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Freestyle Skiing 2016 - 2017 Discussion Thread


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Laffont and Kingsbury triumph in Thaiwoo moguls

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The first of the weekend’s back-to-back competitions at the moguls World Cup finals took to the newest venue on the tour in Thawoo (CHN) for single moguls competition on Saturday, where Perrine Laffont (FRA) and Mikael Kingsbury (CAN) were able to step up and claim victories on the tricky Thaiwoo course.

 

As has been the case all week, brilliantly sunny skies and a perfectly prepared course greeted the athletes on Saturday morning, with organizers and Mother Nature working in tandem to create ideal conditions for the season-ending competitions. 

 

Ladies’ competition was tight throughout the day, with Justine Dufour-Lapointe (CAN) topping qualifications and the first round of finals before finding herself in the super final lined up against the likes of Laffont, moguls crystal globe winner Britt Cox (AUS), and last weekend’s Tazawako (JPN) dual moguls winner Jaelin Kauf (USA). 

 

As she was slated to drop last, Dufour-Lapointe watched as Laffont put down the best run of the day for any of the ladies, skiing the tight moguls on the Thaiwoo sun-warmed course as smoothly as anybody had. Laffont’s score of 80.01 was the first to break the 80-point barrier for the ladies all day, and the gauntlet was thrown down for Dufour-Lapointe.

 

Unfortunately for the Canadian, Laffont’s performance would prove to be just out of reach on the day. While Dufour-Lapointe also skied cleanly, in the end she come up just short, finishing .75 points back of Laffont with a score of 79.26.

 

“I’m so happy to be on the podium today, especially to take first place,” said Laffont of her first win in 2016/17, “It wasn’t an easy course this morning with the ice, but this afternoon it was much better with the slushy snow. I just tried to enjoy my journey, and the win happened!”

Third place on Saturday went to Britt Cox (AUS), the 22-year-old Australian who was able to cinch up the moguls World Cup title last weekend in Japan. Saturday’s podium was her eighth in 10 events so far in 2016/17, and while it puts her well out in front in the race for the Freestyle overall crystal globe, we will not know until Sunday’s dual moguls competition if it is hers for certain. 

 

Kingsbury takes sixth straight win

 

In the men’s competition on Saturday, Mikael Kingsbury made no mistakes on tricky Thaiwoo course, topping qualifications, final number one, and then the big finals - all by considerable margins - on his way to taking his sixth-straight victory and, for all intents and purposes, ensuring himself of his sixth-straight Freestyle overall crystal globe.

 

Kingsbury’s sixth consecutive win leaves him one back of the record seven-straight victories he himself set back in 2014/15, and you can count on him being hungry to tie that mark in the hopes of besting it at the season opener in 2017/18. 

 

Kingsbury’s skiing was head-and-shoulders above his competition on Saturday, as he registered the top scores in time, turning, and air, simultaneously aggressive and relaxed on the extremely tight Thaiwoo course. His super final score of 86.00 put him 4.25 clear of runner-up Brodie Summers (AUS).

 

None of which is to take away from Summers’ performance, as the 23-year-old earned his second career podium with a silky-smooth effort that just didn’t quite match Kingsbury’s speed or jump difficulty. 

 

Capping off a thee-podium day for the Australians was Matt Graham, who went for a more attacking style than did his countryman Summers, but paid the price with some breaks in form through the course’s middle section. However, his result did move him to within 27 points of Ben Cavet of France in the race for second overall on the moguls leaderboard. 

 

Competition in Thaiwoo continues on Sunday with dual moguls - the final event of the moguls World Cup season and the competition in which we will see Britteny Cox and Mikael Kingsbury awarded the 2016/17 moguls crystal globes and, very possibly, the globes for 2016/17 FIS Freestyle Skiing overall titles. 

 

 

 

Full Results Men and Women

 

 

 

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Lassila and Wang on top in Minsk

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Lydia Lassila (AUS) and Xindi Wang (CHN) have both claimed victories at the aerials World Cup event staged in Minsk.

Returning from a two-week break after the Olympic test event in Phoenix Park (KOR), aerialist were back at it again today just outside of Minsk, at located 20km northeast of the Belarusian capital Olympic Sport Complex Raubichi.

