2018 Olympic Gold Medalist Red Gerard took the top spot on the podium Saturday at the Dew Tour at Copper Mountain, followed by Chris Corning in second.

Weather had cancelled the Thursday qualifiers, so the full field of 25 men ran with best of two runs counting. Gerard was the very last rider to drop —Corning, the second-to-last, had just dropped prior and disrupted the podium, bumping Canada’s Mark McMorris out of first with a score of 91.50. Then it was Gerard’s turn. You guys, this series of events was a lot!

Gerard put down an incredible run earning a score of 93.25 to overtake Corning. He went clean through the upper rail section, then frontside 1080 nosegrab improving over the 720 on his first run and adding in the nosegrab for style, then into a backside 1260 melon, and finishing with the biggest trick of the day—a switch backside 1620 Weddle. The crowd, which included a large gathering of his family and friends, absolutely erupted.

“Standing at the top for run two after seeing all the guys destroy it today, I was just thinking that I’m so proud of our U.S. team and all of my friends from everywhere, and how good we’ve been riding,” Gerard shared with the Dew Tour. “Obviously I wanted to land a run and get on the podium, but more than anything, I was just feeling so happy with how everyone rode. It was incredible.”

Corning earned his second-place finish cleanly handling the rail section and then stepping up in the jumps with a Cab 1260 nosegrab, into a frontside flatspin 1440 melon, to backside triple cork 1440 melon.

U.S. Team Slopestyle Coach Dave Reynolds shared his excitement at the results: “This was an amazing finish to the contest, the event kept getting postponed and every postponement meant a new start order. Chris Corning and Red, the last two to drop, couldn’t have been a more storybook situation. They came in so clutch, not a surprise, but so impressive. Really excited for them both.”

McMorris held it down in third with a score of 90, while Sean Fitzsimons put down a memorable run linking up back-to-back triple cork 1440s which earned him a fourth-place finish. Brock Crouch took sixth and Like Winklemann finished in 11th.

Women’s Slopestyle

The women’s slopestyle saw challenging snow conditions for some of the competitors, with speed becoming less of an issue among the field of 15 as they advanced through the three-run finals.

New Zealand’s Zoi Sadowski-Synnott took the top score of the day with a 97.75, followed by Finland’s Enni Rukajarvi with a 90.75, and Japan’s Kokomo Murase in third with an 87.75.

Eighteen-year-old Courtney Rummel posted the top U.S. score of the day, earning fourth place with an 83.50. This was a career-best finish for the U.S. Team rookie rider.

“I’m super stoked, I’ve never done two sevens in a run so I’m so happy I pulled it together. It’s insane to me,” shared Rummel just after landing her run. She also shared her excitement about competing alongside teammates Julia Marino and Jamie Anderson, “It makes me want to step up because they step up. They’re the biggest inspirations ever. It’s so sick riding with them—I love it.”

Two-time Olympic Gold medalist Jamie Anderson finished in seventh and Julia Marino in 10th—both uncharacteristically unable to put down their runs in finals.

The Olympic qualifiers continue after the holidays at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain, California, January 3–8, 2022.

Men's Slopestyle Results
Women's Slopestyle Results

2018 Olympic Silver medalist Alex Ferreira earned the top spot Saturday at the Dew Tour at Copper Mountain, Colorado. This win follows on his victory from the week prior at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix, making it two-for-two at Copper.  

Ferreira’s earned his top score of 95.75 with a run that included a switch leftside 1080 tailgrab, into a rightside double cork 1620 tailgrab, into a leftside double cork 1440 safety grab, followed by a switch down-the-pipe double cork 900 Japan grab, and finishing off with a leftside double cork 1260 safety grab. And you know he swung that ski pole to celebrate that run.

Ferreira said, “There’s a lot of spinning in that run, and I’ve actually never done it before and to be able to do it and put all the pieces together for the puzzle it was pretty incredible, not just for the result, but for my mental game.”

