Calgary, Alta. (March 17, 2023) – Reece Howden (Cultus Lake, BC) won today’s FIS Ski Cross World Cup race at the Craigleith Ski Club in Collingwood, Ontario. With today’s win, Howden secured the men’s season long World Cup ski cross title and the Crystal Globe trophy. This is Howden’s third win of the season, the ninth of his 41 World Cup race career, and his second Crystal Globe, with his first coming in 2021.
“It’s pretty huge to win in Canada and to secure the globe on home soil”, said a beaming Howden. “This was a pretty stressful race because it was important to secure the globe today to that I can really enjoy tomorrow’s race. There’re so many aspects to ski cross, your equipment, your mental state, and just staying healthy from crashes. I’ve been pretty fortunate with everything coming together this season.”
With the race being pushed earlier in the day, and then the earlier start being delayed due to weather concerns, Howden raced hard right from the start, winning all four of his heats.
“In the finals I knew that I needed to have a start that really mattered, that I really needed to bring it” added Howden. “I was able to battle my way into first and from there I focussed on my own skiing and not making any mistakes. It was a little stressful this week, but to be able to race and win under pressure means a lot, and it’s sick to be back home in front of the home crowd!”
Today’s women’s final at Craigleith featured three Canadians and one Swiss. Courtney Hoffos (Windermere, BC) led the Canadians with a second place finish and she was joined on the podium by Marielle Thompson (Whistler BC) in third place. This is Hoffos’ six career podium and her career best result in World Cup racing on home soil. While for Thompson this is her sixth podium this season.
Canadian women took six of the top 10 positions today with Hannah Schmidt (Ottawa, ON) in fourth, India Sherret (Cranbrook, BC) in seventh, Antoinette Tansley (Calgary, AB) with a career best ninth and in her return to racing from injury, Brittany Phelan (Mont-Tremblant, QC) rounded out the top 10.
The other Canadian women racing today were Abby McEwen (Edmonton, AB) in 12th and Tiana Gairns (Prince George, BC) in 13th.
Back on the men’s side, in his penultimate World Cup race, Brady Leman (Calgary, AB) finished in eight place and Kris Mahler (Canmore, AB) was 10th, for his third top 10 this season.
The other men on track today were Carson Cook (Edmonton, AB) in 11th, Kevin Drury (Toronto, ON) 14th, Jared Schmidt (Ottawa, ON) 19th, Zach Belczyk (Banff, AB) 24th and Gavin Rowell (Prince George, BC) placed 29th.
Heading into tomorrow’s 2022_23 FIS Ski Cross World Cup Finals at the Craigleith, Canada is positioned to capture its world leading 10th Nations Cup as the worlds leading ski cross nation.