Calgary, AB. (February 1 2025) — Reigning Crystal Globe champion Marielle Thompson (Whistler, BC) captured the win, and India Sherrett (Cranbrook, BC) extended her lead atop the overall FIS World Cup Ski Cross standings on Saturday as Canadians came away with three podium finishes to start the weekend in Veysonnaz, SUI. 

On the men’s side, Reece Howden (Cultus Lake, BC) finished third, with all three Canadian podium finishers taking advantage of slick racing conditions on a bluebird day at the Swiss resort in the canton of Valais. 

“Feels good to win today. I liked the course and the flow of the track. Looking forward to tomorrow and cleaning up a few small mistakes in the final,” Thompson said post-race. “I know I have a bit more speed out of the start and into the first turn.”

“I just saw my chance. [Germany’s Daniella Maier] was a little bit short on that one jump [in the big final], and I knew if I was good, I might have some speed, and I just took the opportunity as I did.”

The victory was the 71st podium of her career and marked the 32-year-old’s 34th win World Cup win, after she worked through a final featuring three Canadians, with her, Sherret and Courtney Hoffos (Windermere, BC), who finished fourth.

Thompson’s experience and form were evident throughout the race. She won each of her three heats, including the semifinal and big final, where she faced Hoffos. 

Meanwhile, Sherret had a close call with Germany’s Daniella Maier in the semifinal but also prevailed in her opening two rounds before finishing third in the big final just behind Maier, who secured second.

With the podium performance, Sherret’s lead in the World Cup standings grew to 545 points, with Maier behind her in second. Thompson is ranked third with 481 points, while Hoffos rose to 10th overall with her performance, bringing her to 208 points. 

Sherret’s third place also marked the 10th podium of her career and fifth of the season, while Thompson’s 71st career podium saw her step on the box for the fourth time in 2024-25. 

"Overall, I’m quite happy with how today went. I did make some mistakes in the final that definitely cost me, so I feel like I kind of snuck in there for third place today," Sherret said. "Leading the standings is neat; I know Marielle and Daniella are gunning for it, so I do feel a bit of pressure there. But there is so much skiing left in the season that I can’t think about it too much. I just want to keep executing race after race, and hopefully, that should pay off in the long run."

At least two Canadians on the podium are familiar to Thompson and Sherrett as well, with both taking part in Canadian sweeps in Veysonnaz in 2023-24 and Dec. 17, 2024, in Arosa, SUI. 

For Hoffos, even finishing fourth comes sweet. After missing all of 2023-24, recovering from ACL surgery, and not racing in the 2024-25 season opener in Val Thorens, FRA, Saturday saw her return to a big final for the first time since March. 17, 2023, in Craigieith, Ont. 

“I was super pumped to be in that big final,” Hoffos said. “I feel like I've been struggling a bit with the semis where I just get excited, and I ended up doing that in the final anyway, but I was just happy to get back to the big final and race with these girls.”

As the Canadians celebrated on the women’s side, Howden was the only Canadian to make the final in the men’s race, keeping a hold on third place throughout the final despite a late push from Japan’s Ryo Sugai. 

In the midst of defending his second-career Crystal Globe from 2023-24, the third-place finish brought the 26-year-old up to three podiums on 2024-25 and 356 points for fourth place in the overall World Cup ranking. 

Italy’s young star Simone Deromedis captured first, while French veteran Youri Duplesis-Kergomard finished ahead of Howden for second. 

Veteran and former Crystal Globe winner Kevin Drury (Toronto, ON)  finished eighth after the small final, after battling Howden in the semifinal.

While Howden leads Canadian men in the overall ranking, Drury now sits sixth on 285 points, followed by Kris Mahler and Jared Schmidt in 14th and 15th, respectively. 

The Canadians now look ahead to Sunday’s race in Veysonnaz before three more stops on the World Cup tour, including a home race in Craigleith, Ont. from March 12-15 and the World Championships in Engadin, SUI from March 22-23. 

Next CANskiteam World Cup races: (link to FIS Calendar)

Ski cross race again in Veysonnaz (SUI) on February 2 

Men's and Women's alpine World Championships run in Saalbach (AUT) run from February 4 to 16

Para alpine World Championships run February 6 to 11 in Maribor (SLO)

Follow Canada’s Ski Team this season on Alpine Canada’s website, across our social media accounts and subscribe to our newsletter.

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For more information or media inquiries please contact: 

Mark Halliday
Alpine Canada
403 777 3204
media@alpinecanada.org

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