Calgary, Alta. (December 15, 2017) – The Cross Alps Tour continues and today’s stop was in Montafon, AUT for the third race of the series. Canada Ski Cross continued to be a charging force on the circuit with the team capturing four top-ten results and Kevin MacDonald (Mississauga, Ont.) achieving a personal-best eighth-place finish.  

Four Canadians made the small final with Kelsey Serwa (Kelowna, B.C.) holding down the best Canadian result in fifth-place. Just behind her, teammate Britt Phelan (Mont-Tremblant, Que.) finished in sixth-place. Serwa and Phelan dominated the small final, crossing the finish line in fifth and sixth-place, with Serwa winning the heat.

Brady Leman (Calgary, Alta.), battled heat after heat today, missing out on some luck to put him through to the finals. In the quarter finals, Leman was running in last but made a beautiful pass on the inside to win his heat. Moving into the small final heat, a mistake by Leman cost him the win but still finishes the day with a top-ten in sixth-place.

The track had a challenging start with lots of rhythm in the rollers all the way down and fast bank turns. The snowy weather finally let up so the athletes had clear skies to race under today. There was a huge action on the track today with lots of passing and multiple crashes.

It was a massive day for next gen athlete, MacDonald, who had a career-best result and landed in the small final for the first time. He capitalized on great passing in the 1/8 finals, going from fourth-place to second-place, and going on to win the quarter final heat. Macdonald finished out the day with a top-ten in eighth-place result to add to his record.

Georgia Simmerling (Vancouver, B.C), had a spectacular crash in the first heat of the day but walked away from a tangle with the nets.

Kris Mahler (Calgary, Alta), Dave Duncan (London, Ont.) and Mathieu Leduc (Comox, B.C.) also made qualifications today. In a field of extremely tough competition, the guys narrowly missed out on advancing from the 1/8 final round. Duncan finished in 18th, Leduc in 24th and Mather in 28th.

Next up, the team travels to Innichen, ITA for back-to-back races on Thursday and Friday to close out the Cross Alps Tour.

Canadian Results

Ladies

5 – Kelsey Serwa

6 – Britt Phelan

13 - Georgia Simmerling

Men

6 - Brady Leman

8 - Kevin MacDonald

18 – Dave Duncan

24 – Mathieu Leduc

28 – Kris Mahler

ABOUT ALPINE CANADA

Alpine Canada is the national governing body for alpine, para-alpine and ski cross racing in Canada. With the support of valued corporate partners along with the Government of Canada, Own the Podium and the Canadian Olympic Committee, Alpine Canada develops Olympic, Paralympic, world championship and World Cup medallists to stimulate visibility, inspiration and growth in the ski community.