Canada boasts bevy of elite skicross racers
Olympic team features some of world’s fastest athletes in unpredictable sport
Canadian skicross racers don’t need to look far if they want to see how they measure up against the best in the world.
Really, all they need to do is look at their teammates.
There were eight Canadian athletes standing onstage at the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame for the official team announcement unveiling the 2018 Olympic roster, and every one of them can rightfully claim to be one of the best skicross racers in the world.
“When our team is clicking, there’s always going to be someone going faster than anyone else in the world,” said Team Canada head coach Stanley Hayer. “There’s always someone to compare to, who helps push the envelope a little bit and helps you realize what’s possible on a track or what’s possible in the gym.”
The depth of talent at Canada’s disposal for the skicross events at the Pyeongchang Olympics next month is, frankly, a little ridiculous.
On the women’s side, the team boasts 2014 Olympic silver medallist Kelsey Serwa and gold medallist Marielle Thompson.
The four-woman team is rounded out by Brittany Phelan, a former Olympic alpine skier who has proven she’s a quick learner in skicross — earning her first World Cup podium last month — as well as India Sherret, who has shot up the ranks over the past year and won her first World Cup bronze Jan. 13.
It’s a killer lineup of talent on a team where the level of internal competition has pushed each skier to get faster, stronger and hungrier on the skicross course.
The one looming question for the Canadian team will continue to be Thompson’s health, especially with Georgia Simmerling — Canada’s top-ranked racer this season — breaking bones in both her legs in a horrific crash in a World Cup race at Nakiska this past weekend.
Thompson ruptured her ACL and MCL during training in October and hasn’t raced on the World Cup circuit this season, but if she’s healthy her experience will have her among the favourites.
Fortunately, the women’s skicross races aren’t scheduled to go until Feb. 23, which is the thirdto-last day of competition at the Olympics.
“I’m taking everything one step at a time,” Thompson said. “I’ve got a great team behind me and I’m doing everything I can to make sure my knee is ready.”
On the men’s side, the Canadian team is headlined by two men who fully understand what it takes to land on an Olympic podium — mostly because they’ve finished fourth.
In 2010 in Vancouver, it was Chris Del Bosco finishing just off the podium at the first men’s Olympic skicross race.
Four years later, Calgary’s Brady Leman found himself in the same position.
They’ll be joined on the team by David Duncan of London, Ont., and Kevin Drury of Toronto, and while World Cup podiums have been hard to come by this season for the group, they each insist that’s not reflective of the team’s potential.
“We’ve always had some of the fastest guys in the world to ski with, so we know where we’re at,” Del Bosco said.
“We haven’t had the success on the men’s side this season, but it doesn’t show how we’ll we’re skiing.
“We’re ready to race every day, there’s just a lot of variables in this sport that are out of your control.”
When our team is clicking, there’s always going to be someone going faster than anyone else in the world.