The precarious sport of skicross

Quite possibly the most difficult thing about cheering on my brother Chris [Del Bosco] is that nothing is certain. He competes in skicross and it is nothing like the predictability of diving into a pool of water every day.

There is weather to contend with. There are dozens of skis to choose from with different wax combinations. There is the guy next to you, sticking his ski pole in your face. The courses can be good, bad or somewhere in between. I guess the only thing that is a constant is that whenever that gate drops, you best be the fastest guy out there.

I consider Chris to be one of the toughest competitors in the field. His insane ability to take risks and make astonishing passes is second to none. I have total confidence in his ability.

Waiting to find out the results on any given day is another story.

Much of Chris's racing happens overseas. We keep up with him via email, text messages, Skype and postings on Facebook. We try not to bother him. On race days, you are guaranteed to find any one of our family members crouched at our computers at some ungodly hour, searching for results. We often wait hours to hear that a race was delayed or cancelled. This waiting game of the unknown is a crazy time for the Del Bosco family. 

We worry. We worry in a good way…is that possible? We worry because we love Chris. We worry because we want him to be successful. I always say, "Any day you can finish and not have an injury is a win for me." Chris disagrees with me. The sport of skicross is inherently dangerous. It is grueling. It is erratic. It is a beast.

News came in early last Wednesday morning that Chris had won. I knew he had a very fast and smooth qualifying run and we hoped that would give him the confidence to win his heats and be victorious. The weather in France has not been kind to the competitors. 

Snow moved in and while the racers were eager to get out there, the officials had other ideas. Since the qualifying runs had been logged and were official, they called the race. I won't lie, I was thrilled for him. A win is a win. I shed a few tears of relief and called to confer with my parents.

We were particularly thrilled because the victory came on my mother's birthday. He may not have had to ski heats, but at the end of the day he was the fastest guy out there. I am guessing people will complain - those would be the ones who weren't in the top three spots.

So, Chris is off to Ontario [this week] after a tough bunch of races in Europe with a gold medal to add to his ever-growing collection. It is clear that he is a threat. There are guys out there that will risk anything to take him out of heat. I know he is eager to be back in Canada on home turf.  He'll be racing at Blue Mountain on Wednesday.  It will be a thrilling day. Many family and friends will be there to cheer him on as he fights to make his Olympic dream come true. Then he is off to Lake Placid, N.Y., to race on January 24.

The Canadian freestyle Olympic team will be named on Jan. 25. Until then, we will sit tight. We're sort of used to it. This is tough. Toughest for the athletes out there giving their life to sport in hopes of getting a ticket to the big show in Vancouver.