Quebecer Mikaël Kingsbury's series of Moguls World Cup victories ended at five on Friday in Bakouriani, Georgia, where Frenchman Benjamin Cavet surprised everyone a little with a first victory in four years.
Cavet, whose last victory was acquired in Idre Fjäll, Sweden, in December 2020, collected 84.08 points from the judges, just ahead of Kingsbury (82.93).
“I'm really happy, because the conditions weren't easy today. Especially since a 280 m slope is one, if not the longest, that I have skied in my career,” he said in a video statement sent to the media.
Finnish Severiu Vierela (80.80) completed the podium. He became the first Finn since 2016 to reach a podium in the Moguls World Cup. Jimi Salonen then achieved this feat at Deer Valley.
Kingsbury entered through “the back door” into the super-final, placing fifth in the final, a rather unusual position for him.
“I didn't get my ski grip in my bottom jump and I was penalized by more than three points, which was deserved. It was my first jump and my ski that allowed me to qualify fifth. »
In the super-final, he was not entirely satisfied with his descent, but still believed he could collect more points.
“I thought it was worth more, but to collect around 82.90 points is not bad. It just wasn't enough for another win, he said. I'm happy to have controlled the damage and finished second and to pick up big points from my main rivals. »
The main rivals Kingsbury speaks of are Swede Walter Wallberg and Japanese Ikuma Horishima. The three men were on the first two podiums of the season. Wallberg this time finished fourth and Horishima, 14th.
In the standings, Kingsbury is still in the lead with 280 points. Cavet, fourth in the first two events, follows at 200 points, ahead of Wallberg (190) and Horishima (158).
Kingsbury had won every race since the World Cup in Almaty, Kazakhstan, last March, a streak in which he won three solo events and two duals.
However, his streak of podium finishes continues. It is now at six. The last time he was excluded from the World Cup podium was at Deer Valley in February, when he finished sixth in the dual moguls.
Only one other Canadian finished in the top-10, with Julien Viel finishing in 10th place. Gabriel Dufresne finished in 12th place. Elliot Vaillancourt (25th), Samuel Goodison (35th), Sam Cordell (37th) and Charles Beaulieu (48th) did not qualify.
Schwinghammer sixth
In the women's category, Canadian Maia Schwinghammer took sixth place in the event won by American Olivia Giaccio (80.19), who beat Frenchwoman Perrine Laffont (76.53) and another American, Jaelin Kauf ( 76.13).
Schwinghammer and Laurianne Desmarais-Gilbert (16th) were the only Canadians to qualify. Jessica Linton, the only other representative of the Unifolié, finished 21st.
This victory for Giaccio allowed him to get closer to Laffont in the crystal globe rankings. Laffont has 260 points against 205 for the American. Australian Jakara Anthony, who suffered a broken left collarbone in training at Idre Fjäll, slipped to third, at 180 points, 30 better than Schwinghammer.
The Bakuriani World Cup will continue on Saturday with the first parallel moguls event of the season. The entire field will then meet in Lake Placid on January 18 and 19.
