Reese Howden now stands alone as the winningest men’s ski cross racer in World Cup history.
The Canadian won gold at an event in Arosa, Switzerland, on Tuesday for his 19th career victory on the World Cup circuit. That broke a tie for the most victories by a male athlete in World Cup history, a record Howden had shared with Jean-Frédéric Chapuis of France.
The native of Cultus Lake, B.C., admitted that he had some butterflies during competition, knowing that he could take sole possession of the record.
“Oh, I was nervous. Even in that last heat, I was trying so hard to psych myself out, and I just had to battle it back..it was really hard, and I just knew that I could just accept the feelings and focus on what I could control, and hopefully it’d work out, and it did,” Howden said after the race.
“Firstly, I just want to say, huge shout out to Jean-Frédéric Chapuis, like, [he] set an amazing benchmark, and I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to compete with him and then take this mark, and push it higher.”
Canada’s Reece Howden becomes the all-time winningest male World Cup ski cross racer
The 27-year-old topped qualifying and led his big final race from start to finish, something he credited to how he was able to handle the start portion of the races in Arosa.
“There’s a lot of guys out here that were starting to figure the start out, and had a lot of speed, so I just focused on what I was really good at and it was the back half – [I] just tried to say calm and then really explode on the back half of that start, and minimize mistakes,” he said. “I think [the start is] just tailored to my genetics, and I really like the fight that the start has, and it excites me.
“This is one of the reasons that I love ski cross.”
Johannes Aujesky of Austria took silver while Sweden’s David Mobaerg claimed the bronze medal. Canada’s Jared Schmidt finished eighth overall with a fourth-place finish in the small final.
On the women’s side, Canadian Courtney Hoffos suffered a hard crash in the semifinals that saw her taken off the course on a toboggan. The Windermere, B.C., native waved to the crowd as she was whisked off the course, but she did not start in the small final.
Hoffos won silver at the season-opening race in Val Thorens, France, on Dec. 11.
The next World Cup ski cross event begins this weekend in Innichen, Italy. CBC Sports will live stream the races beginning at 6 a.m. ET on Saturday and Sunday. Click here for the CBC Sports broadcast schedule for more information on when and where to watch.
