Howden wins ski cross World Cup gold, Hoffos takes silver

Canada secured two podium finishes at the penultimate stop of the FIS Ski Cross World Cup season on Saturday in Idre Fjäll, Sweden.

On the 10th anniversary of ski cross racing at Idre Fjäll, Reece Howden clinched the gold in the men’s big final. He marks his sixth gold medal of the season and 17th of his career. With this victory, Howden extends his lead in the overall season standings, holding 938 points heading into tomorrow’s final race of the season.

Italy’s Simone Deromedis and Sweden’s Erik Mobaerg won the silver and bronze medals, respectively. Deromedis (905 points) is in second place, trailing by just 33 points.

On the women’s side, Courtney Hoffos earned a hard-fought silver medal, finishing just behind Germany’s Daniela Maier, who claimed gold. Switzerland’s Fanny Smith took home the bronze and sealed her victory in the overall World Cup standings, securing the coveted Crystal Globe.

For Hoffos, this marks her fourth World Cup podium of the season to go along with a silver medal from last week’s World Championships. After missing the first two races of the season as she returned from injury, Hoffos’ results have steadily improved, with all four podiums coming in the last two months. 

“It was super tight racing today, especially in the big final,” said a smiling Hoffos. “There was a lot of overtaking, and everyone was racing in a tight group. I had a moment where I saw no one in front of me and I thought that there might be a win but had to settle for second. Fired up for second place and excited to go again tomorrow.”

Abby McEwen, the only other Canadian woman racing in today’s event, finished in 13th place overall. On the men’s side, Nicholas Katrusiak was 16th, Kevin Drury 18th, and Kaleb Barnum, competing in his first World Cup race, wrapped up his debut in 30th place.