Ski Cross: David wins in Grindelwald, men’s canceled

Before two days of foul weather and dangerous course conditions shut down a men’s World Cup ski cross race today in Grindelwald, Switzerland, the women were able to get as far as qualifications which ended up counting as a official results.

Freestyle World Cup overall leader Ophelie David of France grabbed her fifth victory of the season ahead of teammate Marion Josserand in second.  Switzerland’s Sanna Luedi and Emilie Serain delighted the home crowd with third and fourth-places finishes, respectively.

After a stint without American representation at a World Cup ski cross event, Langley McNeal was back in the chutes to finish 31st.

David’s win comes as a blow to American mogul skier Hanna Kearney’s hopes at an overall title. The two women are currently tied at 68 overall points, but David’s 680 points in ski cross versus Kearney’s 610 in moguls gives the advantage to David. Kearney only has one more opportunity to score at the World Cup finals in La Plagne, France, while David gets two shots; one in La Plagne and one Sunday in 
Meiringen-Hasliberg, Switzerland.

The men weren’t able to get as far as qualifications as the weather bore down on Grindelwald. “The last two days the weather has been really bad,” U.S. ski cross head coach Tyler Shepherd said. “We got a late start and since we canceled the qualifications the last two days we were attempting to do everything today.”

“We got about half way through the qualification and then there were just a number of crashes and it just was an unsafe environment,” Shepherd said. “We thought it was best to not risk further injuries and cancel the race.”

The men’s race will not be replaced as the ski cross World Cup heads to Meiringen-Hasliberg, Switzerland on Sunday.

Before two days of foul weather and dangerous course conditions shut down a men’s World Cup ski cross race today in Grindelwald, Switzerland, the women were able to get as far as qualifications which ended up counting as official results.

Freestyle World Cup overall leader Ophelie David of France grabbed her fifth victory of the season ahead of teammate Marion Josserand in second.  Switzerland’s Sanna Luedi and Emilie Serain delighted the home crowd with third and fourth-place finishes, respectively.

After a stint without American representation at a World Cup ski cross event, Langley McNeal was back in the chutes to finish 31st.

David’s win comes as a blow to American mogul skier Hanna Kearney’s hopes at an overall title. The two women are currently tied at 68 overall points, but David’s 680 points in ski cross versus Kearney’s 610 in moguls gives the advantage to David. Kearney only has one more opportunity to score at the World Cup finals in La Plagne, France, while David gets two shots; one in La Plagne and one Sunday in Meiringen-Hasliberg, Switzerland.

The men weren’t able to get as far as qualifications as the weather bore down on Grindelwald. “The last two days the weather has been really bad,” U.S. ski cross head coach Tyler Shepherd said. “We got a late start and since we canceled the qualifications the last two days we were attempting to do everything today.”

“We got about half way through the qualification and then there were just a number of crashes and it just was an unsafe environment,” Shepherd said. “We thought it was best to not risk further injuries and cancel the race.”

The men’s race will not be replaced as the ski cross World Cup heads to Meiringen-Hasliberg, Switzerland on Sunday.