Smith being chased hard in bid for seventh straight World Championships medal

Fanny Smith is chasing an incredible seventh consecutive individual World Championships medal when the Ski Cross World Championships gets underway in St. Moritz this week, but there is a host of stars hoping to end her impressive run.

Swiss legend Smith won gold at Voss-Myrkdalen ahead of Marielle Thompson, who won silver.

Since then, the 32-year-old has not failed to make it onto the podium in any of the subsequent World Championships, winning three consecutive silver medals from 2017 to 2021, and bronze at Kreischberg 2015 and at the most recent champs at Bakuriani 2023.

Smith also leads the women's Overall World Cup after a double win in Craigleith last weekend, but despite her strong form as well as her remarkable World Championships record, she does not feel she holds any advantage.

"No I don't think so," she said. "I mean, it's always something different. Here the course is quite special and I think it will be a lot of interesting things that are going to happen."

The Engadin 2025 course should offer plenty of help to Smith, who will be racing in a home World Championships for the first time in her career.

"It is a course where a lot of passes will happen and it's a course where it's not really technical," said Smith, who was fastest in qualifying.

"If you don't do mistakes or if you are behind and you are lucky with the draft it will make a difference.

"It's a World Championships course that we've never experienced before."

Asked whether the course might suit her strengths, Smith said: "My biggest strength is the start and then we will see because we know here it's not always the best to start in front because the draft is really important.

"There will be a lot of strategy and interesting things. It's quite hard to say 'I'm going to start behind and try to pass after' - it's taking a lot of risk.

"My strategy will be simply to be as fast as I can and to push to the finish."

If Smith is to win a seventh medal this week, she will have to contend with a host of stars looking to win their first. The last four World Championships have been won by either Thompson or Sandra Naeslund, both of whom will miss Friday's race due to injury.

It means Smith is one of only two women in the field to have ever won a medal, with Katrin Ofner making a return from injury and hoping to add to the silver she won at Bakuriani 2023.

There are plenty of women who will be looking to win their first, with India Sherret in the form of her life and Courtney Hoffos and Jole Galli both enjoying successful returns from injury this season. Sherret and Hoffos qualified in the top three behind Smith.

However, there's also a threat closer to home for Smith, as Swiss team-mates Talina Gantenbein and Saskja Lack prepare to make a statement after both returning from injuries suffered this term.

Gantenbein season started with a bang, her fast times in qualifying translating to top-ten finishes in each of the first five races of the season. However, the 26-year-old picked up a concussion when she crashed out of the quarter-finals on day one in Reiteralm in January.

Gantenbein ended up making her return to World Cup skiing in Gudauri three weeks ago, and picked up right where she left off, making the small final on both days in Georgia before narrowly missing out on a podium place by coming fourth on day one in Craigleith. As a result, Gantenbein is coming into Engadin 2025 with plenty of confidence.

"I'm feeling really good again now," Gantenbein said. "I raced the last four races in Georgia and in Canada, my body is feeling good again - my head too - and I'm ready to race again.

"We had a lot of training here the last two years. I think we know the track really well.

"Hopefully I have a good chance this weekend."

Gantenbein feels the course is one that will suit her style, but is mindful that any mistake on home snow could spell the end of her Championships.

"It's for sure a glider course but I think you still have to do clean turns and just have a clean run down," she said.

"A lot is possible on this track. You can also pass a lot if you're doing well, so I think everything can happen on this track."

Lack, meanwhile, suffered a crash of her own in the night race in Arosa on 17 December - exactly five years to the day from when she made her World Cup debut on the same track as a teenager in 2019.

The 24-year-old has not skied competitively since then, but like Gantenbein is feeling content with where she is with her recovery.

"I'm really excited to be at my second World Championships, this time at home," Lack said.

"I had my shoulder injured as well as my hip but it's all good now. We had an intense rehab process but we're back and ready to go."

Lack came fourth on this track in last year's test event, but when asked if that makes her one of the favourites for a medal, she said her time away from competitive skiing would balance out any advantage she may have had.

"It's hard to say I'm the favourite after not racing for three months but I feel very at home here. I love the track and I loved the races last year so I think that puts me out there too.

"It always gives you confidence if you feel like the track suits your abilities but then you still have to perform on qualy day and on race day.

"I feel good but I still have to perform."

Though she may have been coy about her chances for a medal, Lack did not play down the importance of these World Championships to her own personal ambitions.

Asked how often she had been thinking about Engadin 2025, Lack said: "Probably every single day since my crash."

Pressed for how many times a day it played on her mind, she responded: "It must have been more than a hundred."

‘The track looks really fun’

Switzerland's home hopes in the men are Olympic champion Ryan Regez – who has qualified fastest for the race – and Alex Fiva, who won gold at Idre Fjall 2021 after finishing fourth two years earlier.

Fiva has four World Cup podiums to his name this season - including a first-place finish on day two in Val Thorens - and is fifth in the Overall World Cup standings.

The 39-year-old is well suited to this week's track which is flat and favours heavier skiers with good gliding techniques. But he's not the only one who will thrive on the Engadin track.

Erik Mobaerg already has two medals to his name, having won bronze at each of the last two World Championships, and along with his brother David is one of the best jumpers in the game.

"I'm super excited to be back here in St. Moritz," said Erik Mobaerg, who came fifth in qualifying. "It's a really flat and funny course with a lot of features and that's what I like. We can probably do some fast runs here."

"The goal is to be on the podium for sure. It would be really nice to step up a little bit and go for the Championship."

Reece Howden is another who will be looking to bank the good vibes of a strong showing in Craigleith. The Canadian delighted the home crowd with a first-place finish on day one and a podium place on day two, and his strong build is another that is well suited to Friday's course.

Howden won silver with Thompson in the mixed team event last time out, but will be hoping to end the heartbreak of individual finishes of fifth and fourth in the last two World Championships.

"Same as I've been saying all year: one day at a time, one heat at a time, try to be consistent and not make mistakes and rip it up," Howden said of his race plan in Switzerland.

"I still don't have a World Champs win from an individual yet, so obviously that is the goal. I do really like that track in St. Moritz so it can definitely happen.

"Honestly, I just want to focus on skiing the best that I can ski. I'm just going to do the best that I can and hopefully it puts me in the right place."

Simone Deromedis was leading the Overall World Cup heading into Craigleith, but crashed out and picked up an injury that ruled him out of the rest of day one’s racing as well as all of day two.

As a result, the Italian lost ground in the Overall and there were concerns about whether he could bounce back in time for these World Championships. But bounce back he did, with the defending champion recording the third-fastest time in qualifying.

There's also Youri Duplessis Kergomard, who qualified in fourth place. He loves a good opportunity to pass and says St. Moritz offers exactly that.

"I'm super excited," the Frenchman said. "We've been waiting for the World Champs since the beginning of the season. I'm so happy to be here. The track is pretty good with big jumps and a lot of snow and a lot of speed too. It looks really fun.

"I remember last year at the World Cup here I did my record for overtakes. Eight overtakes in four runs."

However, the 28-year-old says he is hoping to not need that skill this week.

"The goal is to start first," he said of his race tactics. "Don't take risks and don't overtake, just stay first!"

The Ski Cross World Championships kicks off with the men's and women's races on Friday 21 March, with the Mixed Team event taking place on Saturday 22 March.