Aaron Blunck came back to soundly claim second following a frustrating finish the week prior. He earned his top score of 94 in his final of three runs, putting down a double cork-studded run both ways from top to bottom, finishing with a rightside double cork 1260.

“It was a huge difference from last week, going 0 for 3 to 2 for 3 this week,” said Blunck. “This whole week I was just having so much fun, enjoying the times. At the end of the day, skiing is skiing and it’s just so much fun. I just had to remember that and keep it in the back of my head. That was the biggest difference.”

Blunck adds this second-place podium finish to his first-place finish at the first Olympic qualifying event at the U.S. Grand Prix in Aspen last March.

Birk Irving finished in fourth continuing his methodical climb up the ranks, followed by two-time Olympic Gold medalist David Wise in fifth, Hunter Hess in eighth and Lyman Currier in ninth.

Women’s Halfpipe Finals

In the women’s field, Hanna Faulhaber earned a career-best finish on Friday, landing in third place. Faulhaber’s top score of 90.75 came on her final run of finals.

The 17-year-old freeskier from Aspen, Colorado is quickly becoming recognized for her amplitude, which she displayed in fine form on her first hit. She then upped the difficulty of her run incorporating a cork 900 on her final hit—a first for her in competition.

“By adding the 9, it has stepped up my level of skiing by quite a bit. But there is definitely still a lot more to improve,” said Faulhaber in an interview with the Aspen Times.

As for her performance, Hanna said, “Unreal! I’m just so out of words right now. I put down two solid runs and was pretty stoked. It feels great—first Dew Tour podium and first big podium period. I’m stoked at a loss for words.” 

2018 Olympic Bronze medalist Brita Sigourney finished in eighth place, this follows her fourth-place finish at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix the week prior.

This event marks the third of six U.S. Olympic ski halfpipe qualifying events. The qualifying circuit now continues up north in Calgary, where the U.S. Freeski team will have two more chances to compete, before the final stop at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain, California.

FULL RESULTS
Men's Ski Halfpipe Final
Women's Ski Halfpipe Final

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Kai Owens claimed her second World Cup podium of the season with a third place in the Alpe d’Huez Dual Moguls World Cup Saturday in France. Owens led five teammates into the Top 10: including Jaelin Kauf and Cole McDonald in fourth, Tess Johnson in fifth, Brad Wilson in sixth, and Hannah Soar 10th. 

Alpe d’Huez showed off with another beautiful bluebird day and an energetic crowd, bringing a high level of excitement to the course that athletes fed off all day as they pushed themselves in head-to-head competition. Finals started with sun on the course, but as the rounds went, the shade crept in and what was soft snow turned to packed ice.  

“This was a very challenging course today, every run athletes had to ski every mogul, it was relentless,” said U.S. Freestyle Team Head Mogul Coach Matt Gnoza. “Athletes had to ski more technically and put their skis on edge a little more, which is hard to do in duals when it’s you versus someone else and you want to be down the course first.”

Owens, Kauf, Johnson, Soar and Olivia Giaccio all qualified for the round of 16 Thursday. Johnson had a “buy” and advanced to the round of eight as Japan’s Rino Yanagimoto did not start. Johnson then met Australia’s Jakara Anthony and fought hard, but had a couple breaks in the middle section and did not take the advantage. Giaccio met Russia’s Anastasia Smirnova but struggled through the middle section and ended the day in 12th. Madison Hogg finished 46th. 

Owens worked her way through the field, taking the advantage over Soar in the Round of 16, and Canada’s Maia Schwinghammer in the round of eight. Owens met Anthony in the semifinals where Anthony took the advantage. 

Kauf showed the field what she is made of, skiing strong and calling upon her speed to take the advantage over Japan’s Anri Kawamura in the round of 16 and Canada’s Justine Dufour-Lapointe in the round of eight. She met Smirnova in Semi Finals. Although Kauf had some trouble in the middle section, she had Smirnova in speed, but did not advance to the Big Final. 

The Small Final featured another American friendly fire with Owens and Kauf in an all-out drag race. Kauf had Owens with speed, crossing the line first, but didn’t quite stick her bottom air landing, and Owens took the advantage for the podium spot. 