 

Serving as the penultimate stage of the seasons, and with quite unclear situation in the aerials World Cup standing, the competition in Belarus provided some solid portion of action and excitement as well as some interesting shuffle in the overall rankings.

 

In the ladies' competition Lydia Lassila grabbed a big win, as the Vancouver 2010 Olympic gold medalist and the Sochi 2014 Olympic bronze medalist proved to be back on top of her game this season. Lassila took her second victory in 2017, following her great comeback on the World Cup circuit three years after her last appearance in international competition at 2014 Sochi Olympics.

 

Another Australian athlete Danielle Scott finished the day on second, as she took back the yellow World Cup leader bib from Mengtao Xu of China, who rounded out today's podium.

 

With only one more competition left to wrap up the aerials World Cup season, Scott sits on top of the leaderboard with 402 points and only 2 points ahead of second Xu. We should expect nothing but a pretty tight battle between those two in Russia. The rules are simple as the one to score higher on the results list in Moscow will take the overall aerials World Cup title.

 

While Scott and Xu are clearly ahead of the pack and above the reach of any other athlete, the battle for third place is still wide open with today's winner Lydia Lassila moving up in the ranking just behind the leading duo with 254 total points.

In men's event Xindi Wang led the podium sweep for China, with Guangpu Qi and Hang Zhou finishing on second and third respectively. Wang also scored his career's first World Cup win.

Finishing second on the day Guangpu Qi also had a perfect reason to celebrate his good performance in Minsk, as with another 80 points in the ranking and his closer rival Anton Kushnir (BLR) out of competition in Belarus, Qi secured the aerials World Cup title as he will be now looking to receive his crystal globe at season's grand finale in Moscow.

With three World Cup wins so far this season, Kushnir still sits second in the ranking with 308, while Mac Bohonnon from USA occupies third spot with 288 points following his fourth place on the day.

 

The aerials World Cup season concludes next weekend with a final competition in Moscow, Russia on March 4.

 

 

Full Results Men and Women

 

 

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vor 8 Stunden schrieb OlympicsFan:

Crazy to see two german guys on the podium in ski cross, but no german girl ...

I wonder what happened to Daniela Maier ... she was first in the world cup standings and shortly after she suddenly disappeared ...

 

Maier is injured: http://www.badische-zeitung.de/wintersport-1/schneesturm-sorgt-fuer-abbruch-des-weltcups-am-feldberg--133211739.html

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Cox and Kingsbury on top in World Cup Finale

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The second of the weekend's back-to-back moguls World Cup finals competitions staged in Thaiwoo (CHN) saw Britteny Cox (AUS) and Mikael Kingsbury (CAN) taking impressive victories to seal their dominance on tour in 2016/2017 season.

 

As has been the case all week long, sunny skies and a perfectly prepared course greeted the athletes also on Sunday morning, with both organizers and Mother Nature working in tandem to create ideal conditions for the season-ending dual moguls competition.

 

In the ladies' competition Brittney Cox stormed through the tight course in China for her season's seventh victory, eliminating Tess Johnson (USA), Alex-Ann Gagnon (CAN), Andi Naude (CAN) on her way to the big final. Once there she put together another solid run, though her victory was essentially ensured when her opponent Perrine Laffont (FRA)- winner of Saturday's single moguls competition - struggled to stay compact and went out of the course early after the start.

 

The win gave Cox seven victories in what was a superb World Cup season for the 22-year-old. "I'm so excited," Cox said holding her moguls crystal globe, "First win at the first event in Ruka, and now another one at the last event in China to wrap up the season. I'm just so happy."

 

Despite some problems in the big final, Perrine Laffont showed another amazing performance this weekend following her first place finish in yesterday's event. Second place on the day seems just accurate to her second place in the overall World Cup standing.

 

Third place went to Justine Dufour-Lapointe of Canada who edged out her teammate Andi Naude in ladies' small final. Justine also finished third in the overall moguls World Cup standing.

 

Cox was on point throughout the season, locking up the moguls crystal globe last weekend with a ninth-place finish that was actually her worst result all winter, before finally making official her overall FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup win with today's victory in China.

 

Cox’s incredible achievements are certainly the biggest in what has been huge season for an Aussie snow sports contingent that has had their best-ever World Cup season. With her overall win, Cox joins an elite group of Aussie athletes that includes Dale Begg-Smith, Lydia Lassila, and Jacqui Cooper. Not bad for an athlete who had never won a World Cup competition before this season.

