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World Championship lead up boost

30/1/2011

Australia's ski cross World Championship preparation received a confidence boost last night with a strong performance in Germany.

Competing in the World Cup sixth round in Grasgehren, all three women team members finished in the top 13, a team best this season.

Jenny Owens, a veteran of 29 World Cup starts and three podiums, lead the charge by finishing seventh, her fourth consecutive top 10 place this season and will go into next Friday's World Championships in the United States with solid prospects.

The final was won by Sweden's Anna Holmlund, Germany's Heidi Zacher was second while Switzerland's Katrin Mueller finished third.

Fellow AIS/NSWIS scholarship holder, 22-year-old Sami Kennedy recorded an individual season best performance by qualifying ninth fastest, just one place behind Owens, and ended the day in 11th, her best finish since making her World Cup debut in 2008.

A further two places back in 13th, Katya Crema also enjoyed her best World Cup finish of the season after qualifying in 12th.

But as far as the Australian team was concerned, the day belonged to Owens who finished in second place in her quarter final after challenging for the lead throughout the race but unfortunately the Perisher based skier missed the start of her semi-final, which cost her any chance of advancing to the final.

Owens turned around her misfortunes at the starting gate in the consolation final and quickly gained second position only to be overtaken towards the end of the race by a fast finishing Andrea Limbacher from Austria.

AIS Ski cross head coach Matt Lyons said that Owens skied well despite being physically exhausted before the World Cup sixth round.

Owens' preparation for this season's World Cup was not as rigorous as she would have liked due to a recovery period after knee surgery last March.

Lyons added that Owens will benefit from several days of rest before the World Championships, an event she finished 15th in two years ago in Inawashiro, Japan.

In the men's event, Mt Buller-based 20-year-old Anton Grimus finished 24th after making what Lyons described as a "rookie error". He finished behind event winner Andreas Matt from Austria, compatriot Patrick Koller and Switzerland's Armin Niederer in third.

The team's number one men's skier, Scott Kneller, missed the Grasgehren event to compete in the X-Games in Aspen, United States.

All members of the AIS ski cross team will now travel to Utah for the World Championships event later this week.

Ski Cross top 5 and top 10 in France

17/1/2011

Australia's ski cross team has continued to improve their results in the lead up to next month's World Championships with a strong performance in the French Alps resort of Les Contamines last night.

Jenny Owens was the team's leading light when she delivered her second top 10 finish within four days.

The AIS/NSWIS scholarship holder ended the day with a season best fifth position thanks to a second place in a quarter final, third in a semi-final and notching a victory by two ski lengths in the consolation final.

Had it not been for a comparatively slow start in the semi-final she would have been in medal contention.

The round added 450 points to Owens' improving season ranking, which sees her break into the world's top 10 for the first time in 2010/2011.

The women's final was won by local skier Ophelie David, with Canadian and tour leader Kelsey Serwa in second place while Sweden's Anna Holmund came in third.

Fellow AIS/NSWIS scholarship holder Scott Kneller , who had to endure the disappointment of a ski waxing error on the neighbouring mountain of Alpe d'Huez this week, bounced back with a solid seventh position.

After qualifying down the list in 24th, Kneller won in his first knock out heat, came in second in a quarter final, and third in a semi-final, but crashed out on the last turn of the consolation final while drafting an opponent.

Although the 21-year-old Kneller, who won the second round in this year's series, has the talent and potential to be a regular World Cup podium finisher, he was happy that today's result on the steep 1180-metre course saw him jump two places into eighth position into the world.

Canada's Christopher Delbosco recorded his first World Cup victory of the year, while Austrian Andreas Matt tightened his grip on the series with a second place. Russian Egor Korotkov made it on to the World Cup podium for the first time in his career with a third place.

AIS ski cross head coach Matt Lyons said that he was pleased with the day's outcome but added that several lost opportunities could have provided even more impressive results.

"Everybody executed our race plans well today and it was pleasing that the lost opportunities were not from skiing errors," Lyons said.

"This is a rough and tumble sport where you always need to take chances. Sometimes they come together, other times they do not.

"We need to now work on consistency and that will come from training a lot harder."

Talented young gun Anton Grimus failed to qualify to his potential and was eliminated from the finals in the round of 32, finishing the day in 29th position while Katya Crema and Sami Kennedy were unable to advance to the women's quarter finals, finishing in 17th and 26th respectively.

Second top ten for Owens

13/1/2011

Australian skier Jenny Owens added another top 10 finish to her World Cup ski cross campaign in Alpe d'Huez, France, last night.

Her 10th place provided the AIS scholarship holder with her second top 10 finish within a week, indicating that Owens' season is gathering momentum after a slow start to the year.

The fourth round World Cup race was won by Canadian Kelsey Serwa, ahead of Switzerland's Fanny Smith and Canada's Ashleigh McIvor in third.

Katya Crema finished 18th while OWI team mate, Sami Kennedy, was back in 23rd poition.

While Owens was pleased to achieve a back-to-back top 10, she was disappointed that a wrong selection of ski wax prevented her from finishing in a higher place.

The incorrect wax selection was also made by Scott Kneller who had to be content with 24th place during a day in the French Alps that he would like to forget.

German Daniel Bohnacker won the men's race while Austria's Andreas Matt, the competition leader, and compatriot Patrick Koller filled the other two podium positions.

Kneller is now ranked 10th on the World Cup points table. Anton Grimus is ranked 24th after finishing 39th at in Alpe d'Huez.

AIS ski cross program head coach Matt Lyons said that the team expected the race to be held in overcast conditions and chose a ski wax that was better suited to much colder temperatures.

"This was simply a live and learn situation," Lyons said. "This was not a skiing issue.

"In fact Scott was first or second out at the start of his heat but then it became obvious that he had no acceleration at all

"I hate putting the day down to those issues but that's exactly what happened today."

Gritty Owens grabs top 10 finish

8/1/2011

Australian ski cross racer Jenny Owens delivered her best World Cup result in 12 months with a hard fought performance in St Johann, Austria, last night.

The event, the third of the season, provided encouraging signs for the 32-year-old Perisher- based AIS athlete.

The huge crowd lining the steep and icy 750-metre course saw Owens qualify in 12th place, finish second in her quarter final, fourth in a semi-final and fourth in the small final.

The encouraging results placed Owens in eighth overall, behind German winner Heidi Zacher, Norway's Hedda Berntsen in second and Germany's Anna Woerrner in third.

Head coach Matt Lyons said that while he expects more improvement from Owens, he was impressed by the turnaround compared with her first two World Cup rounds of the season in Italy last month.

"Jenny has the ability and today we saw her start to get back the confidence she needs," Lyons said.

"She was disappointed with the way she skied in Italy but today was very encouraging."

Owens spent much of the Christmas-New Year break in an extensive training block with the Swiss team, which has given her renewed confidence in her ability and prompted her to make small technical modifications and rethink various race strategies.

Australia's two other female competitors, Sami Kennedy and Katya Crema finished in 21st and 23rd places respectively.

While the women's team enjoyed their best result of the year, the men's team had a frustrating event.

Scott Kneller, winner of the last round in Italy last month, could manage only 31st place, which saw him fail to make the quarter finals.

American John Teller, Canada's Nick Zoricic and Austrian Thomas Zangerl captured the first three places.

Kneller appeared to ski tentatively, which was a complete contrast to his performance in Italy that enabled him to record Australia's first ski cross victory.

Mt Buller's Anton Grimus also shared the frustrations finishing in 43rd position.

World Championship lead up boost

Ski Cross top 5 and top 10 in France

Second top ten for Owens

Gritty Owens grabs top 10 finish

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