Galli wins on day two in Gudauri as women's Overall gets squeezed at the top

Jole Galli won on day two of the FIS Ski Cross World Cup in Gudauri on Saturday as the women's Overall became even more congested at the top.

Italy's Galli had come second behind Fanny Smith on day one of racing after the pair contested a fierce big final, with Galli trying continuously without success to get past the Swiss skier. Saturday was different, though, as Galli once again employed her tactic of staying within touching distance of the leaders in the big final before making her move, and this time it worked.

Galli was in third place going into the second half of the race, then timed an overtake just before the big negative turn to take a lead she would not relinquish, finishing ahead of Smith in second and Canada's Courtney Hoffos in third.

"I just tried to push as much as possible in the start, even if I'm slow and I know it," Galli said.

"The skis today were really, really fast. My moves were yesterday where I lost the race. (Smith) tried (to pass me) but this time I was ready."

It is a second World Cup victory for Galli, who won on home snow in Val di Fassa earlier in the season.

"Crazy," she said. "Luckily we will stay in Georgia one more day, so I will have time to celebrate."

Marielle Berger Sabbatel of France finished fourth in the big final, while Canada's India Sherret won the small final to ensure she keeps up her incredible record of not finishing outside the top five in the 13 races we've had so far this season.

Sherret finished ahead of French pair Jade Grillet Aubert and Mylene Ballet Baz, with Switzerland’s Talina Gantenbein taking eighth place.

Marielle Thompson was once again absent after picking up an injury in training on Friday morning and that, coupled with the podiums of the two days of Georgia, means that things are now really tight at the top of the women's Overall.

Sherret leads on 795 points, with Thompson in second on 744. Smith lies third with 716 points, and Germany's Daniela Maier - who went out in the quarter-final stage in Saturday’s race - is fourth with 709 points. Galli is still in touching distance in fifth with 671 points, meaning there are just 124 points separating the top five athletes in what has been an exciting season of racing.

For Smith, her win on day one had come despite fighting illness, and she was delighted with her overall performances in Georgia.

"I feel way better today than yesterday," she said. "I am really happy with the win and second place."

Meanwhile, it was a second podium of the season for Hoffos, who has continued her impressive return to racing on the World Cup circuit.

"It feels awesome, I was really enjoying the track here today," she said.

"The competition was very fierce, the other girls were skiing awesome, so it was fun to feel like we were really battling out there."

'I wanted to make him work for it'

Reece Howden of Canada won the men's section ahead of Florian Wilmsmann of Germany in second and Italy's Simone Deromedis in third.

It was the first time this season that the three were on the podium together, but it showed the longevity and consistency required to be in the mix at the end of the season as the trio currently make up the top three of the men's Overall.

Unlike Galli, Howden started the big final in typically quick fashion, powering his way into an early lead which he maintained throughout. There was a big battle for second between Wilmsmann and Deromedis, with the German ultimately coming out on top after taking a good line into the negative turn. Switzerland's Ryan Regez threatened to do the same from the back, but couldn't quite hold the line and had to settle for fourth place.

"You know, I could kind of feel myself getting a little tired there in the semi-final, so I knew I had to up the intensity a bit for the big final," Howden said.

"I was really late on the line. It was not what I would say was super perfect; it was fast but a little choppy.

“I just tried to put all my energy into the snow and empty the tank, and I think that's what I did."

The 100 points were crucial for Howden, whose challenge for the Crystal Globe took a blow when he exited proceedings at the quarter-final stage on Friday, while Wilmsmann had not even qualified for day one’s racing.

After two days of races, Deromedis remains top of the Overall on 799 points, with Wilmsmann 99 points behind him in second and Howden trailing the Italian by 121 points ahead of the last four races of the season.

"It was really important, Simone is skiing really fast and really consistent," Howden said of his victory. "I wanted to make him have to work for it today and I'm happy that I did.

"I'm really stoked. I was not happy with myself yesterday, I know that I had more to offer. That happens with ski cross of course, but it doesn't make it any easier.

"Today I wanted to really lay it down and prove to myself and prove to everybody else that I've still got it. It felt really good.”

Wilmsmann cut a relieved figure in the finish area after being forced to watch on from the sidelines on Friday as Deromedis had stretched his lead at the top of the Overall by winning day one's big final without anyone else in the top six to stop him.

"It's great because yesterday missing out on the race and also seeing Deromedis winning the race, there was a lot of pressure on this race today to perform well,” Wilmsmann said.

While the chasing pack made up ground on him, Deromedis was pleased to leave Georgia with two top-three finishes.

"Double podium, I couldn't ask for anything better," he said. "Today for sure I felt yesterday's race, I was a bit tired but I could keep up until the big final so I'm super happy about that."

Deromedis knows that if he doesn't maintain his consistency in the final four races, his opponents will be there to bite more chunks out of his lead.

"I have a bit of a gap but in ski cross it's super easy to close such a gap because just one mistake and you lose a lot of points," he said.

For their part, the chasing pack is keen to remind Deromedis that they’re still on his heels.

"It was a sign to Deromedis that it's not over yet, there are four more races. And Reece as well, we are still hot to chase him," Wilmsmann said of his second-place finish.

Howden added: "Being in that big final, Simone has been skiing really fast and I didn't want to give it to him easy. I knew that if I did, I would be upset, but everyone else would be not happy with me as well. Somebody's got to push that guy!"

The next stop on the FIS Ski Cross World Cup tour sees the athletes head to Craigleith in Canada on the 14th and 15th of March.