Phelan sets sights on overall after maiden World Cup win

Brittany Phelan says she has more "big goals to achieve" after winning her first FIS Ski Cross World Cup race in Reiteralm almost two weeks ago.

Phelan had been racing in alpine and ski cross for 16 years before finally cracking the code to win a maiden World Cup race, beating this season's queen of consistency Marielle Berger Sabbatel as well as Swiss pair Talina Gantenbein and Margaux Dumont in the big final in Austria at the end of February.

The result came on the back of 16 World Cup podiums over the years, with two agonising second-place finishes in the three races that preceded Reiteralm. On the day, Phelan raced near perfectly in the big final to be first across the finish line where she was mobbed by her jubilant Canadian teammates.

"I think when you're second so many times you kind of question as to whether you know how to win," she says. "I certainly have won Nor-Ams and Europa Cups and stuff like that before, but yeah, to cross the line in a World Cup with no one in front of me and just having stuck to the plan all day was pretty cool."

On being swarmed by her teammates at the bottom of the hill, Phelan said: "I've got such a good relationship and friendships with everyone on my team, and I think they see me working. I mean, we all work hard but putting in the work day after day and yeah, I'm 32 years old and been racing World Cup between alpine and ski cross for a long time. I think they were just happy for seeing that kind of relentless pursuit all come together."

It was not only her Canadian teammates and friends who were at the finish line. Phelan's parents had made the trip over to Europe to watch their daughter race, and were able to share the victory with her in Reiteralm. The Canadian says her mother and father have always been supportive, even when things haven't gone her way. "You know parents," she says with a laugh. "They're always telling you that you're the best racer in the race."

"They were at the Olympics when I got my medal and they've been around for some of my best races and obviously some disastrous races too," she adds.

"It was cool for my parents to be there to witness me get that success, and to be able to see it in real life, because TV is one thing but to be on the side and to be able to give them a hug in the finish - it was pretty special for sure."

Though the result came as a relief for Phelan, it did not come as a surprise. Having won that Olympic silver medal at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, she knew she was capable of stepping up when it counted in the big moments.

"I was always confident that I had all the tools I needed to make it happen, to just keep being patient and keep putting myself in a place where I was ready to capitalise when the opportunity was there," she says.

The 32-year-old’s relaxed attitude towards the final outcome of a race comes from knowing she leaves no stone unturned when it comes to her preparation - "Whatever you're not doing, someone else is doing".

"My thing has always been to relentlessly work hard," Phelan adds. "That allows me to sleep well at night no matter what, knowing that I did my best I could with what I had that day. I've always been like that since I was really young.

"There's certain quantitative performance points you can hit, controllables if you will. That's always been one that seems like a controllable, and then you can kind of be at peace, whether you have a good or a bad race knowing that you did 100 per cent of what you could to be prepared for that moment.

"Ski cross is crazy. You can be skiing the best ever and something happens or you have contact with an athlete and your day is over. You didn't necessarily do anything wrong, or there was lack of preparation, that's just what the sport is.

“Just being in the start gate at every single race, I can be at peace knowing that I've put the hard work in and I've done everything I could to be prepared for that moment. That alleviates some pressure or doubts."

Which was the case in Reiteralm, a course she felt suited her. After those two second-place finishes in the build-up to winning her first World Cup big final, Phelan says the temptation can be to play safe rather than chase the win.

"I think when you start getting on the podium, you just want to be in the top three, you don't want to come down in fourth and be off the podium,” she says. “Maybe you don't allow yourself to go for that win because you're scared that if you go for the win then you might make a mistake and end up fourth or something.

"To me that day, it was just - this is what I worked for and I don't want to settle for second, I want to take my chance and go for gold and if I mess up and I end up fourth that's fine. That's what I'm aiming for now.

"I've had four or five podiums this year, and a bunch of World Cup podiums, and there was really nothing to lose.”

With that first win secured, Phelan is far from satisfied. This season’s race for the overall appears to be a straight shootout between Marielle Thompson and Berger Sabbatel, who are on 832 and 810 points respectively.

Phelan is in third place on 694 points, so though she is not out of it yet, it’s a deficit would take some overhauling. However, that fact certainly hasn’t stopped her from dreaming of doing the business in the next three races, and even if she doesn’t, she’ll be ready to give it everything next season to chase after that elusive Crystal Globe.

"I definitely feel like that's the level that I want to get to,” she said of the consist victories required to win the Crytal Globe. “Whether I can make that happen this year or that's better preparation during the summer, further skill development on snow leading into the next couple of years.

"I'm just going to focus on each race individually and try to do the best I can with each run there. At the end of the season, where that puts me in the overall, that's cool.

"That's definitely that's one of my biggest goals is to win the overall. It's looking pretty tight for this year but I'm committed to at least another couple years of racing here.

“I have some big goals to achieve, and it's always having those big goals, but focusing on what I can do daily and each race to make that happen.

“Ski cross is a crazy sport and I really enjoy it and I love putting the puzzle all together.”