Galli overcomes life struggles and tough conditions on home snow to claim first World Cup win

Jole Galli (ITA) delighted the home fans who braved difficult weather in Val di Fassa, Italy to claim the first ever FIS Ski Cross World Cup victory on Sunday.

It was the third podium of the 29-year-old’s career and second of the season, and she did it the hard way, overcoming a storming start from Fanny Smith (SUI) in the Big Final with a combination of daring jumps and clever slipstreaming on a day when many of the favourites fell by the wayside.

World Cup leader Marielle Thompson (CAN) and third-placed Daniela Maier (GER) failed to make it past the quarter-finals while second-place India Sherret (CAN) could only reach the Small Final.

Thompson had dominated to take victory on Saturday but these were very different conditions, with heavy overnight snow meaning it was easy to lose momentum as an already flat course became even slower.

This made for exciting racing, though, as Galli held off a late challenge from Marielle Berger Sabbatel (FRA) to take her maiden win.

“The truth is, I didn’t even know if I could start [the race] because of back pain so I’m really happy to race at home, even if today was not a great day [weather wise] to be honest,” Galli said. “It’s just crazy, I still have to realize what is going on. For sure, I’m super happy and everybody is here for me, and it’s great.

“I knew I was fast in the last part so [the tactics were] to keep going, keep pushing and I knew I could reach the others in front of me and yeah, I did it.

“There were some tears of relief because at this stage, I’ve struggled a lot, I’ve struggled in life but maybe I need something to escape from my mind, and this is it.

“For sure, the world champs are in my mind. We will see what this season will bring but for sure we keep going.”

A second silver medal in as many days made it 30 World Cup podiums for Berger Sabbatel. The 35-year-old said: “It’s great to have one more podium. It was not easy but I’m happy with the result. It was a good race, still a lot of passes.”

For three-time Crystal Globe champion Smith, it was a 79th World Cup podium. “I had a really good start, but on a flat slope like this, they were just coming behind and passing me. I could feel that today my stamina was not at its best.”

Sherret made up for missing out on the Big Final for just the second time this season to win the Small Final and move within 20 points of Thompson in the race for the Crystal Globe.

Howden wins ‘wild’ men’s event to move into World Cup contention

Two-time Crystal Globe champion Reece Howden moved back into contention for a third title with his third victory of the season.

With World Cup leader Florian Wilmsmann (GER) failing to make the Big Final and fellow contender Youri Duplessis Kergomard (FRA) not even qualifying for Sunday’s finals, Simone Deromedis (ITA) had the most to gain, having missed out on Saturday’s Big Final.

And the home hope, who is from nearby Trento, made the fastest start in the final. But Howden and Olympic champion Ryan Regez (SUI) were never far behind.

It was the Canadian who found speed on the middle part of the course, moving into the lead before the tricky left-hand corner than leads into the finishing stretch, holding off Deromedis and Regez for the 14^th win of his World Cup career.

“That sounds pretty good but I’d like to keep it rolling,” Howden, 26, said. “There have been a lot of days where I thought I was going to win but it hasn’t worked out, so I’m happy to be coming away with a win.

“Everybody’s skiing really fast and the level of competition is really high so it’s not good enough to not be in the top eight, so you’ve got to stay there and really maximize those Big Finals. A lot of races left and we’re still a couple of wins away from where I need to be, so we’re going to try and chase those down.

“Today’s racing was wild. I don’t know if I’ve ever experienced a ski cross track like this. There’s just so much opportunity [to pass] and I was skiing really fast today. It didn’t matter if I was a little way back out of the start or made a mistake, there was always time to get in the draft [slipstream] and make some moves. I didn’t have much of a gameplan other than just race. I think that’s a good mentality to have.

“Huge thanks to the team and all the volunteers who make this race happen. It’s far away from ideal conditions but they did a great job… rock on.

“We’re going home for two weeks now, it’s gonna be awesome.”

Deromedis’ second place moves him 19 points ahead of Wilmsmann in the Overall standings with Howden in third, a further 78 points back.

“Being on the podium at home is better than a victory,” Deromedis said. “Especially here, a lot of my friends came, it was amazing. To see all the Italian flags at the finish line was the best feeling ever.

“The golden bib [for the World Cup leader] is not bringing me the best luck. Every time I have it, I lose it. I’ll try to do my best.”

A resurgent Regez (SUI), who won on Saturday after three years without a podium, was happy to be back in the top three. “The dream would have been two victories,” he said. “It’s funny, I’ve been struggling so long and now I’m just hungry for victories. I had a bit of contract with Simone [Deromedis] there before the big jump, and Reece [Howden] came past us, but honestly, third place is alright, it’s a great weekend for me.

“Everything’s heading in the right direction, and it’s another six weeks to go until the world championships on home snow.”

The FIS Ski Cross World Cup continues in Gudauri, Georgia, starting with the first qualifying run on 26 February