After rain, snow, and fog this week in the Dolomites, and a cold snap in central Sweden, it’s a weekend full of World Championships coming up.  The FIS Alpine Ski and Ski Cross World Championship kick-off 10 days of history-making glory for the best alpine and ski cross athletes in the world.  

The world-leading Canadian Ski Cross Team look to continue their winning ways in Idre Fjäll, SWE. Qualifications happened earlier this week with the whole World Championships team making the cut for Saturday’s race. Reece Howden, who has been nearly unstoppable this season, looks to make it three in a row on the Idre course. Reece will be joined by Chris Del Bosco, Kris Mahler, and Brady Leman. On the women’s side, Tiana Gairns was the top Canadian in qualification, finishing in fifth spot. Tiana will be joined by reigning World Champion Marielle Thompson as well as Courtney Hoffos, Hannah Schmidt, and Zoe Chore, all of whom are competing in their first World Championships.

While the ski cross team holds it down in Sweden, this week is all about the need for speed for the alpine teams.  Beginning on Saturday, Marie-Michèle Gagnon, coming off a third-place finish in Garmisch two weeks ago, will tackle one of the most difficult downhill courses on the World Cup tour.

On Sunday the men will challenge the DH course, which is new to every male competitor, leaving the door open for everyone to charge to the top of the podium. Jeff Read, who had a career-best 26th place finish in the downhill in Val d’Isère earlier this season will lead the men’s team made up of Jack Crawford, Brodie Seger, and Broderick Thompson.  

On Monday the long-awaited alpine combined, which consists of one slalom run followed by a super-G run, will see both the men and women compete on the same day. With Valérie Grenier’s 4th place finish in the super-G on this very course in 2019, you know she’ll be eager to get back to the top of the points. Val will be joined by a confident Marie-Michèle Gagnon, who finished this event in sixth at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in 2017 in St. Moritz, SUI. On the men’s side, Jack, Jeff, and Brodie will be joined by tech specialist Trevor Philp. Jeff finished in 29th in the alpine combined at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in 2019 in Åre, SWE. 

It will be a busy and exciting weekend for the Canadian Ski Teams and we eagerly await to see them take on the world. Get the coffee ready and set your alarm clocks; it’s going to be a great weekend!

How to watch: 

Saturday, February 13th 
2021 World Alpine Championships - Cortina: Women's Downhill 
5:00 AM ET / 3:00 AM MT  

2021 Ski Cross World Championships – Idre Fjäll: Ski Cross
6:30 AM ET / 4:30 AM MT 

2021 World Alpine Championships - Cortina: Women's Downhill * Encore Presentation
1:00 PM ET / 11:00 AM MT   

Sunday, February 14th     
2021 World Alpine Championships - Cortina: Men’s Downhill 
5:00 AM ET / 3:00 AM MT 

2021 Ski Cross World Championships – Idre Fjäll: Ski Cross *Encore Presentation
11:00 AM ET / 9:00 AM MT 

2021 World Alpine Championships - Cortina: Men’s Downhill *Encore Presentation
1:00 PM ET / 11:00 AM MT 

Monday, February 15th 
2021 World Alpine Championships - Cortina: Women’s Alpine Combined
4:30 AM ET / 2:30 AM MT 

Full TV Schedule here.