 

On the men's side of things it was once again Mikael Kingsbury, as the great Canadian took back-to-back victories on the future 2022 Olympic course in Thaiwoo, making it also his seventh win in a row and 42nd World Cup total. Kingsbury was once again unstoppable defeating on his way to the big final the likes of James Matheson (AUS), Jussi Penttala (FIN), Brodie Summers (AUS) and Bradley Wilson (USA).

 

Then, in the big final Kingsbury left no doubts as to who owns the moguls throne, outscoring Swiss' youngster Marco Tade for his seventh-straight win to match a record he himself set back in 2014/15.

 

"It was an amazing season," Kingsbury said following the award ceremony, "I'm happy with where I'm right now and I believe I've done a good job with my coaches and team to get me to this point and win my sixth World Cup crystal globe."

 

Swiss skier Marco Tade, with the second place finish scored his second ever World Cup podium, two years after his third spot in the dual moguls event in Deer Valley (USA).

 

Bradley Wilson of USA rounded out today's podium with his second season's podium spot, after he edged out Canada's Simon Pouliot-Cavanagh in men's small final.

 

For the sixth consecutive year Kingsbury were awarded with both moguls and FIS Freestyle Skiing overall World Cup crystal globe highlighting yet another record-breaking season for Canada's finest mogul skier of all time. Kingsbury finished on top of the ranking ahead of the second aerialist Guangpu Qi (CHN) and third slopestyle and big air specialist Henrik Harlaut (SWE).

 

And, of course, Kingsbury had already officially topped the moguls World Cup rankings with is wins last weekend in Tazawako, with Benjamin Cavet (FRA) and Matt Graham (AUS) coming insecond and third.

 

As the 2016/2017 has come to an end, we also have seen awarded the Rookie of the Year honours, with the USA's Olivia Giaccio for the ladies and Sweden's Walter Walberg on the men's side earning the most votes. Giaccio finished on 11th place in the overall moguls World Cup ranking with a season highlighted by her third place finish last week in dual moguls competition in Tazawako (JPN). Walberg on the other hand ranked 22th in men's World Cup standing with his best result being a third place in Val St Come before sustaining the season-ending shoulder injury.

 

Thanks to a pretty dominant year in both moguls and ski cross World Cups, Team Canada took yet another victory in the nations' ranking ahead of second Team France and third Team USA.

 

The world's best moguls skiers now head to World Championships in Sierra Nevada (SPA), where they will compete in moguls and dual moguls competition on Wednesday and Thursday, March 8-9.

 

 

 

Full Results Men and Women

 

Moguls 2016/17 Final Ranking Men and Women

 

 

 

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Atkin and Harle on top in World Cup season's grand finale

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Isabel Atkin (GBR) and Teal Harle (CAN) have claimed victories at the 2016/17 slopestyle World Cup finals staged at Silvaplana's Corvatsch Park in Switzerland. As well, the season’s crystal globes ware handed out to overall slopestyle World Cup champions Sarah Hoefflin (SUI) and McRae Williams (USA).

 

With the top 8 ladies and top 16 men selected in yesterday's qualifications including some of the biggest names in the sport, the anticipation was high ahead of today's competition. The innovative course, crystal globes up for grabs, and world's best freeskiers all on hand in Corvatsch, everything was set for another exciting show.

 

Atkins claims her first World Cup win

In the ladies' competition 18 years old Isabel Atkin of Great Britain stepped it up big time in the finals taking her first ever World Cup victory. Atkin scored 88.40 points for her first run that included a switch lipslide, wall ride, left 720 safety, a switch dub 12 and a switch left 720 mute as she took an early lead that she would keep for the rest of the day. Isabel was delighted with her win and said she put everything into the run following all her hard training this season.

 

Emma Dahlstrom (SWE) grabbed the second place today with 86.00 points for her second run. It was also the fourth podium finish for the Swedish freeskier this season, with her highlight performance being a top spot in big air World Cup in El Colorado (CHI).

Representing the host nation was Mathilde Gremaud, doing the Swiss proud and rounding out ladies' podium on third with a score of 80.20 points.

