SX returns to Sunny Valley for the golden crown battle
Feb 21, 2020·Ski Cross
After a break of two weeks due to the unfortunate cancellation of the Feldberg competitions in Germany, we are all set to get back into business, the next Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup action will be sent from Russia with love!
Located in the southern Ural mountain range, right where Europe meets Asia, Russia's Sunny Valley ski resort is one of the newest and most progressive ski resorts in the entire world, with focus on sustainability and a commitment to freestyle skiing that has us at FIS Freestyle truly excited after the resort's debut on the World Cup stage in 2016/17.
On hill, an extensive terrain park and World Cup regulation halfpipe, dedicated ski and snowboard cross piste, aerials and moguls facilities, and a world-class maintenance crew have made Sunny Valley a resort that seems sure to be a World Cup destination for the years to come.
Who will take home the golden crown?
The fight over the golden crown, which is highly anticipated by the athletes, will only be going down in one race this year, but one thing is guaranteed – the Russian course never disappoints and the fight is going to be tight!
Proving to be in an exceptional shape this season, is Sandra Naeslund (SWE) with constantly good performances, making it to the podium almost at every race this year. She also never lost the leader bib, adding valuable World Cup points at each stop, which until now counted up to a total of 810 points.
For sure, Fanny Smith (SUI) will have something against Naeslund taking home the golden crown, as Smith has already two of those sitting on a shelf at home and will aim to add another one to the collection. Especially, since Smith managed to win both races last season, which proves that she definitely likes the Russian course.
The Swiss athletes is currently sitting in second rank of the World Cup standings with a total of 696 points, which is 114 points less than Naeslund.
In theory, Smith is still in for the battle to take the Crystal Globe, since there are still two races left this season and we all know that in ski cross absolutely nothing is predictable.
We cannot forget to add Canadian World Champion Marielle Thompson in the mix for the podium or for the Crystal Globe battle. Thompson won the last competition in Megeve (FRA), making it clear that she is also in really good shape this season, sitting only 37 points behind Smith in third position of the World Cup ranking.
This means that there is a margin of 151 points between Naeslund and Thompson and it is also theoretically still possible for Thompson to grab that first spot in the ranking.
Phelan and Limbacher out for the rest of the season
Unfortunately, at the last competition, we witnessed also two pretty severe season-ending crashes. One of which was Canada’s Olympic silver medallist Brittany Phelan, who suffered a complete tear in her left knee ACL and LCL and a partial tear in her lateral meniscus and several bone contusions.
The other crashed athlete being Austria’s 2015 World Champion Andrea Limbacher, who also tore her ACL in her left knee and suffered from damage on her meniscus. Both athletes already underwent immediate surgeries and started their rehab programmes.
FIS wishes them a speedy recovery and a quick comeback to the circuit!
Kevin Drury seals the deal on first Crystal Globe
At the last World Cup stop in Megeve (FRA) we saw an unstoppable Kevin Drury not only taking the win, but also sealing the deal on his first ever Crystal Globe. With a consistently great performance throughout the season, he made it to a total of 688 points, being 234 points ahead of Ryan Regez (SUI) sitting in second rank.
With only two races remaining, where the highest score for the win are 100 points for each competition, even if Drury would not make any points, he would still have a margin big enough to secure him the Crystal Globe.
We are still curious how his performances will go on these last two competitions. Will he be as unbeatable as until now?
The focus then will rather be on the second and third rank of the World Cup standings. Regez is currently 61 points ahead of Bastien Midol, who holds a total of 393 points. And sitting closely in fourth position is Olympic Champion Brady Leman (CAN) with a total of 378 points. So, there still can be a shift in ranks, depending on the results of the final two competitions.
Sunny Valley title defenders from February 2019: Fanny Smith (SUI) and Bastien Midol (FRA).
Qualifications are set for February 22 and finals for February 23 at 9:00 LOC/ 13:00 CET.
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