Leman in limbo waiting for weather to launch start of World Cup ski cross season

“We were kind of floating around waiting to hear what to do with races. We weren’t sure if we should go back to Canada, stay over here. We ended up staying over here and waiting for the call. We’ve definitely been chasing the snow and watching the forecast.”

The Arosa sprint that Leman would have raced Tuesday was pushed to Dec. 17.

Snow and temperature conditions are finally favourable for that event, which starts with Sunday’s qualification rounds.

“It’ll be interesting to see where we’re at come Monday for the race,” Leman said. “It’s a sprint race to start off, so they’re a little bit weird.”

The sprint is an ultra-short version of ski cross in which skiers go head-to-head over jumps and rollers. The Arosa race will be held under lights at night.

“It’s a really fun atmosphere for us, but it’s only 25 seconds long,” Leman explained.

“It turns into a race out of the gate. Sometimes there’s a chance to make a pass at the bottom, but it’s a lot harder when your course is half the length to what you’re used to.”

Canada is world power in ski cross.

Leman will be joined in Arosa by Olympic women’s gold and silver medallists Kelsey Serwa of Kelowna, B.C., and Brittany Phelan of Mont-Tremblant, Que., respectively, as well as 2014 Olympic champion Marielle Thompson of Whistler, B.C.

Former world champion Chris Del Bosco of Montreal, Toronto’s Kevin Drury, Zach Belczyk of Banff, Alta., Kevin MacDonald of Mississauga, Ont., Reece Howden of Cultus, Lake, B.C., India Sherrett of Cranbrook, B.C., and Whistler’s Mikayla Martin will also step into the start gate for Canada.

The silver lining to the enforced downtime for Leman is he feels amped up to race. He delayed his return to snow in the off-season to take business courses and take his medal on a tour.

“This extended break has given me a little more time to get my head around getting back into competition,” he said. “I was off snow a little more than I’m used to in the summer time.

“I was a little unsure of how hyped up I’d be to race, but definitely feeing anxious and starting to think about getting back in the start gate is exciting. I’m excited for some World Cup finally.”

Leman says he’s still learning how to exercise the power that comes with an Olympic gold medal.

Remembering what it meant to him as a youngster when his alpine ski heroes Ryan Oughtred and Thomas Grandi paid him attention gave Leman a place to start.

“A big one is just share the experience with as many kids as possible,” Leman said.

“I want to be someone that, maybe 20 years or 10 years from now, there’s a kid that can say ‘I remember when Brady took the time to talk to me or remembered my name.’”

Leman’s elementary school in Calgary was the aptly named Olympic Heights School. He made sure that was one of the stops on his gold medal’s tour.

“A lot of kids are pretty shy and some of them are stunned,” he said. “Then you get some who are super-engaged and ask some really cool questions.”

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Leman in limbo waiting for weather to launch start of World Cup ski cross season

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