 

Harle on top in men's competition

Similarly to Atkin, also Canada's Teal Harle wrapped up the season's finals in Corvatsch in great fashion with a career-best result. Harle was on fire today, stomping perfectly both of his runs and with the high score of 92.80 managed to finish on top of the field. His run included 270’s in and out of the rails, left dub 900 safety, a switch dub 12 mute and stylish left corked 900 hand drag over the final feature. Notably, he landed his signature trick, the intricacies of which are his secret.

 

“It’s like a double cork 10 but then you block it and land at 900 instead of 1080, so you skip the last 180. I believe it’s the first time that the trick is done in a contest run. It’s a little something that I have that is kind of unique!” said Harle. 

 

With the World Championships just around the corner, the win comes at good time for Harle, and the Canadian hopes for another good results in a couple of days in Sierra Nevada. 

 

“This gives me a lot of confidence going into Worlds. Now I know I can land my run so hopefully I can keep the momentum going,” Harle added.

 

Harle is having a break-out season on the World Cup tour and after some promising results earlier this year with fourth and fifth place finish in Italy and Canada, he has finally made it into the podium.

 

The US duo of McRae Williams and Gus Kenworthy took second and third respectively with 90.20 and 88.20 points. It was second podium finish on tour for both of them, with McRae also taking the win in Font Romeu, while Kenworthy placed second in the halfpipe World Cup in Mammoth.

 

Hoefflin and Williams awarded with the crystal globes 

In the overall slopestyle ranking it was Sarah Hoefflin (SUI) and McRae Williams (USA) who showed the most consistent form throughout the season and ended up with the crystal globes in their hands.

 

Hoefflin who had a 19 point advantage over Johanne Killi (NOR) before the competition in Switzerland, managed to stay on top of the ranking despite missing today's finals, placing the pressure on Killi to make top 5 in order to close the gap for the overall lead.

 

The Norwegian rider gave it all right from the start throwing down big tricks one after another. However, at the end of a run that looked like it could have easily placed her on podium today, she ended up with big crash after going massive on the third kicker. Though she fought through the pain and managed to land her second run, the score of 72.20 points was only enough for sixth place on the day. Thus Killi had to settle for the second place in the overall ranking, falling short to Hoefflin by only one point.

 

Colline Ballet-Baz (FRA) finished the season in third.

 

As for the men, McRae Williams managed to edge out all the competitors with his second-place finish and took over the ranking with 180 points.

 

Last year's slopestyle World Cup winner Andri Ragettli (SUI), who certainly wanted to repeat his success this year, couldn't quite stomp his superb run from yesterday's qualifications again in the finals. Finishing on sixth today Ragettli wasn't able to keep his advantage and wrapped up the season on second with 172 points.

 

The last podium stop ended up in hands of Colin Wili, also representing Switzerland.

 

With the World Championships just a couple of days away, the athletes will now slowly travel to Spain, with the slopestyle competition scheduled to take place March 17-19.

 

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Full Results Men and Women

 

Slopestyle 2016/17 World Cup Final Standing Men and Women

 

 

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Lassila and Zhou win at Moscow aerials World Cup final

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The 2016/17 FIS Freestyle aerials World Cup season came to a close in spectacular fashion on Saturday night, with Lydia Lassila (AUS) and Zhou Hang (CHN) earning victories after a night of close competition, and Xu Mengtao and Qi Guangpu topping off a resurgent year for the Nations Cup-winning Chinese aerials team by claiming the respective ladies’ and men’s crystal globes. 

 

Despite pervasive warm and wet conditions in Moscow throughout the week, teams and organizers managed to keep the 47-meter-tall scaffold competition venue in Moscow in prime condition, and excellent jumping was seen throughout the night.

 

Ladies’ winner Lassila was unstoppable on on Saturday night, notching the top scores in qualifications, semifinals, and in the super final, where an essentially flawless double full, full, earned her a score of 100.11 to handily beat the the 94.11 earned by runner-up Xu. 

 

“I’m happy with my jumping today,” said Lassila following her win, “I got better throughout the night. I’m really happy with my super final jump. To get over 100 points was one of my goals, and I got another win, so it’s great. And to finish the season ranked third overall, getting three wins in five events this season after not competing in three years is a good comeback for me. I’ve gotta keep it going next week for world championships.”

