SKI CROSS:

Del Bosco, Serwa lead 7 Canadians into Blue Mountain ski cross finals

Feb. 10, 2011      ♦ Photos: Scenes from Thursday's qualifying at Blue Mountain (Marc Landry)

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BLUE MOUNTAIN, Ontario ― World champions Chris Del Bosco and Kelsey Serwa led the way as seven Canadians qualified for the World Cup ski cross finals on home snow at Blue Mountain on Thursday.

Del Bosco, of Sudbury, Ont., crossed the finish line in 56.46 seconds to make him the second-fastest qualifier at the Rockstar Ski Cross Grand Prix race, behind Austria's Andreas Matt (56.32). He will be joined in Friday's round of 32 by Whistler's Davey Barr, who was 10th in qualifying, local hero Nik Zoricic, of Toronto, Ont., who was 23rd, and Whistler's Stan Rey, who was 27th.

On the women's side, Serwa, of Kelowna, B.C., was the top Canadian. She qualified fourth with a time of 1:01.56 behind Anna Holmlund of Sweden (1:00.64) and German duo Anna Woerner (1:01.15) and Heidi Zacher (1:01.25). Serwa will be joined in the final 16 by Whistler's Julia Murray, who finished second at last week's World Championships and was eighth in qualifying Thursday, and Calgary's Danielle Poleschuk, who was 14th in qualifying.

"It was pretty good. I didn't make any major mistakes," said Murray, who is still struggling with a knee injury that dates back to the X Games two weeks ago.

"I'm hoping I can do it again. It's pretty similar so far," added Murray of repeating her podium finish at the worlds in Deer Valley, Utah.

Eric Archer, Canada's head coach, said the way the course is set up means there's lots of room for passing.

"There's a lot of terrain on the top," he said. "You could recover from a bad start with drafting. If you can be one of the top two coming into the main (section) it's going to be tough to pass. The race is going to be won on the top.

"The course is a little bit different than normal. We will see who steps up."

Several young Canadian skiers who compete on the Nor-Am circuit had the chance to make their World Cup debuts at the Rockstar Ski Cross Grand Prix race on Thursday. Canmore's Tristan Tafel, who won three of the first four Nor-Am races of the season, finished 33rd with a time of 58.89 seconds, narrowly missing out on qualification for the round of 32. Whistler's Robert Lepine, who won two Nor-Am races last weekend, was 37th in 1:00.14 and Geoff Massing of Calgary, Alta., was 38th with a time of 1:00.25.

"I just missed out on qualifying," said Lepine, a member of the B.C. Ski Cross team. "I couldn't put a full run together.

"It was cool getting to know some of the World Cup guys and seeing what level they are at. I've got something to look forward to."

World Cup racer Brian Bennett, of Quesnel, B.C., crashed out and did not qualify.

On the women's side, Whistler's Catriona Blair was 20th in 1:04.11, with only 16 competitors advancing.

Rogers Sportsnet will broadcast two one-hour shows from the Rockstar Ski Cross Grand Prix at Blue Mountain on Feb. 19.

FEB. 10 - ROCKSTAR SKI CROSS GRAND PRIX, BLUE MOUNTAIN, ONT.
FIS FREESTYLE WORLD CUP
MEN'S SKI CROSS
Top five: 1. Andreas Matt - 56.32 (AUT); 2. Chris Del Bosco - 56.46 (Sudbury, Ont.); 3. Tomas Kraus - 56.86 (CZE); 4. Jouni Pellinen - 56.89 (FIN); 5. Alex Fiva - 56.99 (SUI) 

Canadians: 10. Davey Barr - 57.63 (Whistler, B.C.); 23. Nik Zoricic - 58.12 (Toronto, Ont.); 27. Stan Rey - 58.28 (Whistler, B.C.); 33. Tristan Tafel - 58.89 (Canmore,  Alta.); 37. Robert Lepine - 1:00.14 (Whistler, B.C.); 38. Geoff Massing - 1:00.25 (Calgary, Alta.); 41. Brian Bennett (Quesnel, B.C.) 


FREESTYLE WORLD CUP - WOMEN'S SKI CROSS 

Top five: 1. Anna Holmlund - 1:00.64 (SWE); 2. Anna Woerner - 1:01.15 (GER); 3. Heidi Zacher - 1:01.25 (GER); 4. Kelsey Serwa - 1:01.56 (Kelowna, B.C.) 

Canadians: 8. Julia Murray - 1:02.28 (Whistler, B.C.); 14. Danielle Poleschuk - 1:03.16 (Calgary, Alta.); 20. Catriona Blair - 1:04.11 (Whistler, B.C.)