Mobaerg ahead of new Ski Cross World Cup season: 'No one will put their hands on my Globe'

David Mobaerg launched an unlikely late charge to win last year’s Ski Cross Crystal Globe - and now that he has had a taste of success, he doesn’t want to let it go.

“No one will put their hands on my Globe, it's in a secure place at home. Season 23/24 was mine,” the Swede said ahead of the new FIS Ski Cross World Cup season kicking off at Val Thorens on Thursday 12 December.

Despite good skiing, Mobaerg had been part of the chasing pack for much of last season. He made the podium in Val Thorens on the opening weekend, but did not actually win a race until Bakuriani, the 11th World Cup event of the season. In fact, he was never in the overall lead until the final race of the campaign - fittingly held in Idre Fjall, four hours by car from where he was born.

“Coming to Idre I had just decided the World Cup was mine and that this would be my time to kiss the globe,” Mobaerg says of the final event of 2023/24.

“My girlfriend, family and friends gave support in the finish area and cheered me on during the race weekend. That gave me strength to put down my best skiing through all the heats.

“I will never forget the feeling of being the fastest skier through an entire season and to share the success with near ones that have been with me during my journey.”

For Mobaerg, the ferocious drive to win the Crystal Globe came on the back of narrowly missing out in the previous year, in which he finished second to Reece Howden in the overall.

“To have just lost the battle of the Globe in season 22/23 in the very end and take second place was tough,” the Swede said.

“The mind was already set for next season, the time I've put in training and preparation to take the globe was huge.”

And that is where Howden finds himself today.

The Canadian had set the early tone for much of last season along with compatriot Jared Schmidt, but was unable to keep that pace as he eventually finished last season a mere 59 points behind Mobaerg.

Because of just how close that was, the same steeliness that propelled Mobaerg last season is evident in Howden today. Asked where his focus has been in the off-season, the Canadian simply says: “Consistent time in the gym and pursuing some dreams that I have been thinking about for a long time.”

Switzerland’s Alex Fiva and Florian Wilmsmann of Germany were also in the mix right until the end of an incredibly competitive season. Fiva finished third, while Wilmsmann was fourth - ending the campaign less than 150 points behind Mobaerg.

And now, ahead of the three 2024 races of the season which sees Arosa and Innichen follow Val Thorens, Fiva says he is excited to get back on the snow in a competitive guise.

“Form is always hard to say because training and racing in ski cross is completely different,” Fiva said. “Normally I’m really slow in training and then when the race shows up it can kind of boost me a little bit.

“We’ll see. I feel good and I’m looking forward to the races - that’s the most important thing.”

In January and February next year, the World Cup journey starts in Reiteralm in Austria before Fiva’s home race in Verysonnaz is bookended by two Italian stops in Alleghe and Val di Fassa.

It was in Reiteralm last season - the third-last stop of that tour - that Wilmsmann lost pace in the overall after finishes of fifth and sixth over the weekend.

“I think I had my chances at Reiteralm where I missed the big final twice, where I should have made the big step for the Crystal Globe in my opinion,” the German reflects.

We then head into March, where Gudauri in Georgia is followed by Craigleith in Canada. Idre Fjall once again plays host to the final weekend, where Mobaerg will be hoping to once again lift the coveted Crystal Globe.

“I have been doing my best this summer with improving my physical ability,” Mobaerg said.

“I am stronger than ever and felt the speed during pre season skiing. I no longer have any mental block, I have won races and I have taken the Crystal Globe.

“The steps I have taken to get even more stable and confident will make me a strong contender for the Crystal Globe more than one time.

“I have done it once, I can do it twice.”

‘We will have a good battle’

The women’s Crystal Globe also came down to the final stop of the tour last season, where Marielle Thompson held her nerve to win in Idre Fjall and finish ahead of Marielle Berger Sabbatel, who finished second.

Berger Sabbatel says: “I saw it was possible to win the Crystal Globe and it was close last season. So for sure I want to win it this year. More or less than last year? I don’t know, at least the same level.

“Maybe a little bit more because I saw it was possible. I will give my best to try to get it and I’m sure we will have a good battle to win it.”

Like Mobaerg, Thompson did not fly out the blocks at the beginning of last season. It was not until the eighth race of the season that she stood on top of the podium, but from there she kicked on to claim her fourth Crystal Globe.

“The key to keeping strong until the very end of the season is just focussing on the little things race to race and keeping it simple,” Thompson says of what she has learned from the experience.

“I know that for me, whether it’s a good or a bad race I put it behind me, try to learn from it and continue on to the next.”

While Thompson and Berger Sabbatel were doing battle on the snow, several skiers in the women’s section were battling injuries. Sandra Naeslund, for so long a dominant force in the sport, missed the majority of the season with a knee injury she picked up in Nakiska in January.

“I always follow the results and the races but I probably didn’t watch any race sitting at the TV. It was too tough,” Naeslund says of her time spent on the sidelines.

“It was really tough to not be able to not finish the season and to see the others ski. All I wanted to do was ski, to race.

“It’s tough to be on the side but you have to look forward and try to make the best of it.”

Another to suffer was Daniela Maier, who picked up an injury in training over the festive period, having not long before that ended Naeslund’s Val Thorens dominance by winning the second race of the season.

It was the first World Cup win of Maier’s career, and therefore it’s an exciting prospect for the German to be throwing the competitive skis back on in that same venue when the World Cup kicks off next Thursday.

“Val Thorens is a track that I really like - it’s twice as important for me because it’s a track I love and the first race,” she said.

“I’m excited about my form if I’m honest. It’s been a little bit of a rollercoaster; I had really good training days where I was fast, but in some cases in the same camps I had bad days, or not-good days.

“But I think that when I am wearing the start bib again and I’m on snow, I can do my routines and then I’m back and hopefully I am in good shape. I am really excited to be back at the races and have fun.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by Naeslund: “For me, the biggest goal of the season is the overall of the World Cup. Even though the world champs of course I want to fight for medals there but I want at the end of the season I want to be at the top. I hope to fight for the globe in Indre.

“So of course it will be important already in the first race at Val Thorens to get some points and hopefully some podiums and some good races right away.

“I would say that I’m in pretty good shape. The skiing has been feeling good and it feels like the speed is there. Sometimes I feel like I still have stuff to improve, but I feel pretty good, and most importantly I am really excited and ready to get back to racing.

“I’m really looking forward to starting the season.”