 

Third place went to Lassila’s Australian teammate Laura Peel, giving the reigning world champion her first podium since the 2015/16 season opener in Ruka.

 

The win was the third of an incredible comeback season for Lassila, and the 35-year-old who returned to the World Cup in 2016/17 after three years away from competition suddenly finds herself as one of the favourites for gold come time for the Sierra Nevada 2017 Freestyle Ski and Snowboard World Championships. 

 

Despite being bested by Lassila on Saturday night, Xu walked away from Moscow as the biggest winner of them all, as her second place performance was more than enough to surpass Danielle Scott (AUS) in the race for the 2016/17 aerials crystal globe. Scott and Xu came into Saturday’s competition separated by just two points, and when Scott crashed on her full, double full in the super final, Xu knew that all she had to do was ski away from her attempt and the third World Cup title of her career would be hers. 

 

“Today was very exciting,” said a beaming Xu, “It was an unbelievable day. I got my first win eight years ago in Moscow, and now I get the third crystal globe of my career here. And I do it one year after my ACL surgery…I’m very excited.”

 

Scott finished the night in Moscow in fifth place and finished the season in silver medal position on the aerials rankings, giving the 26-year-old her third consecutive top-3 result in the in the aerials standings. Scott’s teammate Lassila joined her in the overall podium, giving Lassila now a total of seven World Cup medals. 

 

Zhou tops in explosive men’s final, Qi takes second career crystal globe

The men’s competition in Moscow was a much more seesaw affair than was the ladies, with three different athletes leading each phase of the competition, capped off by China’s Zhou putting it together when the pressure was on in the big final.

 

Before Zhou’s win, Maxim Gustik (BLR) stood atop rankings in the qualifications, while Jonathon Lillis bested the field in the semifinals.

 

However, come time for the superfinal, Zhou would stand head and shoulders above the rest. 

 

With his spotless full, double full, full, Zhou earned himself a score of 125.22 - the highest for any athlete all day and nearly 15 points better than runner-up Gustik’s score of 110.97. The victory was the second of Zhou’s career, and moved him into fourth of the final aerials rankings.

 

“It’s really good,” Zhou said of his feelings following the win, “It was a crazy day. From me it was difficult. My training wasn’t good. But I made a plan with my coaches and they gave me lots of help, and I thank them for that.”

 

Behind Gustik in third place on Saturday was Maxim Burov (RUS), scoring a well-deserved podium for the host Russian squad in front of an enthusiastic crowd. 

 

On hand for awards but not competing on Saturday night was Qi Guangpu, as the two-time reigning world champion had already locked up his second career World Cup title with a second-place result at last weekend’s competition in Minsk (BLR). Qi finished the season with 440 points - 112 points ahead of the next-best athlete despite only competing in five of the season’s seven competitions.

 

Second overall went to Mac Bohonnon (USA), as the 2014/15 crystal globe winner rebounded nicely from a disappointing 2015/16 season that saw him finish 10th overall. 

 

On Saturday, however, Bohonnon was at the centre of the scariest moment of the day, when the 21-year-old over-rotated on his super final jump fell and heavily in the landing. Though he appeared to momentarily lose consciousness as a result of the fall, Bohonnon was able to walk off the course under his own power and attend the final awards.

 

Third place on the final season standings went to Anton Kushnir, as the reigning Olympic gold medallist, like Lassila on the ladies’ side, made an impressive return to competition after three years away from the sport. Kushnir managed three victories in just four contests entered, and had he put in a full season it seems likely he would have been challenging Qi for top spot. 

 

Powered along by Xu and Qi’s crystal globe-winning seasons, China took aerials the Nations Cup honours for 2016/17.

 

As well, the aerials Rookie of the Year honours were announced on Saturday, with China’s Shen  Xiaoxue and the USA’s Christopher Lillis coming out on top in the voting. Shen had five top-10 results on the season, and took a second-place podium at Phoenix Park in the test event for the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games. Lillis, meanwhile, earned four top-10 results on the season. 

