Howden wins on home snow in Craigleith to gain ground on Overall leader Deromedis

Reece Howden gave the home support plenty to cheer about as he won on day one at Craigleith after Overall leader Simone Deromedis had crashed out at the quarter-final stage.

Howden had endured a difficult quarter-final himself, coming together with Johannes Rohrweck in a clash that left the Canadian down and seemingly out. However, he showed great resilience to bounce back and haul the Austrian down just before the line to progress to the semi-finals.

The Canadian went on to cross the finish line first in his semi-final, and did the same in the big final ahead of second-place Alex Fiva of Switzerland and Canada's Kevin Drury in third. Germany's Florian Wilmsmann struggled to recover from a poor start to the big final and had to settle for fourth place.

Howden has leapfrogged Wilmsmann in the Overall standings as a result, and after Deromedis took 19 points for his quarter-final finish, Wilmsmann and Howden have both gained ground on the Italian at the top of the Overall.

Deromedis now has 818 points, Howden has 758, and Wilmsmann has 750 with three races of the FIS Ski Cross World Cup to go.

It was Howden's fifth World Cup victory of the season, the most he has managed in one campaign - one better than the four he achieved in 2020/21 to win the Crystal Globe.

"It was tough racing today," Howden said. "I know I was uncomfortable, everybody was uncomfortable. It's so hot. We feel like hockey players right now, our boot bags are going to reek after.

"It was really hot, really hard. I knew everybody was uncomfortable, so I just focussed on doing the best I could. It works out sometimes.

"I got lucky at a time or two, but that's ski cross. I learned from that mistake in the quarter-finals and really tightened it up after that.

"I'm so happy to be able to get a win in front of the friends and family and the rest of Canada. When I came across the line there, I was just relieved."

Fiva showed his commitment to the cause in his semi-final, where he was locked in a battle with David Mobaerg for second place. Mobaerg attempted to pass race leader Howden, and when he lost some speed on landing from an aggressive jump, Fiva was there to pounce and cross the line ahead of the Swede.

"It means a lot that in the semi-final I could pass at the bottom. That was a really tough heat,” Fiva said.

"Reece and Mobaerg were leading and then they battled in the bottom and I was coming in the draft. I made the triple before the final and in the air I had Reece between my legs!

"Then in the final I did a good start but Reece was a little faster. I hoped for a mistake from him but I'm happy with second. It was a tough heat."

For Drury, it was his fourth podium of this term - all of them third-place finishes - as he gave Howden some vocal support for O Canada as well as some physical support for the flag the pair were holding.

"Home crowd podium. I haven't had one out east; only Nakiska before, so this feels extra special. I grew up in Toronto, two hours away, so it's pretty awesome," Drury said.

The Canadian said of the support he had from family and friends: "There's a big group of them. It was pretty incredible coming into the finish line every heat and I could spot them right away. It gave me that extra boost of energy on a hot day. I was just having so much fun."

David Mobaerg won the small final ahead of Tim Hronek, Romain Detraz and Tobias Mueller.

Smith closes gap to Sherret

In the women's section, Switzerland's Fanny Smith was the big winner as she won the big final ahead of France's Marielle Berger Sabbatel, Jole Galli of Italy and Talina Gantenbein of Switzerland.

It was Smith's second victory and eighth podium of the season, dominating the big final from the outset to cross the line first and gain some ground on Overall leader India Sherret, who won the small final to continue her impressively consistent season where she is yet to finish outside the top five.

It was the first time this season that a women's big final has not featured a Canadian in it.

"I'm happy. It's a technical course, it's fast, it's good fun,” Smith said.

“At the start you have a beautiful view of the lake and the volunteers did a great job.

"It was a lovely, lovely day."

On her tactics for a day in which she won all her races in relative comfort, Smith said: "I just focussed on what I had to do and be quick - I know I can do quick starts - and just be one with the slopes, and it worked today."

Sherret remains top of the Overall on 840 points, with Smith 24 points behind her in second. Daniela Maier, who finished between Canadian pair Aby McEwen and Courtney Hoffos to take seventh place on the day, is third on 745 points.

Berger Sabbatel won the last World Cup race in Craigleith in 2023, and was happy to come away with a podium on Friday.

"It's a good day,” the Frenchwoman said. “I like this track and I like the turns. It was a good race and a difficult final.”

Galli, meanwhile, had just one World Cup podium to her name coming into this season, but has now finished in the top three five times this term, with three races of the season still to come.

"It's a comeback season and the best season I ever had, so I'm happy even if today I didn't feel really confident," Galli said. "I don't like this course so much, so it's top to be on the podium again.”

Day two of racing at Craigleith takes place on Saturday 15 March, with the action starting at 16:30 CET.