New all-time record for Naeslund and maiden win for Graf
Dec 09, 2022·Ski Cross
On Friday morning no one expected that there would be a race really. It was snowing heavily beginning in the early morning hours and didn’t stop until the training for the planned starting time of the competition.
The organisers tried their best to prepare the course and clean out the snow, but the snowfall was too heavy, so the skiers couldn’t see anything while skiing down the course so the Jury together with TV decided to postpone the race to 14:00 CET. At that time, the weather forecast predicted only slight snowfall.
Gladly, mother nature was on our side and the weather was good enough to start the race on time at 14:00 CET.
Naeslund writing history with most victories ever in Ski Cross
Like yesterday, Sandra Naeslund was standing in the big final after winning all 3 runs before. It were Daniela Maier (GER), Hannah Schmidt (CAN) and India Sherret (CAN) standing next to Naeslund in the start gates for the big final today.
Naeslund was not only the favorite in this heat but also the one with the fastest reaction time. In the start section she got followed by the two Canadians Schmidt and Sherret and Maier in fourth. The Germans had fast skies on Friday and so Maier managed to overtake Sherret already before the first jump. Naeslund, who was already 45 seconds in front of her chasers was racing in a league of her own the whole course. It was Schmidt and Maier who were fighting skies-by-skies all the way down into the finish for the second place and in the end the four crossed the finish line as Naeslund in first, Schmidt in second, Maier in third and Sherret in fourth.
By winning her 30th World Cup today, the only 26-year-old Naeslund wrote Ski Cross history on Friday in Val Thorens. She is now the most successful Ski Cross athlete of all time among men and women.
Maiden win for Graf
Matthias Graf (AUT) who already showed some good racing on Thursday and getting fourth in his first Ski Cross World Cup race went into the start gate for the big final together with Marc Bischofberger (SUI), Youri Duplessis Kergomard (FRA) and Florian Wilmsmann (GER).
Graf who had the fastest reaction time was leading the heat into the start section followed by Bischofberger and Wilmsmann and Duplessis Kergomard in fourth position. Duplessis Kergomard managed to get next to Wilmsmann and Bischofberger and so the three went into the first negative turn head-to-head. It was Duplessis Kergomard who skied the negative the best and so he was the one following Graf the rest of the course. Wilmsmann and Bischofberger were fighting for place three until the point where Wilmsmann missed one gate and so was out of the race. So, in the end, it was Matthias Graf crossing the line first, followed by Youri Duplessis Kergomard, Marc Bischofberger in third place and Florian Wilmasmann in fourth position.
It was only the second Ski Cross World Cup of the 26-year-old Graf which he already won. Let’s see what we can expect from the Austrian newcomer this season.
New World Cup leaders: Sandra Naeslund (SWE) and Matthias Graf (AUT)
Let’s pack our bags and we will see you in Arosa for the night race from 11 – 12 December.
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