SKI CROSS:

Cline showcases ageless talent at Blue Mountain ski cross

Jan. 19, 2010         

►Photos: Ashleigh McIvor, above (Agence Zoom); Aleisha Cline centers the Cypress podium, below (Oliver Kraus, FIS)

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Ontario — Canada's Aleisha Cline is not your typical freestyle skier.

At 39, she's taking on ski cross competitors who are literally half her age. She also manages to juggle the rigours of training and regular overseas travel with being a mother to two young children.

Cline is enjoying another solid season on the slopes and will likely be a medal threat when ski cross makes its Olympic debut at the Vancouver Games next month. Cline, who was born in Calgary, grew up in Kelowna, B.C., and now lives in Squamish, B.C., said her mother has helped her make it all work out.

"She's at home, she's a grandmother and she's looking after a 3-year-old and a 20-month-old for me," Cline said Tuesday. "To be away from them is really, really hard but at the same time I have to completely separate myself. I'm no good to them if I'm here thinking about them, and I'm no good to me if I'm here thinking about them.

"So I just have to focus on the task at hand."

Her task right now is competing at the Rockstar Grand Prix World Cup event at Blue Mountain Resort, about a two-hour drive north of Toronto. Cline was one of 10 Canadians to qualify for Wednesday's quarterfinals. Teammate Ashleigh McIvor of Whistler, B.C., finished first Tuesday while another Canadian, David Duncan of Golden, B.C., took the top spot in the men's qualifier.

Kelsey Serwa of Kelowna, Julia Murray of Whistler and Calgary's Danielle Poleschuk were the other Canadian women to advance. Cline, who won World Cup gold last year at Cypress Mountain, is well over a decade older than all of them.

"They're fun because they keep me young," she said of her teammates. "They're goofy and then I can just be absolutely goofy and nobody really cares so it's good times."

"In fact they're quite respectful, I don't get called old lady or anything," Cline added with a laugh. "I probably refer to (my age) more than they do."

Like most ski cross racers, Cline started as a traditional speed skier. She first noticed ski cross, a sport with head-to-head racing and plenty of turns, jumps and rolls, at the 1999 X Games. She excelled at it.

Cline eventually took time off to start a family but returned when she got a call asking if she'd be interested in qualifying for the national team, with a shot at possibly competing at the 2010 Games.

Cline's daughter was just 3 months old at the time.

"I was still nursing," she said. "My mom came and looked after my daughter and I went down to Australia for eight days or whatever it was. I qualified for the team, qualified for the World Cup, and I've just been climbing ever since."

After spending a few days at home for the holidays last month, Cline left to compete in Europe on Dec. 28. She won't be back home until Feb. 1. Cline said while it's really tough being away from her kids, she tries to stay positive.

"I talked to them last night and it's the first time I've heard my daughter say her name (Asia), which was really cute," she said. "Being able to do this, win lose or draw, Olympics or no Olympics, I am so incredibly fortunate. I've travelled all over the world again. I thought I was done.

"It literally almost brings tears to my eyes to be able to be here. It's awesome."

Cline, who is seventh in the International Ski Federation rankings, said mental toughness has helped her conquer the sometimes rough-and-tumble action on the slopes.

"I've always been so incredibly scared of the jumps," she said. "I see the other girls do it and I think, well, if you guys can do it, I can do it. Then I suck it up and I've got to give it 110 percent or I'm going to die. And that makes you successful because you're trying that much harder."

Head coach Eric Archer said Cline's approach to competition is good for her younger teammates to see.

"She's been there, she's been on the top," Archer said. "She's been number one in the world before with X Games gold medals and she knows what it takes to win. She's very focused and bringing her on last year, I think it just brought the level up of our other girls another step."

Canadians led the way Tuesday in qualifying for the Rockstar Ski Cross Grand Prix at Blue Mountain, as the battle heats up for final Olympic roster spots.

Canadian McIvor recorded the fastest women's training time Tuesday, descending the Blue Mountain course in 57.34 seconds, with teammate Serwa second at 57.33.

French racers Ophelie David and Marion Josserand finished third and fourth, respectively, followed by Murray.  Poleschuk placed eighth and Cline 14th.

On the men's side, Duncan set the fastest qualifying time of 53.90 seconds, ahead of Swiss racer Michael Schmid (53.91) and France's Xavier Kuhn (54.20). Canadian Stanley Hayer was fourth, with Chris Del Bosco 12th, Davey Barr 15th and Brady Leman 19th.

The heats, semifinals and finals are set for Wednesday.

The World Snowsports Events Group, headed by event co-chairs Chris Robinson and Mark Kristofic, has planned a spectacular event featuring a ski cross track designed by Jeff Ihaski, who has constructed a handful of World Cup and World Championships courses and will be the course designer for the 2010 Winter Games.

The Rockstar Ski Cross Grand Prix will be broadcast on Rogers Sportsnet across Canada in two one-hour shows on Feb. 6-7. Show times in each region can be found by clicking on FIS Freestyle World Cup at www.SkiTelevision.com/broadcastschedule.aspx.  SRC

— The Canadian Press contributed to this report