Canada's Thomsen breaks through on Sochi course

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — Two weeks ago, Ben Thomsen was in danger of being sent down to skiing's minor leagues. Now he's got his first World Cup podium result and full of confidence heading into the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Slicing through the icy technical section on the top like one of Canada's renowned hockey players, Thomsen turned on the speed on the flatter, lower section of the Rosa Khutor downhill course Saturday to finish second, 0.27 seconds behind Swiss winner Beat Feuz.

"I think I did good enough, so hopefully I'm here (in 2014)," Thomsen said. "You've got to have heart. Sometimes passion trumps logic."

Last month, Canada speed coach John McBride considered sending Thomsen home to the Nor-Am circuit after a string of less-than-stellar results. But he's achieved career bests in his last three races, starting with 11th- and fifth-place finishes last weekend in Chamonix, France.

"It's pretty exciting, a little bit of a Cindarella story," McBride said. "It's just confidence. You see it where someone gets a little feel or taste of it. I think Benny has all of a sudden realized he can compete with these guys."

With four jumps, including one that sends skiers soaring into the air for more than half the length of a football field, this course suits Thomsen.

"He's not afraid of much," McBride said. "He loves the big air, he loves to go fast, he's not afraid of a challenge and he deals well with pressure – he has from the day I met him."

That fearlessness helped Thomsen on the highly technical upper section, which was had an extremely icy surface.

"Some of the iciest conditions I've seen," said the 5-foot-7 Thomsen, who is from Invermere, British Columbia. "You could grab your hockey skates and go right down with the puck."

Thomsen joins the Canadian Cowboys, a title bestowed on podium winners in World Cup, world championships or the Olympics. He extended a series of solid results for the team that began with Erik Guay's runner-up finish two weeks ago in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. It was followed by Jan Hudec's triumph in Chamonix – in a race where Guay finished third and Thomsen fifth for Canada's best race in 18 years.

"We're only three guys, but we're moving forward and we're feeding off each other and it's looking good," Thomsen said.

Other racers are starting to take notice of Thomsen.

"He's definitely a new guy to look out for on the downhill tour," said two-time overall World Cup winner Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway.

Thomsen, Guay and Hudec are the only Canadians racing the speed events. But McBride hopes to have 2009 downhill world champion John Kucera and Manuel Osborne-Paradis – who has won three World Cup races – return from back injuries later this month in Crans Montana, Switzerland.

With no Canadians entered for Sunday's super-combined, the team can savor Thomsen's performance. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev attended – even though Thomsen didn't realize it.

"I'm not sure who I met," Thomsen said. "But it was somebody who I met who gave me some flowers, and I was grateful for them."