Whistler’s Thompson wins Ski Cross Canadian Championships in Smithers

The 2016 Ski Cross Canadian Championships were held Sunday in Smithers, with representatives from both the World Cup and 'next gen' teams on hand for the event that was hosted by the Smithers Ski and Snowboard Club.

PHOTO CREDIT: Camus Photography – Events

Veteran ski cross racer Christopher Del Bosco (QC) claimed top spot for the men giving him the Canadian Championship title. Del Bosco was the only World Cup representative from the men's team and battled tough competition from the next gen athletes.

“You’ve gotta be on it the whole time with the 'next gen' guys who are pretty fired up right behind me,” said Del Bosco. “I was the solo representative of the World Cup team but it was good to take on those next gen athletes and see the talent coming up.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Camus Photography – Events

The athletes raced in slightly overcast conditions with the first heats battling low light. By the time the finals rolled around, the ladies capitalized on better visibility. Whistler's Marielle Thompson took the Canadian Championship title on the ladies’ side, closely followed by teammate Kelsey Serwa from Kelowna, who finished in second place. 

“It was so great to see so many fans out for the race today and the Smithers community was in full force to get the Nor-Am and Canadian Championship races off this week,” said Thompson. “It was a really great course and you had to stay active through all of it and work the features the whole way down.” 

“We had solid fans out," said Serwa, "It’s always fun to race in front of a crowd and it seemed like everyone had fun out there!”

This closes out the 2015-16 season for Canada Ski Cross. They’ll be enjoying some time off until they head to Sunshine, Alberta in April and May for spring training.

Tiana Gairns of the Prince George Ski Club was right in the mix with the big guns, finishing 4th in the Canadian Championships and one of two Nor-Am races also held in Smithers. Also earning a 4th place finish in one of the Nor-Am contests was Zoe Chore of the Kimberley Alpine Team.

Click for VIDEO of the event from CFTK TV

PHOTO CREDIT: Camus Photography – Events

Ladies’ Ski Cross 2016 Canadian Championships

1 – Marielle Thompson (CAN)

2 – Kelsey Serwa (CAN)

3 – Tanya Primak (USA)

4 – Tiana Gairns (CAN)

Men’s Ski Cross 2016 Canadia Championships

1 – Chris Del Bosco (CAN)

2 – Tristan Tafel (CAN)

3 – Kris Mahler (CAN)

4 – Zach Belczyk (CAN)