Ricker rebounds in a big way
Olympic gold medallist bounces back from injuries to capture victory in Quebec
Olympic gold medallist Maëlle Ricker bounced back from injury to win a snowboardcross event in Quebec, ending a two- year drought for the North Vancouver native.
A broken hand and an injured shoulder can be blamed for 2010 Olympic snowboardcross gold medallist Maëlle Ricker’s two- year victory drought on the World Cup circuit.
The nerve damage in the shoulder is still an issue, but the North Vancouver native thinks she finally got that elusive win Tuesday by fixing the long gap between guilty pleasures.
“I just love the smoked meat and the poutine here,” giggled Ricker, an hour after capturing her first World Cup win since her last visit to Stoneham Mountain, just outside Quebec City, in 2010.
“It’s actually quite a relief, to be honest. It took a lot longer to get going than I expected. I’m pretty impatient and the whole recovery process was getting very frustrating. But it’s been coming along slowly all year and I’ve been feeling better every time I’ve put my feet on the board.”
Ricker, 33, was a two- time Crystal Globe winner as the World Cup snowboardcross points leader when she won her 14th World Cup at Stoneham on Jan. 21, 2010. A month after that, she captured Olympic gold at Cypress.
But it was three seconds and two thirds in her next five World Cups before she crashed hard in the final of the world championships in La Molina, Spain, in January 2011. She missed the rest of the 20102011 season, then started this season with three fifths and a third at Blue Mountain outside Collingwood, Ont., on Feb. 8.
At Stoneham, she was the fastest qualifier on Monday, then finished third in Tuesday’s six- rider quarter- final, with the top three advancing. She was first out of the gate in both the semifinal and the final, however, and hung on for the win.
“I was slow in my quarterfinal, I wasn’t attacking the course and missed some really key points at the top. I had a talk with myself — ‘ I’ve got to pull up my socks’ — and I put myself in a strong mindset for the semifinal and the final.
“In the final, near the bottom, I almost lost it on the jump before the last corner, got a bit out of control, but managed to get my feet under me.”
Nelly Loccoz- Moenne and Deborah Anthonioz, both of France, were second and third, with Michelle Brodeur of Canmore, Alta., a career- best fourth in a finish Ricker said was “very exciting” for the team’s young up- and- comers. World Cup points leader Dominique Maltais, of Montreal, was seventh.
Ricker said the damaged nerve in her shoulder is still “re- connecting ... but it’s not quite there yet. I’m working hard in the gym trying to build the muscle back up. It’s frustrating because if affects my starts, which is something I’ve not had a problem with in the past. It’s been a whole new challenge this year, sort of relearning how to start.”
Ricker and the rest of the Canadian squad is off to Russia today for a second- tier Europa Cup event on the hill that will be used for the Sochi 2014 Olympics.
“I haven’t heard anything about it, I’m going in blind,” said Ricker. “It’s going to be a big surprise … but it’s important to get in there and get your head wrapped around what the terrain and the snow are like.”
Pierre Vaultier, of France, won the men’s race Tuesday. Rob of Fagan of Squamish was 17th and Kevin Hill of Vernon 35th.