When you’re in a sport reliant on amenable weather conditions, you have to be adaptable.
So in that sense, Whistler ski-cross racer Marielle Thompson has found the frequent schedule quirks on the 2020-21 FIS World Cup circuit fine to handle.
However, it’s the specific COVID-19-related changes that have thrown curveballs at the 28-year-old.
“The biggest difference this season has been the new protocols at races,” Thompson wrote in a text message after the most recent set of races at Idre Fjäll, Sweden. “Schedule-wise, there have been changes but we have had similar challenges in the past due to lack of snow so it’s all about being flexible and ready for anything.”
Competing during a pandemic hasn’t changed Thompson’s approach to racing, as she’s still the same fierce competitor as always as she sits second in the overall standings to Switzerland’s Fanny Smith in search of her fourth Crystal Globe.
However, the extended time overseas, sometimes with long layovers between contests, has been at times a hurdle to deal with. After races scheduled for this past weekend at Feldberg, Germany were wiped out, it means there are three weeks between the Swedish events and the World Championships, which will be right back at Idre Fjäll after being relocated from China, starting Feb. 10. Before the Swedish World Cup events, there was a month between races after the Val Thorens, France stop.
Still, Thompson, the 2014 Olympic champion, has found ways to make the most of the experience.
“This trip has been long, but I have appreciated the chance to train and race in Europe,” Thompson wrote. “Over the holidays I was lucky to be invited into one of my fellow racer’s homes and had a true Swiss Christmas so without these strange circumstances I wouldn’t have the chance for new experiences like that.
“I miss my family a lot, but we stay in touch pretty well over FaceTime and iMessage.”
So far this season, Thompson has cracked the podium in five of seven contests, with two runner-up finishes and three third-place showings. After World Championships, as currently scheduled, Thompson will have four opportunities to top the World Cup podium for the first time since last February as the tour wends through stops in: Reiteralm, Austria; Bakuriani, Georgia; Sunny Valley, Russia; and Veysonnaz, Switzerland.
“I’ve been happy with my results but feel I can work on a few things in my skiing going into the second half of the season,” Thompson wrote. “I’ve had good skiing on race days but a few mistakes here and there have kept me from where I want to be.”
The schedule itself has created a few unique situations for racers. In addition to the cancellations, the World Cup had an extended time at Idre Fjäll last month, holding three consecutive races there when in a normal season, there wouldn’t be more than two at any given locale.
“Idre Fjäll was a lot more skiing in a row than we are usually used to,” Thompson noted. “I was definitely more fatigued after three races rather than with just two, but I really appreciate the Swedish race organizing committee and their support of our sport, since they’ve stepped up and are hosting two more races than were originally on the schedule.”
In preparing for the unprecedented campaign, Thompson said the main adjustments came while she was at home in the Sea to Sky as opposed to when she was already on the road.
“The biggest difference in my pre-season training was a lack of time off at home. I’ve had all quite productive camps prior to the World Cups in December starting in Saas Fee, then Pitztal and Laax,” she explained. “My coaches did well in balancing camps and time off for those of us who stayed in Europe.
“I’m really appreciative of every opportunity because I know I’m lucky to be racing in these crazy times.”
Thompson is far from Canada’s only Crystal Globe hope for the 2020-21 season. Reece Howden of Cultus Lake is leading the men’s standings after earning back-to-back victories in Sweden to go with a win and second-place showing at Val Thorens before Christmas.
