Canada's Reece Howden wins World Cup ski cross gold in Georgia
Canadian ski cross racer Reece Howden captured gold on Saturday at a World Cup event in Gudauri, Georgia, marking his fourth victory and fifth medal of the season.
Countrymate Courtney Hoffos also reached the podium with a third-place finish in the women's race.
Howden, a 26-year-old from Cultus Lake, B.C., beat Germany's Florian Wilmsmann to win the four-man big final. Italy's Simone Deromedis, who won Friday's race, took bronze.
Howden bounced back from a rough start to the Gudauri World Cup that saw him eliminated in the first round of Friday's knockout heats.
"I was not happy after yesterday," Howden said in a press release. "I wanted to really make a statement, and also, Deromedis is skiing really fast, and I did not want to give him another easy win, so I really laid it down and made sure I left it all on the course."
"Racing is hard right now, the competition is high, everybody's skiing really fast, and you've just got to focus on the better days."
WATCH l Howden tops the podium in Georgia:
Howden now has his most wins in a single season since 2021. The two-time Crystal Globe winner has 27 podium-finishes in 74 career World Cup races.
Hoffos, who hails from Windermere, B.C., won her second medal of the season and eighth of her career. The 27-year-old missed last season due to injury.
Italy's Jole Galli captured gold ahead of Switzerland's Fanny Smith.
Hoffos faced challenges after a slow start in the semifinal. She trailed behind compatriot India Sherret before eventually passing her and securing a spot in the four-woman final.
"It was feeling pretty good on the track all day, and after India passed me [in the semifinal], I knew I had some work to do, but I built up some speed at the end and had a bit of a cheeky pass," Hoffos said.
Cranbrook, B.C.'s Sheret went on to win the small final for a fifth-place finish.
WATCH l Hoffos claims World Cup bronze:
Howden's win moved him into third place in the overall World Cup standings with 658 points. Deromedis (799) and Wilmsmann (700) hold the top two spots with four races remaining.
Sheret, Friday's bronze medallist, held onto here lead in the women's overall standings with 795 points, with Marielle Thompson of Whistler, B.C., one spot behind her with 744.
In other Canadian results, Jared Schmidt of Ottawa and Gavin Rowell of Prince George, B.C., failed to advance past the men's quarterfinals, while Thompson and Edmonton's Abby McEwen suffered the same fate on the women's side.
The Canadian ski cross team is set to compete at two more stops on the World Cup tour, including a pair of men's and women's races in Craigleith, Ont., from March 12-15.
"Bring your bells and bring your loud voices," Howden told fans ahead of the team's home races. We're excited to come home and race in front of you guys, and we hope everyone can come out and enjoy the event."
The world championships are set for March 22-23 in Engadin, Switzerland, followed by the World Cup finals in Idre Fjall, Sweden (March 28-30).
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