Both riders returned to racing in Val di Sole after missing six combined World Cup starts. Their finish positions didn’t reach their lofty standards — Gibson was 13th in short track and 15th in XCO, and Richards was 11th and 29th, respectively — but that fact is academic. They both were able to get through the World Cup weekend cleanly, and can now turn their attention to building through the end of the season.
The return to racing was especially helpful to Gibson, who had just one complete World Cup race prior to Friday. Coming back via short track racing is a particularly difficult endeavor.
“I was really happy with my first race back,” Gibson said. “The high pace of XCC was such a shock to the system. I struggled a bit with the speed at first and found myself at the back. But I just kept fighting and started to find the race legs and moved up a lot in the final laps.
“My fitness is there. The rest will come back each race.”
