Val Thorens ready for back-to-back SX action

Dec 18, 2020·Ski Cross

After two amazingly successful night time competitions in Arosa, Switzerland, ski cross teams drove about 600 kilometres southwest and arrived at Europe’s highest ski resort, which is located in the French Alps, in Val Thorens.

Although, the schedule is a little bit tight, athletes agreed that they are happy and thankful to be racing at all. With one training day on Friday and back-to-back competitions on Saturday and Sunday, it means to get all the energy together and focus on the races for the probably most technical course on the circuit.

After the two competitions in Arosa, one can definitely say that some new faces found their way to the podium. Overall, we saw a very strong Swedish team. With two Swedish maiden wins on Tuesday with Alexandra Edebo and David Mobaerg, it was great to say that the next generation of ski cross stars is ready to go full send. Another Swedish team on the men’s side on race day number two underlined the power of the Swedish performances.

Who to look out for on the women’s side

Australian ski cross veteran Sami Kennedy-Sim made a big entrance into the World Cup kick-off by winning the first quali in Arosa and also claiming third place on the first of two competitions in Arosa. On the following day, Kennedy-Sim managed to get into the small final and claim 6th place, which secured her the third position in the overall standings.
Unfortunately, the Australian crashed in Friday’s training and suffered from an injury, therefore she will not be able to compete here in Val Thorens. We wish her a quick recovery!

With two podium spots, one second place and the win on the next day, Swiss ski cross ace Fanny Smith holds now the leader bib on the women’s side. Smith proved that she is in a good shape and motivated to continue where she left off last season.
With three podium spots (two victories and one second place) in Val Thorens, one can expect Smith to be in the strong field for the upcoming races this weekend.

Edebo’s win on the first day in Arosa and her 7th place on the second one, secured her the second rank in the World Cup standings. With the motivational boost from Arosa, Edebo will certainly be attacking in Val Thorens as well.

Absolutely no stranger to the top spot of the podium in Val Thorens is Canada’s Marielle Thompson, who won four times at the French resort, which is the record for most wins of a female athlete at this venue.
Making it to second place in Arosa, she made a statement to be back again this season for a podium battle.

We cannot forget to mention Alizee Baron (FRA), who made a super strong comeback after an injury-caused time-out last season. Making it into the big final on both Arosa competition days, it is clear that her one and only goal is to get back on that podium. Racing at home in France might be just that little boost she needs to get back up there. While the French athlete claimed two podium spots in Val Thorens in the past, a win is still missing in her resume.

Strong competition on the men’s side

Making it into the big final two days in a row, Swedish youngster David Mobaerg holds the leading position in the World Cup standings on the men’s side. On second position, it’s team mate Viktor Andersson, who claimed the win on the second competition day in Arosa. It is clear that one has to watch out for the strong Swedish men, when in fight for the podium spots.

The Swiss team however showed that they have some heavy guns in store as well. With three Swiss guys in the big final on race day number one in Arosa, Alex Fiva and Joos Berry managed to take second and third place respectively. That and Fiva’s racing on the next day, secured him the third spot in the overall rankings. Fiva won the competition in Val Thorens in 2016, making him one of the favourites to claim the win also in the upcoming races.

A strong Ryan Regez, who took second place in Arosa on the second day, also showed that he will be one to watch out for, especially since he jumped on the podium in Val Thorens last year, claiming third spot.

What about the Canadian team though? No other than SX crystal globe winner from 2019/20, Kevin Drury won last year’s first competition of the season here in Val Thorens. Teammate Kris Mahler took his maiden win on the second day. They will be probably seeking to strike back as well.

It will be a hard battle for the French guys Jean-Frederic Chapuis, after whom the SX course here in Val Thorens is named and who holds two wins here, the Midol brothers and young gun Youri Duplessis-Kergomard, who claimed his maiden podium here in 2019, to defend podium spots on their home soil.

Since this course is a full-length course, it will be exciting to see, how athletes will adapt after two short-course races.

One thing is for sure, Val Thorens competitions never disappoint and are full of action, passes and real head-to-head fights. So, tune in on the weekend!

Val Thorens title defenders from December 2019: Fanny Smith (SUI) and Kris Mahler (CAN).

Qualifications are going down on December 19 at 10:10 CET for men and 11:25 CET for women, which you can follow live on our website or via FIS APP and finals are set for 13:00 CET.

On Sunday December 20, there will be a Pre-Heat qualification in heats of four starting at 10:00 CET and the finals are scheduled for 12:00 CET.

WATCH LIVE

Saturday, Dec 19 at 13:00 CET:

TV: Eurosport 2 (Europe), Polsat Sport News (Poland), SRF 2, RTS 2 RSI LA 2 (Switzerland)

Live streaming: FIS Freestyle Youtube Channel (check countries, where streaming is available HERE), Sportschau Youtube Channel (Germany) , CBC Streaming (Canada), ARENA+ 4 (Hungary) SVT Play (Sweden), NBC Olympic Channel (USA),

Sunday, Dec 20 at 12:00 CET:

TV: ORF Sport+ (Austria), Eurosport 1 (Europe), SRF 2, RTS 2, RSI LA 2 (Switzerland)

Please note that for the FIS Freestyle Youtube Channel, due to broadcasting rights restrictions, live streaming may not be available in your region.

Full list of countries with the live streaming available can be found HERE.

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