KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia — Despite a difficult day on the slopes, two Members of the Canadian men’s technical alpine ski team qualified for the FIS World Cup finals.

Both Michael Janyk and Julien Cousineau finished in the top 25 in the points this season to advance to the finals in Lenzerheide, Switzerland later this month.

Cousineau, of Lachute, Que., was the top Canadian in Sunday’s World Cup slalom race, placing 15th in a two-run combined time of one minute 51.14 seconds. Austria’s Mario Matt won gold in 1:49.14. American Nolan Kasper and Axel Baeck, of Sweden, were tied for second with identical times of 1:49.23.

Calgary’s Trevor White was 21st Sunday with a combined time of 1:52.09

Janyk, of Whistler, B.C., was one of four Canadians who failed to complete both runs, but still sits 15th in the overall standings. Cousineau is 20th.

“It was tough today,” Janyk said in a news release. “With slalom, it can be such a thin line. I had some confidence from my last race and I knew what I needed to do but it’s a fine line.”

Calgary’s Brad Spence, Ottawa’s Patrick Biggs and Paul Stutz of Banff, Alta., also failed to finish. It was a heartbreaker for Spence, who began the day in 24th place in the standings but wound up 26th, just missing out on a berth in the World Cup finals.

“It was a pretty disappointing day, for sure,” Spence said. “I’m battling a little bit of a cold. The energy levels weren’t where they needed to be and to put a demanding course on top of that.”

Janyk, who has had two fifths and one fourth-place finish since the turn of the year, knows exactly how he will approach the World Cup finals.

“I’m not going to change anything,” he said. “I really like how my skis are working.”

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