to spend New Year鈥檚 Day registering for the 2021 Whistler Half Marathon, you can breathe a sigh of relief, turn off that alarm and spend the first morning of the year sleeping a little longer than usual.
Registration for the event has been delayed from its usual start date of Jan. 1 to Feb. 15, 20201.
鈥淎s the state of the global COVID-19 pandemic continues to change by the day, we are proceeding, with caution, to find ways of delivering a 2021 adapted version of the Whistler Half Marathon, presented by Smartwool,鈥� event organizers wrote in an update issued Dec. 21.
That said, organizers, 鈥渁nticipate the format of the event will look very different than it has in the past.鈥� However, organizers said they 鈥渁re hopeful to hold races in all distances we have hosted in the past,鈥� and are working closely with both local government and the Vancouver Coastal health authority as the planning progresses.
More information should be available for potential Half Marathon racers in the coming weeks, organizers added.
The Whistler Half鈥檚 2020 race, initially set to take place in June, was cancelled in March as a precaution related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, organizers offered a virtual version of the event in June that drew nearly 500 participants across all the offered distances.
- With files from Dan Falloon
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