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Vancouver, Canada (GenevaLunch) - Switzerland’ s Michael Schmid took the gold medal in the new skiing event, ski cross, in a thrilling race that saw Canada’s del Bosco crash out on a jump. Schmid led from the start of the race. Switzerland and Norway are now tied for second place, for gold medals, with five each, behind the US which has six.

Ski cross, part of the discipline of freestyle, was run at Cypress mountain.

Ski crosser Ophélie David from France, a six-time ski cross World Cup champion, explains: “Ski cross is like motocross, so you have to have a really fast start and ski aggressively all the way. Last year we raced on the Olympic course at Cypress Mountain. While it’s a great venue with superb views, the course itself is very up and down with a lot of jumps. You just get out there and rip it up. This is a great chance to showcase our sport to the world.”

The IOC (International Olympic Committee) provides this explanation for how ski cross events work: “A timed qualification run is used to seed skiers into different heats, of four skiers each. The start, as well as the first sections before the first turn, are critical parts of the course, as passing can easily occur here. While other passing areas are designated on the course, interference with other skiers can lead to an athlete’s disqualification. The top half of the finishing field then moves on to the next round in a series of quarter, semi and final rounds.”