Brady LemanAP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

Brady Leman wins silver at ski cross season opener

Team Canada got off to a quick start at the first ski cross World Cup stop of the season in Secret Garden, China as Brady Leman won silver in the men’s event.

The PyeongChang 2018 gold medallist took second in a photo finish just behind Sergey Ridzik of the Russian Olympic Committee, while Bastien Midol of France won bronze.

The podium finish was especially impressive for Leman, who endured a terrible mountain biking accident in May 2020 and then another season-ending crash in February 2021.

On the women’s side, Brittany Phelan won the small final to earn a fifth-place overall finish. It was Phelan’s first race in nearly two years as she last competed in February 2020.

Brittany Phelan of Canada reacts while competing during the small final in women’s ski cross during the FIS Ski Cross World Cup, a test event for the 2022 Winter Olympics, at the Genting Resort Secret Garden in Zhangjiakou in northern China’s Hebei Province, Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

The World Cup action continues in Val Thorens, France from December 9-12.