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Get in TouchCalgary, AB. (December 20, 2025) — On a busy day of World Cup ski racing, Reece Howden (Chilliwack, BC) was Canada’s story of the day. Winning his second race in a row in dominant fashion and adding to his lead as the all time wins leader in men’s ski cross with win number 20.
Racing at the FIS Ski Cross World Cup stop in Innichen (ITA), the 4th of 16 races this season, Howden was dominant winning all his heats and never trailing in the finals. This is Howden’s 80th career World Cup start, his 32nd podium and 20th win.
“Grateful for the flow state that I seem to find here in Innichen,” said Howden. “The speed is there and I felt good today and I was able to focus on my own skiing. You have to be smart on a long course like this, if you’re tired, know that the other racers are tired as well and conserve energy where you can.”
Jared Schmidt (Ottawa, ON) was the best of the other Canadian men in fourth place, Kevin Drury (Toronto, ON) was 10th, Gavin Rowell (Prince George, BC) 13th and Kris Mahler (Canmore, AB) 20th.
In the women’s race, Brittany Phelan (Mont-Tremblant, QC) raced to 10th, Marielle Thompson (Whistler, BC) 13th and Hannah Schmidt (Ottawa, ON) as 16th.
At today’s super-G at the FIS Ski World Cup in Val Gardena, on the legendary Saslong track, Canada’s men tried to build on yesterday’s result, where five men finished in the top 20, but weren’t able to recapture the magic with James Crawford (Toronto, ON) scoring Canada’s only points in 27th place.
Jeffrey Read (Canmore, AB) was 38th today, Brodie Seger (North Vancouver, BC) 42nd, while Raphael Lessard (Bromont, QC) didn’t complete his run.
At the FIS Ski Women’s World Cup Downhill today in Val D’Isère (FRA), Valérie Grenier (St. Isidore, ON) was the top performing Canadian scoring World Cup points with a 23rd place finish, while Cassidy Gray (Panorama, BC) finished 46th.
Meanwhile, at the FIS Para alpine giant slalom (GS) World Cup stop in St. Moritz today, Kalle Eriksson (Kimberley, BC), with guide Sierra Smith (Ottawa, ON), competing in men vision impaired, took second place for their first GS podium of the season. In their 12th World Cup GS start, this is their ninth podium and third win.
“Really stoked with second place, even though it always stings a bit to go from leading after the first run to finishing second after the second,” said Eriksson. “That’s ski racing though, and it just fuels the motivation for the next GS.”
“Our ninth GS podium is unreal, and I couldn’t be more proud of Sierra and I. We’ve been feeling strong in GS the last two seasons and it’s great to see that hard work paying off. Looking ahead to tomorrow, it’s the last race of this block before the holidays, which makes it even more exciting. The team has put in a huge amount of work over the past month, and we’re all looking forward to a well-earned reset, some time with family, and coming into the new year strong and ready to perform at our best”.
Competing in men’s sitting Brian Rowland (Merrickville, ON) was 11th, while Samuel Peters (Kelowna, BC) was 18th.
In today’s women’s standing race Mollie Jepsen (West Vancouver, BC) was fifth and Michaela Gosselin (Collingwood, ON) placed ninth.
Next races:
Women race SG in Val D’Isère (FRA) on December 21
Para alpine continue in St. Moritz December 21
Ski cross race again in Innichen (ITA) Dec 21
Men head to Alta Badio (ITA) for a GS and SL December 21 and 22
Follow Canada’s Ski Team this season on Alpine Canada’s website, across our social media accounts and subscribe to our newsletter here.
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For more information or media inquiries please contact:
Mark Halliday
Alpine Canada
403 777 3204
media@alpinecanada.org
About Alpine Canada
Alpine Canada is the governing body for alpine, para-alpine, and ski cross racing in Canada, as well as for Canadian ski coaches, providing education, certification, insurance, and compliance with the coaching code of conduct. With the support of valued corporate partners and donors, along with the Government of Canada, Own the Podium, the Canadian Olympic Committee, and the Coaching Association of Canada, Alpine Canada develops Olympic, Paralympic, World Championship, and World Cup athletes to stimulate visibility, inspiration, and growth in the ski community.