 

 

Full Results Men and Women

 

2016/17 Aerials World Cup Final Standing Men and Women

 

 

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Thompson and Leman close out season with Blue Mtn wins

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The 2016/17 Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup season came to a close in spectacular fashion on Sunday afternoon, with Canada’s Marielle Thompson and Brady Leman capping off a ski cross celebration for the host squad with victories at the World Cup finals in Blue Mountain (CAN)

 

Sunday was the first ski cross World Cup competition at Blue Mountain in five years, but in an interesting case of history repeating itself the final result was a carbon copy for the Canadians, with Thompson and Leman on top and Chris Delbosco coming in second in the men’s competition, just as those three found themselves back in February 2012. 

 

This time around, however, things were made even sweeter, as those three and the rest of the Canadian team found themselves awarded with the ski cross Nations Cup trophy by competition’s end. 

 

Thompson tops off crystal globe-winning 2016/17 with home win

With the 2016/17 ski cross World Cup title and crystal globe all locked up before even dropping in on Sunday - the third crystal globe of her career - the only pressure on Thompson’s shoulders was the expectations of the Canadian fans, and she lived up to those expectations with aplomb. 

 

Lined up against Sandra Naeslund (SWE), Fanny Smith (SUI), and Brittany Phelan (CAN) in the big final, Thompson pulled what was probably her slowest start of the day, falling in behind Naeslund and locking into an early battle with Smith. 

 

However, heading into the icy, diving third corner of the Blue Mountain course, Thompson took a daring high line, setting herself up for a pass on Naeslund around the next corner and grabbing hold of a lead she wouldn’t let go. 

 

Naeslund pushed Thompson right to the very end, but just couldn’t find a chance to make a move on the smooth Canadian. Holding her lead over the final jump and across the line, Thompson took her seventh victory of the season and the 20th of her career at the venue where it all got started for her five years earlier. 

 

“It feels really good to win on home soil, with a repeat of last time we were here,” Thompson said from the finish area, globe in hand, “To take the win and get the globe here in front of my friends and family is indescribable.

 

“I did not crush the start in the big final and I got stuck behind Sandra,” Thompson went on when asked to describe her race, “But I knew on this course I just had to be patient and wait it out for the right moment. My coach said that I was a little gutsy in my choice of timing for that pass, but it was all just in the heat of the moment. Sandra’s an awesome competitor, so to be able to pass her and take the win is big.”

 

Naeslund would hold on for second, while Smith would round out the podium in third, as the top three ladies of the 2016/17 season finished the competition in Blue Mountain in just the way they would finish up on the final Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup rankings. 

 

For Phelan, the 2016/17 ladies Rookie of the Year, the fourth place result on the day was the best of her career and the highlight of a strong season that saw her make finals in every competition, earning six top-8 results. 

 

Leman and Delbosco make magic happen with 1-2 result

The men’s competition featured one of the most dominant performances we’ve seen by any competitor all season by Leman, as the 30-year-old lead from top to bottom in every one of his heats for an impressive victory.

 

And it wasn’t a lightweight big final he found himself in at the end, either, with Delbosco, reigning world champion Filip Flisar (SLO), and Terence Tchiknavorian joining him in the gates. All three of those athletes came into the final on the strength of some fine skiing of their own through the lead-up heats, with none more impressive than Delbosco and his fourth-to-first-place pass in the semi-finals. 

 

However, no one would be able to touch Leman in the big final. Pulling the fastest start, he made his way smoothly and easily through the tricky top section of the course before putting down the pedal and pulling away through the snaky middle section. 

 

Delbosco fell in behind Leman to fend off several attacks from Flisar, while Tchiknavorian was largely shut out of any opportunity to make his way into podium position, and the finish line would see the Canadians in first and second, with Flisar in third and Tchiknavorian denied a podium for France. 

 

“It was a perfect race,” said Leman from the finish, “It doesn’t happen very often that you can lead top to bottom for four runs in a row. Everyone’s so good these days that usually you’ve gotta make some passes at some point. But I was able to keep finding a little extra speed at the top and a little extra motivation from the home crowd.

 

“It’s an amazing day for our team,” Leman went on, “Del and I going one-two for the men, Marielle and Britt bit taking first and fourth for the ladies... We just showed that our team is deep and everyone’s still rolling strong at the end of the year. Taking home the Nations Cup is something that means a lot to our team. We work a lot on team values and team culture even though ski cross is an individual sport. It’s great for us to reach this goal.”

