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BLUE MOUNTAIN, Ontario — Canada put on a show on home snow Friday, owning the podium with two gold medals and a silver at the FIS Ski Cross World Cup races in Blue Mountain, Ontario.
Marielle Thompson dominated the ladies' race from start to finish to claim her first career World Cup victory at the age of 19. Brady Leman and teammate Chris Del Bosco, who grew up in Eagle-Vail, then finished first and second, respectively, in the men's race to the delight of the thousands of fans who gathered in the finish area at the ski resort near Collingwood, Ontario.
Leman, 25, is having a remarkable comeback year after a long spell on the sidelines due to injury. He won the opening World Cup race of the 2011-12 season in Innichen/San Candido, Italy, and is now leading the overall ski cross standings with 331 points, ahead of Switzerland's Alex Fiva (321) and Del Bosco (254).
“It felt awesome. I had really good starts all day,” Leman said. “I just knew I had to get that second jump down a little bit better and I nailed it in that final — that's the one that really counts. Del (Bosco) has taught me so much since I started ski cross — I've learned so much from him. It's awesome to share the podium with him.”
Del Bosco, the reigning ski cross world champion and X Games gold medalist, didn't have an easy path to the podium on Friday. He won his first heat and then his quarterfinal, but almost got tangled up out of the start in the semifinal before finishing second to advance. In the final, he found himself sitting third but found a way to make another pass in tight quarters to edge ahead of Matt and finish second. Matt was third and Armin Niederer, of Switzerland, was fourth.
“I had an alright pull in the final — behind Brady — just trying not to make any stupid mistakes or take him out or take me out,” Del Bosco said of the men's final. “When you're kind of holding back a little bit it leaves it open for third and Andy (Matt) got by.
“I had a few tricks for down lower. It looked like he was going wide so I just dove in and at the last minute he dove in, too. We made a little contact but we both stayed upright.”
Del Bosco was delighted to be able to stand on the podium next to his good friend Leman.
“It was awesome. We've been talking about it for a while — making the final together,” Del Bosco said. “We finally did it here at home and ended up 1-2. It was a great crowd, an amazing crowd. It was really good to bring home some trophies.”
Marielle Thompson dominated the ladies' race from start to finish to claim her first career World Cup victory at the age of 19. Brady Leman and teammate Chris Del Bosco, who grew up in Eagle-Vail, then finished first and second, respectively, in the men's race to the delight of the thousands of fans who gathered in the finish area at the ski resort near Collingwood, Ontario.
Leman, 25, is having a remarkable comeback year after a long spell on the sidelines due to injury. He won the opening World Cup race of the 2011-12 season in Innichen/San Candido, Italy, and is now leading the overall ski cross standings with 331 points, ahead of Switzerland's Alex Fiva (321) and Del Bosco (254).
“It felt awesome. I had really good starts all day,” Leman said. “I just knew I had to get that second jump down a little bit better and I nailed it in that final — that's the one that really counts. Del (Bosco) has taught me so much since I started ski cross — I've learned so much from him. It's awesome to share the podium with him.”
Del Bosco, the reigning ski cross world champion and X Games gold medalist, didn't have an easy path to the podium on Friday. He won his first heat and then his quarterfinal, but almost got tangled up out of the start in the semifinal before finishing second to advance. In the final, he found himself sitting third but found a way to make another pass in tight quarters to edge ahead of Matt and finish second. Matt was third and Armin Niederer, of Switzerland, was fourth.
“I had an alright pull in the final — behind Brady — just trying not to make any stupid mistakes or take him out or take me out,” Del Bosco said of the men's final. “When you're kind of holding back a little bit it leaves it open for third and Andy (Matt) got by.
“I had a few tricks for down lower. It looked like he was going wide so I just dove in and at the last minute he dove in, too. We made a little contact but we both stayed upright.”
Del Bosco was delighted to be able to stand on the podium next to his good friend Leman.
“It was awesome. We've been talking about it for a while — making the final together,” Del Bosco said. “We finally did it here at home and ended up 1-2. It was a great crowd, an amazing crowd. It was really good to bring home some trophies.”
