New all-time record for Naeslund and maiden win for Graf

On Friday morning no one expected that there would be a race really. It was snowing heavily beginning in the early morning hours and didn’t stop until the training for the planned starting time of the competition.

The organisers tried their best to prepare the course and clean out the snow, but the snowfall was too heavy, so the skiers couldn’t see anything while skiing down the course so the Jury together with TV decided to postpone the race to 14:00 CET. At that time, the weather forecast predicted only slight snowfall.

Gladly, mother nature was on our side and the weather was good enough to start the race on time at 14:00 CET.

Naeslund writing history with most victories ever in Ski Cross

Like yesterday, Sandra Naeslund was standing in the big final after winning all 3 runs before. It were Daniela Maier (GER), Hannah Schmidt (CAN) and India Sherret (CAN) standing next to Naeslund in the start gates for the big final today.

Naeslund was not only the favorite in this heat but also the one with the fastest reaction time. In the start section she got followed by the two Canadians Schmidt and Sherret and Maier in fourth. The Germans had fast skies on Friday and so Maier managed to overtake Sherret already before the first jump. Naeslund, who was already 45 seconds in front of her chasers was racing in a league of her own the whole course. It was Schmidt and Maier who were fighting skies-by-skies all the way down into the finish for the second place and in the end the four crossed the finish line as Naeslund in first, Schmidt in second, Maier in third and Sherret in fourth.

By winning her 30th World Cup today, the only 26-year-old Naeslund wrote Ski Cross history on Friday in Val Thorens. She is now the most successful Ski Cross athlete of all time among men and women.