The World Cup moguls circuit will soon be in Quebec, but just before, Mikaël Kingsbury scored a double at the Waterville stage in New Hampshire. The king of moguls emerged victorious from the duels on Sunday, 24 hours after winning the individual event.
Updated yesterday at 6:57 p.m.
It was only the second parallel event of the season after the cancellation of those planned at Idre Fjäll and Alpe d’Huez in December. And the first duels on the calendar did not go as Kingsbury hoped at the World Cup in Bakouriani, he who had been stopped in the quarter-finals and placed eighth. He started fresh on Saturday on the Lower Bobby track.
The athlete from Deux-Montagnes first had the upper hand over the Swede Robin Olgaard and the American Dylan Walczyk. He faced another Swedish representative in the semi-final, Filip Gravenfors, known for his speed. He demonstrated why by beating Kingsbury by half a second at the bottom of the track. The judges still gave the advantage to the Quebecer, who was technically superior.
Once he reached the final, he had the last word against the Australian Matt Graham to sign 94e victory of his career in the World Cup. The bronze medal went to Gravenfors.
“I’m glad the weekend is over!” It was a great weekend, I’m really happy with the way I skied,” shared Mikaël Kingsbury with a smile at the FIS microphone, after his victory.
PHOTO ROBERT F. BUKATY, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
-Mikaël Kingsbury competes in the Freestyle Mogul Skiing World Cup on January 24, 2025, in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire.
“The duels were pretty crazy. We didn’t have the best visibility, but we were ready to push our limits. It was good to face Matty in the final. We started at the World Cup at almost the same time and became good friends. »
Julien Viel lost to the Japanese Ikuma Horishima in the round of 16 and ranked 9e. His teammates Gabriel Dufresne and Elliot Vaillancourt finished 18e et 31e.
The women’s event was won by Frenchwoman Perrine Laffont, ahead of American Jaelin Kauf. Laffont also won gold in Friday’s individual event.
Defeated by Kazakh bronze medalist Yuliya Galysheva, Maïa Schwinghammer was the best Canadian of the day with a fourth place. Laurianne Desmarais-Gilbert defeated Frenchwoman Camille Cabrol before losing to Schwinghammer in the quarter-finals. She concluded on 15e rank, while Ashley Koehler is at 22e step.
Val Saint-Côme will host the Moguls World Cup for a third consecutive year next weekend. The individual event will be contested on Friday and will be followed by the duels the next day.
