(Mont-Tremblant) The context was conducive to miracles. For a rare time, Canadian skiers had the chance to show the extent of their talent to their compatriots. Saturday will become unforgettable, but the reasons differ depending on the athletes we speak to.
It was impossible for Cassidy Gray to hide her big smile. The 22-year-old skier finished the day in 24th place, but in her eyes it looked like she had just won.
“It’s a special day for me, it’s my first time in the top 30 in three seasons. My family is here too and it’s one of the first times they’ve seen me ski in the World Cup,” she explained in impeccable French.
“We’re in Quebec, it’s important to force myself to speak in French,” said the athlete from British Columbia.
Gray almost never crossed the finish line, because in the fourth turn of the second heat, she almost lost her footing. Two skiers before her were surprised by this tight curve.
But Gray jumped, almost as if it was planned. She got stuck at the bottom of the course, but she still put in a quality time under the circumstances. “The snow was a little difficult. But I made big mistakes in the second round, especially at the bottom, and I hope that tomorrow [Sunday], I will use my head a little more. »
“I know I can do better than I did today,” she added.
Like her, her teammate Britt Richardson was delighted and above all relieved. For the second week in a row, the 20-year-old skier posted an extremely satisfactory result. Twenty-second last week at Killington, she scored a 15th place, the best result of her career, in front of her family.
Twelfth at the end of the first round, Richardson was very offensive in the first sectors of the course in the second round. She had difficulty in one of the last gates of the course, but apart from this small collision, her skiing was almost flawless.
“I was nervous going into my second run, especially considering my first run. I was focused on repeating the same thing. I wanted to give it my all and be able to attack at the end, and it went well,” she summed up.
The snow had stopped falling by late afternoon and the sun had disappeared over the horizon, but all the light of the mountain was in Richardson’s eyes: “To set a personal best, especially here in Canada, is was crazy! A dream come true. »
The first round, however, was fatal for the Quebec women. None of the three skiers was able to survive the cutoff by ranking among the 30 fastest.
Sarah Bennett was the first to start, but her race ended prematurely. The Stoneham athlete hit a gate in the second sector and found herself with all four irons in the air.
“I wanted to turn a little too early, the timing was bad, I took the door and I fell,” she said, disappointed, at the bottom of the track.
This is the fourth time in his young World Cup career that Bennett has been unable to finish the first set. “My best seasons have always had a lot of DNFs [Did not finish], she insisted. That means I try new things and push myself as much as possible. That doesn’t worry me. »
However, the 22-year-old aggravated a back injury suffered earlier in the day in training. “I wondered if it was going to hurt. At the first gate I didn’t feel it, and neither during the race, so it didn’t stick in my mind. »
But the fall was brutal. Bennett should, however, be at his post on Sunday.
Two other former skiers from the Quebec team were in a completely different state of mind after crossing the finish line.
In her fourth World Cup start, Justine Clément was emotional when she arrived at the bottom of the track. “When I arrived, I saw all my family, all my friends, it warms my heart. Of course, this is perhaps not the skiing that I am capable of doing, the conditions were a little difficult, we couldn’t see much at the top. »
The University of Vermont student finished 51st in the first heat with a time of 1:11.68.
It was his first race this season. In the circumstances, “you can’t reinvent the wheel, I tried to do what I know how to do.”
Then Justine Lamontagne closed the rankings of the first round by finishing 54th, crossing the line after 1 min 12.73 sec,
“It wasn’t necessarily the run I wanted or the ski plan I wanted to do, but hearing the crowd and knowing my parents and friends were there, it put a smile on my face. »
The skiers will return to action on Sunday for the presentation of the second giant slalom of the weekend.