 

With the win, Leman was able to lock down second overall on the 2016/17 Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup leaderboard, finishing with 721 points - 42 back of the 763 held by crystal globe winner Jean Frederic Chapuis (FRA), and 82 points ahead of third overall Alex Fiva (SUI) and his 639.

 

Chapuis wasn’t on hand to claim his crystal globe in Blue Mountain, electing to rest at home ahead of the upcoming Sierra Nevada 2017 Freestyle Ski and Snowboard World Championships. However, it should not be lost in the mix this was the third consecutive World Cup title for the 28-year-old - making him the first man to accomplish the feat in ski cross World Cup history. 

 

The men’s Rookie of the Year honours went to Italy’s Siegmar Klotz, the former Alpine standout who made the move to ski cross at the start of this season at immediately settled in to his new discipline, making it through to finals in nine of 14 events and recording three top-10 results. 

 

 

Full Results Men and Women

 

2016/17 Ski Cross World Cup Final Ranking Men and Women

 

 

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Sharpe and Ferreira win in Tignes halfpipe; Martinod and Rolland take globes

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The FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup halfpipe finals went down in Tignes (FRA) on Tuesday, where, despite an incredible sequence of delays and drama, Cassie Sharpe (CAN) and Alex Ferreira (USA) took the final wins of the season, and Marie Martinod and Kevin Rolland gave the huge French crowd a reason to go wild by winning the 2016/17 halfpipe World Cup titles and crystal globes.

 

The weather had organizers and officials were scrambling to get the competition off, as an unbelievable three meters of snow fell on Tignes in two and a half days leading up to Tuesday evening, which in turn lead to an inbounds avalanche that saw judges and other officials involved in the World Cup competition digging out resort patrons caught in the slide. Thankfully, there were no serious injuries.

 

With the pipe finally cleared of snow and the lights blazing over the Tignes venue, action on Tuesday night was solid, with Cassie Sharpe leading the way in the ladies competition at the venue where she scored her one other World Cup win two seasons ago.

 

Spinning both way and linking tricks throughout her run, Sharpe’s combination of flairs, stylish 900s, and a groundbreaking switch corked 720 put her well out in front come time for tallying the results. Sharpe’s score of 90.80 put her nearly 5 points ahead of two-time crystal globe winner Ayana Onozuka’s (JPN) 86.00.

 

“I was feeling good from training in Korea and managed to qualify first,” said Sharpe following her win, “We weren’t sure the finals were going to happen because it snowed over two feet today, but the crew did a great job of maintaining the pipe and around 4:00 p.m. the clouds parted and it was blue skies. 

 

“I landed the switch cork 720 in Korea, and kept it a secret,” Sharpe went on, describing her run, “When I saw that I was in the lead dropping into my third run, I decided to put it all on the line and landed the first ever switch cork 720 by a woman in a contest run,”

Third on the day with 84.00 points was Martinod, who entered competition in Tignes free of pressure after locking up this season’s crystal globe with wins in all three of this season’s previous World Cup competitions.

 

Martinod’s 2016/17 World Cup title was the second of her career, coming an incredible 14 years after her first. After that first win the French standout spent nine seasons away from the World Cup tour and became a mother, before returning to competition in 2012/13 ahead of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, winning the silver medal in Sochi, and reestablishing herself as one of the best in the world.

 

Ferriera takes the night, Rolland takes the globe in a nail-biter

The USA’s Alex Ferreira stepped up to take the second podium and first victory of his World Cup career, with a run punctuated by a left double corked 1260 mute followed by a right-side flat 900 to finish things off that earned him a score of 93.20 and the final win of the 2016/17 season. 

 

Ferreira was joined on the podium by his teammate Taylor Seaton, who took the best result of his World Cup career with a score of 89.40. Just behind Seaton, by the barest of margins, was Kevin Rolland, whose second podium of the season was overshadowed by his come-from-behind World Cup halfpipe overall victory and second-straight crystal globe. 

 

Heading into competition on Tuesday night it was Torin Yater-Wallace (USA) leading the way, followed closely by his teammate Aaron Blunck, then Ben Valentin, and finally Rolland sitting in fourth, with all four of those skiers separated by just 39 points.

 

However, with Yater-Wallace injured and Blunck unable to put down a clean run in finals, it came down to a battle between the two close friends Valentin and Rolland. When the final results saw Rolland in third, just .20 points ahead of Valentin, a second-straight crystal globe was his. 

