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Ski cross racer Kevin Drury seeks consistency after disappointing season

Coming off a frustrating ski cross campaign, Kevin Drury realizes he doesn't have to "try to re-invent the wheel" if he's struggling. That wasn't a concern for the Toronto native at the recent season opener in France, where he posted his second World Cup win.

Canadian Olympian's hard work pays off with victory at 2019-20 World Cup opener

Doug Harrison · CBC Sports ·
Canadian ski cross racer Kevin Drury celebrates his second career World Cup victory at the season opener in Val Thorens, France, on Dec. 6. (Philippe Desmazes/AFP via Getty Images)

A challenging 2018-19 ski cross season for Kevin Drury was filled with "a lot of bad races," poor results and enough crashes to make him question his approach to racing.

When he struggled, Drury had the tendency to force a pass against an opponent rather than remaining calm and trusting his abilities.

"With some of the smaller courses last year, it seemed the only way to get by someone was to make contact," the Toronto native said in a recent interview. "It happened more and more as the season went."

Even when the results were positive, Drury had to overcome adversity. He dodged an early fall last February in the big final to post his first World Cup podium of the season with a third-place finish in Feldberg, Germany.

"A small mistake at the start put me into third, and partway down the course, there was contact between me and [Switzerland's] Alex [Fiva]," Drury told Alpine Canada at the time. "It could have gone either way, really."

Late-season medals 'kept me going'

"It felt like I was involved in crashes nearly every race," he told CBC Sports. "Was it my fault? Were my opponents to blame? My coaches had to reassure that it's not always me. When you have a couple of bad races in a row, you do things you shouldn't be doing."

At the world championships two weeks earlier, Drury finished third behind

WATCH | Kevin Drury takes bronze at world championships:

Canadians Leman, Drury reach ski cross podium at world championships

6 years ago
Duration 3:55
Calgary's Brady Leman raced to a silver medal in the Men's Ski Cross final, while Kevin Drury of Toronto took the bronze medal.

Before Drury and his teammates collected five medals in Val Thorens, the Toronto native discussed the prospects for Canada on the world stage this season. "I think we’re capable of being the best," he said. (Millo Moravski/Agence Zoom/Getty Images)

Drury is competing at the World Cup event at Montafon in the Austrian Alps this weekend and Arosa in Switzeralnd on Dec. 17.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Doug Harrison

Doug Harrison has covered the professional and amateur scene as a senior writer for CBC Sports since 2003. Previously, the Burlington, Ont., native covered the NHL and other leagues for Faceoff.com. Follow the award-winning journalist @harrisoncbc

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