Ski cross star Reece Howden back on top of the podium with World Cup win
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KOPAONIK – After recent disappointments at the Milan Cortina Olympics and on the World Cup circuit, Canadian ski cross star Reece Howden returned his familiar perch on the top of the podium.
Howden, from Chilliwack, B.C., skied to victory at a World Cup event Saturday, rebounding from a frustrating Friday race in which was the only skier to cross the finish line but was disqualified for a line deviation.
He dedicated his win to teammate Kevin Drury, who was injured in a crash Friday resulting from Howden making contact with Germany’s Florian Wilmsmann.
“Today wasn’t about me, it’s about Kevin Drury,” Howden said. “I’m pretty broke up by what happened yesterday.
“I would have loved to spend more time skiing with Kevin Drury. I feel so honoured to have been a teammate with Kevin, shared the podium with him, travelled the world, and got to learn from a guy like that.”
Toronto’s Drury, 37, finished second in Friday’s race but was injured in the pileup that also took out Wilmsmann and eventual winner Tim Hronek.
After the race, Drury wrote on Instagram that it was “not the way I wanted my career to end, but I’ll take the podium.”
The post included a photo of Drury lying in bed with his lower leg heavily bandaged and elevated. He has said that his 10th World Cup season will also be his last.
“Whether it’s stuff outside of skiing, when it comes to personal life and relationships, Kevin Drury has been a huge role model for me,” Howden said.
“Today I wasn’t doing it for me, I was doing it for him. So when we’re up there and we’re singing O Canada, don’t be singing O Canada for me, sing O Canada for Kevin Drury.”
Howden finished ahead of Wilmsmann and France’s Youri Duplessis Kergomard in Saturday’s race to pick up his record 23rd World Cup men’s ski cross victory.
“Ending this trip on a podium, another second place, it’s superb,” Wilmsmann said. “I wanted to give it all for the win, but Reece had really good speed in the last section. I made a little mistake in the last turn, and you have to ski perfectly to get him.”
Howden leads the overall World Cup men’s ski cross standings with 743 points, followed by Wilmsmann at 574.
He is seeking his second straight Crystal Globe as overall champion, and fourth overall.
Howden is coming off a frustrating experience at the Winter Games, where he was tabbed as a gold-medal hopeful but failed to advance out of the men’s ski cross quarterfinals.
After his elimination he ripped off his race bib and heavily criticized the slow conditions at Livigno Snow Park.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 28, 2026.