Deromedis dominates, Thompson takes third straight win in Bakuriani

The sun came shining through once again on the slopes of Bakuriani and it was another sunny finish for Marielle Thompson (CAN). The Canadian rider extends her lead for the FIS Ski Cross World Cup crystal globe by sweeping the weekend’s races in Georgia.

It was a depleted field on the men’s side after challenging conditions in the qualifying session. Three of the top four in the overall standings coming into Sunday did not qualify. It was Simone Deromedis (ITA) who came out on top after suffering a nasty fall in Saturday’s race.

“It feels amazing because yesterday I had quite a big one, I crashed in the corner. I hit everything on my left body and my knee. Everything was hurting but now it’s okay. The pain went away after the win today,” Deromedis said.

Deromedis dominated each race. He won the big final by a comfortable margin. So, what was the key?

“Maybe painkillers, I don’t know,” Deromedis said. “I was really angry because yesterday I was feeling good and then this crash happened. In ski cross, that happens. I wasn’t even sure I could start today, so I was happy I could start. So, I was like I have to come from an injury to win here like last year.”

He won the world championships at the same site last season. It is the second win of the season for the 23-year-old who also won in St. Moritz in January.

Deromedis held off David Mobaerg (SWE) who followed up his win on Saturday with a second place. The Swede connected well with the course this weekend.

“I like this course. It has a lot of elements and you have to be dynamic. You can’t do a lot of mistakes. It is a complete course with all the turns and features,” Mobaerg said.

The win gives him eight career World Cup victories and 12 podiums, with four coming this season.

Tobias Baur (SUI) rounded out the podium. It is his first podium finish since 2022.

“It feels amazing. I had such a bad last year. It is unbelievable at the moment, I have no words,” Baur said. “I have no idea what changed, My start was pretty good and it all ended good.”

Alex Fiva (SUI) was eliminated in the quarterfinals but takes advantage of the other leaders not qualifying and moves into first in the overall standings. He holds a one-point lead over Reece Howden (CAN).

Bring out the brooms

For Thompson it was more of the same as she made it three wins in a row, and four of the last five. She sweeps the weekend’s two races and moves to 29 career World Cup wins. The Olympic champion has the third-most wins of any female racer in World Cup history.

“I keep it simple. All those girls in the final have really fast starts so I just had to do my best and it worked out today,” Thompson said.

Thompson cruised past the field without a sweat to coast towards the finish line. Her prowess and speed were inevitable in each round throughout the day.

“I feel like my skiing is in a really good place right now. I am looking forward to the rest of the season, going into it with fast skiing and a lot of confidence. This place is beautiful, I know last year I finished fourth in the World Championships, so this feels like redemption,” Thompson said.

She now holds an 82-point lead in the chase for the crystal globe with seven races to go. Chasing her in second is Marielle Berger Sabbatel (FRA), who also finished second on Sunday.

Sabbatel has made eleven of twelve big finals this season. It is her eighth podium of the season and 23nd of her career. She is still hungry for the first victory of the year.

“One more podium, I am very happy with that. It was a good race. Marielle was better, she deserved the win,” Sabbatel said. “I had a little mistake in the start but, not big enough to not stay on the podium.”

Talina Gantenbein (SUI) improved one spot from Saturday to reach the podium in third on Sunday. It is the second podium of the season for the young Swiss rider and fourth career top-three finish.

“I am just happy that I made it today. This morning, I felt a lot of pain, my whole body was hurting, but I had a good physio and doctor before the start so I was able to do a good race,” Gantenbein said.

India Sherret (CAN) suffered a fall in the big final and settled for fourth.

Big names like Hannah Schmidt (CAN), Fanny Smith (SUI) and Sandra Naeslund (SWE) were all out with injuries. All three could return when the World Cup tour resumes with two races in Reiteralm, Austria on February 24 and 25.

The men’s tour will also enjoy the break before returning to race action in Reiteralm on the same dates. For some riders the time off, is much needed. Women’s overall leader Thompson said she will be doing one thing when asked her focus over the break.

“A whole lot of nothing.”