COLLINGWOOD, Ont. – Breathing in a "full circle" moment, Kris Mahler finished off his season with a national title at his little home club where it all began.
The 28-year-old from Canmore's best stuff was used in his final race of the season at the Craigleith ski area in Collingwood, Ont. on March 21, when he raced to a photo-finish at the senior men's national ski cross championship race.
Banff’s Zach Belczyk finished fifth overall.
In winning his first national title, Mahler said it is a cool moment as he shifts focus for next season.
"I have a little bit of mixed emotions, I guess, just because I was aiming for a podium at the world cup and that's really where I put my time and energy into," said Mahler. "With the national title, I will take that into the next season and keep that momentum going."
Mahler, a three-time world cup medallist, said he fell short of expectations this season with four top-10 world cup finishes, but no podiums to show.
"On paper, top-10s seem great, but at this level, for me specifically, where I'm at in my career, I'm really looking for top eights in this sport so that's going to the small finals or big finals," said Mahler, who was a 2022 Olympic alternate. "I'll look to change that next season."
When Mahler started alpine skiing as a youngster, the family drove the 300-kilometre round trip up and down Highway 400 to the Craigleith Ski Club in Collingwood from his hometown of Markham, just north of Toronto.
As a teen, Mahler's family moved to Canmore for a lifestyle change. Returning to Craigleith, Mahler said it was cool to see the club's course used for the world cup and national events that weekend.
Mahler had seventh and 10th place finishes in his final world cup appearances of the 2022-23 season.
"I was trying to figure out the start, which was giving me a little bit of troubles in the world cup, but ... I figured it out for that final heat [at nationals] when it mattered most and was able to take home the W," he said.
In ski cross, four to six racers compete to qualification heats. In the first two heats at nationals, Mahler advanced with top-two showings.
Both Bow Valley boys were in the same semifinal, but Belczyk was bumped from the big final after placing third. Belczyk, 26, won the small final. He has been a strong competitor on the NorAm Cup this season and currently sits in fourth overall in rankings.
Mahler advanced to the finals, where the race was decided at the finish line with silver medallist Carson Cook and bronze medallist Gavin Rowell.
"The finals at nationals was one of the tightest heats I've had coming across the line," said Mahler. "I think we were like three-wide coming over the line and it was a photo-finish with Carson and Gavin. It was pretty cool to have a tight race right down to the bottom."
As Mahler's season ends, sits atop of the pyramid in the Canadian ski cross scene. However, after being "disappointed with not finding a podium on the world cup", he said he'll use the national title as motivation going into the off-season.
"My motto has always been there's always going to be another race, so as soon as that one was done, you just move on to the next one," said Mahler.