 

2Q==

 

 

Full Results Men and Women

2016/17 Halfpipe World Cup Final Ranking Men and Women

 

 

 

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FIS Freestyle World Cup season comes to a close with Voss-Myrkdalen big airs

Z

 

 

And just like that, the 2016/17 FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup season is over after back-to-back big air competitions on Friday and Saturday in Norway’s Myrkdalen resort. Emma Dahlstrom (SWE) took the win in both of the ladies’ contests on her way to claiming the first-ever FIS Freestyle ladies’ big air crystal globe, while the men’s wins were split between Norwegians Christian Nummedal on Friday and Birk Ruud on Saturday, while Henrik Harlaut would claim the men’s big air overall World Cup title and crystal globe off the strength of a sixth-place and a fourth-place finish in this weekends two competitions.

 

This season was the first to feature a full big air World Cup program, with six World Cup competitions in total, beginning with the season opener in El Colorado, Chile, followed by the three Super Series city events, and concluding finally with this weekend’s pair of events in Norway. 

 

Dahlstrom and Harlaut both won at that season-opener in El Colorado, giving themselves leads on the rest of the field that they would not relinquish at any point over the course of the season on their way to winning the globes. 

 

Dahlstrom finished the campaign with three wins, five total podiums and 453 points in six contest to best the 360 points of Silvia Bertagna (ITA) and the 225 of Mathilde Gremaud (SUI). Harlaut, meanwhile, would earn two wins, a runner-up and 394 points in the six events, putting himself above Ruud’s 251 points and Oystein Braaten’s (NOR) 242.

 

"It's freaking awesome to be the big air World Cup winner," said a smiling Dahlstrom from the finish area on Saturday, "This is the second globe to add to my collection, and I've worked so hard for this. I was just telling the other girls, you travel so many miles to get one of these and I'm so honoured and grateful."

 

Harlaut was similarly stoked with his triumph.

 

"It's amazing," he said, "Like Emma was saying, I've been to a lot of places this season, a lot of travel and work to make this come true, and I'm really happy to be presented with the globe."

 

This weekend’s competitions in Voss-Myrkdalen saw some heavy hitting going down on the smooth Norwegian big air set - at least, once the weather cooperated and allowed the athletes to really go off on Saturday.

 

Friday’s contest, however, saw some heavy snow throughout the day, making it tough for the riders to find the speed necessary for their top tricks. Still, Dahlstrom was able to stomp a pair of big 720s to earn a two-jump score of 171.20 points to best Bertagna’s 160.00 and take the ladies’ win, with 18-year-old Tora Johansen scoring her first career podium in third.

 

In the men's competition, Nummedal somehow found the speed to send a left-side triple corked 1620 safety grab nearly to the bottom of the landing on his way to earning a score 177.80 and the first win of the weekend. Nummedal lead a Norwegian sweep of Friday's podium, with his 16-year-old countryman Ruud taking second and their teammate Ferdinand Dahl taking third.

 

If Friday was a nice appetizer, Saturday’s main course in Voss-Myrkdalen was a true feast, with triples coming fast and furious in the men’s competition and some stylish 900s and 720 variations on the ladies’ side.

 

Dahlstrom would take her second win on the weekend with a sweet switch left 720 double Japan and a corked 720 reverse Japan, earning a score of 174.40 to once again edge Bertagna and her score of 170.60. Kea Kuehnel (GER) rounded out the final podium of the season in third with a score of 129.60.

 

For the men, Ruud would do one better than this runner-up performance from Friday, earning a score of 189.80 and his first World Cup victory with a triple corked left side 1080 safety and a massive right side triple 1440 safety. Antoine Adelisse (FRA) scored 187.40, second on the day and the first podium of his career with a performance that included a switch right triple corked 1260 safety, while Feliz Stridsberg-Usterud (NOR) returned to the podium for the first time in two years in third place with a score of 181.20.

 

2Q==

 

 

 

Full Friday Results Men and Women

Full Saturday Results Men and Women

 

2016/17 World Cup Big Air Final Ranking Men and Women

2016/17 World Cup General Final Standing Men and Women

 

2016/17 Nations Cup Final Standing Here

 

Z

 

 

Friday

 

Saturday

 

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