Calgary, AB (March 19, 2016) – The 2016 Sport Chek Canadian Championships for ski cross was held in Smithers, BC with representatives from both the World Cup and next gen teams on hand for the event.

Veteran ski cross racer and Montreal, QC’s Christopher Del Bosco claimed the top spot for the men, giving him the Canadian Championship title. Del Bosco was the only World Cup representative from the team and battled tough competition from the next gen athletes.

“You’ve gotta be on it the whole time with the next gen guys who are pretty fired up right behind me,” said Del Bosco. “I was the solo representative of the World Cup team but it was good to take on those next gen athletes and see the talent coming up.”

The athletes raced in slightly overcast conditions with the first heats battling low light. By the time the finals rolled around, the ladies capitalized on better visibility. Whistler, B.C.’s Marielle Thompson takes the Canadian Championship title on the ladies’ side, closely followed by teammate Kelsey Serwa from Kelowna, B.C. who finished in second-place.

“It was so great to see so many fans out for the race today and the Smithers community was in full force to get the NorAm and Canadian Championship races off this week,” said Thompson. “It was a really great course and you had to stay active through all of it and work the features the whole way down.”

Serwa commented that the course was a bit slower today but noted it still held up well after days of races. “We had solid fans out yesterday and today so it’s always fun to race in front of a crowd and it seemed like everyone had fun out there!”

This closes out the 2015-16 season for Canada Ski Cross. They’ll be enjoying some time off until they head to Sunshine, Alberta in April and May for spring training. Stay tuned for a ski cross season wrap report.

Ladies’ Ski Cross

1 – Marielle Thompson (CAN)
2 – Kelsey Serwa (CAN)
3 – Tanya Primak (USA)
4 – Tiana Gairns (CAN)

Men’s Ski Cross

1 – Chris Del Bosco (CAN)
2 – Tristan Tafel (CAN)
3 – Kris Mahler (CAN)
4 – Zach Belczyk (CAN)