Swiss joy as Smith and Lenherr triumph in Arosa
Dec 17, 2018·Ski Cross
Arosa (SUI) - The first event of the 2018 Cross Alps Tour opened the 2018/19 Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup season in storybook fashion on Monday, as a sprint-style nighttime competition in Arosa (SUI) saw Swiss stars Fanny Smith and Jonas Lenherr claim the season’s first victories in front of their home crowd in a thrilling night of racing.
While an early-season lack of snow in Europe saw the start of the ski cross season delayed due to a pair of cancellations in Val Thorens (FRA) and Montafon (AUT), Monday's season-opener would end up being well worth the wait, with the best of ski cross on display for a primetime audience. With some bold passes, tight racing from the first round of finals to the last, and home soil winners, the Arosa competition was one to remember.
Perhaps no heat better summed up the evening than the ladies’ big final, where four athletes with a dizzying number of crystal globe wins, world championship titles, and Olympic medals to their names lined up to see who would be the best-of-the-best on the evening.
In the big final Marielle Thompson (CAN) jumped out to an early lead, only to be passed by both Sandra Naeslund (SWE) and Smith, with Naeslund then opening a small lead on Smith which she would hold onto through the bottom 2/3 of the course and, seemingly, across the line.
Or not. Upon review, the high-speed finish line camera revealed that Smith, gaining momentum by doubling-up the final roller section, had caught and out-reached last season’s FIS Freestyle overall crystal globe winner Naeslund by a mere finger-length, giving the explosive 26-year-old her 14th career World Cup victory, and her third in Arosa.
“When I crossed the line, the first thing I thought was, ‘That was a fun race,’” Smith laughed from the finish area, “It was ski cross like I like it, with all the girls close together. But I was sure that Sandra was first. Then when I saw the result, it was just like…wow, this is crazy.
“And for Jonas (Lenherr) to win too…I mean, fire from the Swiss team! It’s really special. All summer we’re together and having fun and training, and then to have this result at the first race in Switzerland is awesome.”
With Naeslund taking second place, third went to Thompson, as the Sochi 2014 gold medallist was able out-battle fourth-place finisher Andrea Limbacher (AUT), making a successful return to World Cup competition after missing all of the 2017/18 World Cup season with a knee injury.
Lenherr sends Swiss crowd home happy
While there’s no such thing as a sure-thing in ski cross, Jonas Lenherr certainly had the crowd believing in his potential for a win from the outset of the competition, as the speedy 29-year-old consistently pulled himself out to crucial fast starts on the sprint-style Arosa track, winning heat after heat on his way to the finals.
In the big final, however, it was Sweden’s Victor Oehling Norberg out of the gate the fastest, though that lead would be short lived as Lenherr, on the inside line, dove through the first turn ahead of Oehling Norberg and into the lead.
It wasn’t much of a lead, however, as Lenherr and Oehling Norberg, along with Lenherr’s teammate Alex Fiva and Bastian Midol of France, all entered Arosa’ negative turn essentially sharing one pair of skis, with a crash seemingly inevitable.
Out of the chaos Lenherr was able to stretch the lead out a little more, and he would hold onto it through the finish line for his third career victory. This left Oehling Norberg and Fiva battling shoulder to shoulder through the rest of the course, with Oehling Norberg eventually prevailing for the second-place result, Fiva claiming the third Swiss podium of the night in third place, and Midol left to settle for fourth.
“It’s amazing, just amazing,” Lenherr smiled after the race, “I had good starts and fast skis and at the end of the day I’m on top of the podium. And to share the podium with my good friend Alex (Fiva), making three podiums for the Swiss, I’m so proud of him. It’s a good start to the season.”
Oehling Norberg was also pleased with his result after a difficult 2017/18 that saw the reigning world champion only reach the podium once, at last season’s weather-shortened Arosa event.
“It was a really hard battle out there today,” he said after the awards, “There wasn’t one easy heat. I think maybe in the quarter finals I was leading the whole way, but that’s it. It was a tough day and I’m really happy to be on the podium.”
From Arosa, the shortened 2018 edition of the Cross Alps Tour moves to Innichen/San Candido (ITA) for back-to-back competitions at what is the longest-running stop on the Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup - now entering its 10th year. Competition in Innichen will go down on December 21-22.
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