SKI CROSS:

Cline, Del Bosco finish 2nd in Sweden ski cross

March 6, 2010 — Canada Ski Cross

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BRANAS, Sweden — On a course described by Canadian head coach Eric Archer as “a drag race,” Aleisha Cline earned a podium finish Saturday, placing second after the World Cup schedule took a brief hiatus for the Olympic Winter Games. This marks the first time Cline has been on the podium this season.
 
“Luckily, I’m a good glider so this course was definitely a good course for me,” Cline said. “I was good out of the start, so just being able to stay within striking distance through the turns and into the gliding I was able to excel. At one point during the race I was behind Hedda Berntsen and I thought, ‘Hey, she was a silver medallist in the Olympics! That’s kind of cool!’ then I passed her at the line.”
 
Cline’s return to the podium comes on the 23-month anniversary of her daughter’s birth. The former X Games champion has reached the podium twice since making her return to ski cross last season after the birth of her second child. Narrowly missing a berth in the Olympic Games, Cline had a successful stint in the booth as a commentator for CTV during the women’s races.
 
Battling post-Olympic illness, Chris Del Bosco also finished second, for his third World Cup podium this season. Del Bosco finished less than a ski length behind Olympic gold medallist Michael Schmid of Switzerland, and the podium secures him in second spot in this season’s overall race behind Schmid.
 
“I felt surprisingly good out of the start today, I had strong starts all day until I put a pole between my legs out of the start in the final heat. I was fourth out of the gate and managed to pass up to second spot and just ran out of time at the line,” said Del Bosco.
 
When asked about his chances for the overall, he said, “It’s going to take some miracles, I think. I don’t know, he’s pretty far out in front and [Schmid] skied really well this year and he got some more points on me today. I moved into second but I may have to settle for second again.”
 
Del Bosco gained notoriety during the Olympic Games after taking a gamble in the final heat in which he sacrificed a bronze medal for the opportunity to score silver or ultimately gold. The gamble resulted in a spectacular crash and a fourth-place finish but has become on of the most-talked-about moments of the Games.
 
“I built a bridge and got over it and now it’s time to ski race again,” Del Bosco said. “I was certainly looking for a little bit of redemption here but we’ll have to wait a few years for the real redemption.”
 
Kelsey Serwa placed sixth, Danielle Poleschuk 11th and Ashleigh McIvor finished the day in 13th spot.
 
On the men’s side, Nik Zoricic had his best finish ever on the World Cup circuit with an eighth-place finish. Stanley Hayer finished in 10th spot, Brian Bennett 26th and Davey Barr 33rd.
 
The next event will take place Thursday at Grindelwald, Switzerland.

CBC will be broadcast the World Cup Finals live from Sierra Nevada, Spain, on March 20.  SRC

CBC Main Network Broadcast Schedule

Saturday, March 20, 15:30-16:30 ET
2010 FIS SKI-CROSS WORLD CUP FINALS ON CBC
 
cbcsports.ca Broadcast Schedule:

Saturday. March 20, 06:50-08:30 ET Live
2010 FIS SKI-CROSS WORLD CUP FINALS ON CBC

Saturday. March 20, 15:30-16:30 ET
2010 FIS SKI-CROSS WORLD CUP FINALS ON CBC
 
Bold Broadcast Schedule:

Saturday. March 20, 06:50-08:30 ET Live
2010 FIS SKI-CROSS WORLD CUP FINALS ON CBC 

Branas men’s World Cup ski cross results

Branas women’s World Cup ski cross results