SKI CROSS:

McIvor soars to 2nd in Italy ski cross (VIDEO BONUS)

Dec. 19, 2010     ♦ Video by Infront Sports & Media/FIS

The Olympic gold medallist from Whistler, B.C., lost to Fanny Smith of Switzerland. Heidi Zacher of Germany was third, while Anna Holmlund of Sweden, who won Saturday's race, was fourth.

McIvor, who was in third place midway through the final, was heading toward the finish line behind Smith and Holmlund. She said she felt the win was within reach but came up just short.

“I know Fanny is a really good skier, she’s super dialed in with her technical ability. So I just stayed right on her the whole way down and waited for an opportunity to get by Anna,” said McIvor.

Smith and McIvor eventually overtook Holmlund.

“I pulled out to pass [Fanny] off the last jump and didn’t quite catch her,” said McIvor, who said she was pleased with the result, particularly considering the previous day’s seventh-place finish.

“Yesterday I was pretty frustrated with myself,” she said. “I had strong starts. I just kept blowing it at the same corner.”

McIvor's medal comes a day after Kelsey Serwa of Kelowna, B.C., finished second in a ski cross World Cup on the same hill.

McIvor also said she's enjoying a less stressful post-Olympic year.

“This course was so much fun. There was nice weather. There is a really positive atmosphere and positive energy flowing,” said McIvor. “It was a really intense race.

"There was some good solid passes here and there. That’s the way ski cross should be, it’s a spectator sport. There should be lots of passing and some jostling here and there.”

Marielle Thompson, in just the second World Cup race of her career, was eighth. Serwa ended up 11th  followed by Danielle Poleschuk in 12th and Julia Murray in 14th.

Scott Kneller of Australia won the men's final, finishing ahead of Switzerland's Alex Fiva and John Teller of the United States, with Tomas Kraus of the Czech Republic taking fourth.

Chris Del Bosco led the way among Canadians, finishing in fifth position. Nick Zoricic was not far behind in eighth while Dave Duncan placed 12th, Davey Barr 19th and Stanislas Rey set a best for his young career, grabbing 27th spot.

The FIS World Cup ski cross tour now breaks for the holiday season, resuming in St. Johann, Italy, with men's and women's races Jan. 7. S-Magazine

— Alpine Canada and The Canadian Press contributed to this report

San Candido women's World Cup ski cross results Dec. 19

San Candido men's World Cup ski cross results Dec. 19