DEER VALLEY, Utah — Ask almost any ski-cross racer and they’ll tell you: It’s all about the start.
And so it was that Deer Valley Resort got off to a gangbuster beginning Saturday as the first World Cup host of the new high-octane ski racing discipline in North American, treating competitors and spectators alike to a show that won’t soon be forgotten.
“I think what athletes have seen this week is the most technical course we’ve seen this year,” said Tyler Shepherd of Denver, head ski-cross coach for the U.S. Ski Team. “It makes it more important for these guys to hit every little piece of terrain perfectly so they can take that speed that they get in the transition and make those passes. . . . I think it separated some different skiers.”
While the popular new course at this weekend’s seventh annual Visa Freestyle International is expected to carry momentum as an annual World Cup start through the 2010 Olympic Games and even the 2011 FIS Freestyle Skiing World Championships (hosted by Deer Valley), there are no guarantees. Which is the other thing ski-cross racers will tell you about their sport.
Take four-time Olympian Casey Puckett of Aspen, for example. Considered America’s top ski-cross racer, Puckett made the most of his abilities in the start gate to grab the early lead in Saturday’s four-man final before getting crossed up with Michael Schmid of Switzerland, second out of the gate.
By the time the two untangled, Canada’s Davey Barr had slipped past on the narrow course to grab his first World Cup gold medal. Puckett finished second and Schmid third.
“Going in, I was thinking Michael Schmid and Tomas Kraus (of the Czech Republic), how am I going to take these guys out,” said Puckett, currently ranked third on the World Cup behind Kraus and Schmid. “I didn’t even take into consideration what Davey was going to do. And he just snuck up in there and took off.”
Barr said he “tried to generate some speed and make a move when they had some contact. It ended up working out quite well for me.”
Former World Cup downhill star Daron Rahlves of Truckee, Calif., struggled with his start all day and finished fourth.
In the women’s race, French phenom Ophelie David continued her dominance of the discipline. After claiming victory at the Jeep King of the Mountain and Winter X Games in consecutive starts this season, David won every heat at Deer Valley and added the World Cup to her streak. Sasa Faric of Slovenia finished second, followed by Emilie Serain of Switzerland.
Langely McNeal of Ketchum, Idaho, the only U.S. woman to advance to bracket competition, finished 16th.
Scott Willoughby: 303-954-1993 or swilloughby@denverpost.com
SKI-CROSS
AT DEER VALLEY, UTAH
MEN
1. Davey Barr, Canada
2. Casey Puckett, Aspen
3. Michael Schmid, Switzerland
4. Daron Rahlves, Sugar Bowl, Calif.
5. Tomas Kraus, Czech Republic
6. Stanley Hayer, Canada
7. Chris DelBosco, Canada
8. Ted Piccard, France
9. Hiroomi Takizawa, Japan
10. Tommy Eliasson, Sweden
WOMEN
1. Ophelie David, France
2. Sasa Faric, Slovenia
3. Emilie Serain, Switzerland
4. Meryl Boulangeat, France
5. Magdalena Iljans, Canada
6. Anik Demers, Canada
7. Noriko Fukushima, Japan
8. Gillian McFetridge, Canada
9. Seraina Murk, Switzerland
10. Julia Murray, Canada
