In her second race of the season, Whistler’s Ashleigh McIvor once again made the finals, finishing sixth in the Les 2 Alpes Saab Salomon Crossmax in France last weekend.
Although sixth was further back than she finished the previous week, where she was second in the World Cup skiercross at Saas-Fee, Switzerland, McIvor was happy with her results in France.
She has not spent that much time on skis this season, and her last season finished early when she tore her rotor cuff in March.
"I’m totally amazed with myself actually," said McIvor. "It’s insane how big skiercross is in Europe. And from what I’ve heard, just the difference between this year and last year is huge. All the girls came with their physiotherapists and techs and coaches – it was like a real World Cup race.
"So no, I didn’t have any expectations for myself, so I was really happy to finish as well as I did."
While other competitors are getting more serious about training and support, McIvor says she will stick with her current fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants routine on the tour.
"The only time I get good results is when I’m not stressed out, so I think (having that much support) would be counterproductive for me," she said. "There’s talk of me getting more involved with the Salomon international team, but I already have more support and sponsorship than last year so I’m in a pretty good place."
At Les 2 Alpes, the field of more than 40 women woke up to clear skies and low winds after a week of snow and storms made training impossible. The field was extremely aggressive with "a few minor brawls, a lot of passing and a lot more air than at Saas-Fee," said McIvor.
McIvor finished first in all of the early heats, getting the holeshot every time. She says she blew the start in the final six skier run (World Cup heats have just four skiers), and had to settle for sixth place overall.
"I’m still really stoked, because… it was all the world’s best skiercross racers. And I’m already qualified for X-Games, so I was really considering it all training," said McIvor.
McIvor might get some more training in later this month if she heads to Europe for the second World Cup skiercross event. Otherwise, she’ll compete in a NorAm event at Park City, Utah in early December.
In the men’s competition, Whistler’s Davey Barr was knocked out of the quarter-finals after finishing fifth at Saas-Fee.