"I feel like I finally got back to skiing like myself," said Kauf. "It’s been struggle this year to get in the right mindset but I just went out today and did my best to ski my run. The course was tough and it was easy to get stiff in there which cost me a few mistakes but I was stoked to lay down some good runs and get back in the groove of it. That’s what will carry me into the break and back into after Christmas grind again."

Anthony won her second-straight World Cup of the weekend and Smirnova took second place. 

Three men qualified for the Round of 16. Nick Page skied an epic qualification run to qualify in fourth position. He had a tough run out of the gate in the Round of 16 against Kazakhstan’s Pavel Kolmakov, going a little big on the top air and landing in a tricky spot, and unable to take the advantage. Page finished the day in 13th. Dylan Walczyk finished 17th. 

Wilson skied a dynamic run against France’s Sacha Theocharis in the round of 16 to take the advantage. He was knocked out by Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury in the round of eight.

D Team member Cole McDonald made another impressive statement in his only fifth career World Cup start. McDonald attacked the course all day, beating Japan’s Daichi Hara in the round of 16 and Kolmakov in the round of eight. 

He came up against Kinsgbury in the semifinals, and came out of the gate a bit hot, going big on the top air and blew out. “Skiing against Mikael I knew I had to have my best stuff, I tried to beat him out of the gate and tried to get him to go too big, but I did,” explained McDonald. 

McDonald then met Japan’s Ikuma Horishima in the Small Final and kept on him in a fight to the end. “I just wanted to lay down a run next to Ikuma, have a good side by side and put on a good show for everybody,” said McDonald. Horishima took the advantage for the third place podium.

Kingsbury won the event and Sweden’s Walter Wallberg took second. 

“For me today wasn’t about winning [those] duals (in the Semi and Small),” said McDonald. “It was more about finally being able to duel with both of those guys (Kingsbury and Horishima). I have dreamed about dueling them. So even just making it down and being able to ski side by side was sweet no matter if I won or lost.”

“Cole is building confidence every day he’s out here,” said Gnoza. “He is able to call on his athleticism and the skills he developed in the Wasatch Freestyle program. It’s really paying off for him. The way he skied those middle sections at the speed he was today was impressive.”  

This marks the mogul crew’s final World Cup competition of 2021. Athletes will get a brief holiday break before picking things back up again in the New Year. 

“The team is eager to get some rest but they’re also eager to get going again,” said Gnoza. “All of them are hungry to build on the progress they made [this block] and continue to do the things they need to do to keep climbing the results sheet. This is a group of relentless workers, and it was great to see their hard work pay off.”

RESULTS
Women’s Dual Moguls
Men’s Dual Moguls

2021-22 Freestyle World Cup Schedule

2021-22 Freestyle Olympic Schedule

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Exactly one year after scoring her first career FIS World Cup podium in Val d’Isere, Breezy Johnson stepped back onto the podium at the same venue in the downhill with a second place finish.

It’s been an exceptional 365 days for Johnson, who has amassed seven podiums over the last year—all in downhill.

Johnson had been third at the French venue last season and laughed about her result. “Every year I do a deal with the devil and he says you have to pick a number,” she said. “Last year I picked three because that seemed more attainable and this year I picked two!”

Italian Sofia Goggia won her seventh consecutive downhill on the fast course over Johnson. Miriam Puchner of Austria was third.

It was the third time Goggia and Johnson have gone one-two in a race this season, finishing in the same pattern in both Lake Louise downhills. Out of Breezy’s seven podiums, she has finished behind Goggia in each, with Goggia winning all but one of those races. “I’m happy with my skiing today,” said Breezy. “Sofia I’m sure had a great race. I didn’t watch her run because I didn’t want it to get in my head, but she has been incredible.”

Goggia’s run was a wild ride down the Val d’Isere O.K. course, named after French Olympic champions Henri Oreiller and Jean-Claude Killy, and Johnson’s clean run stood in sharp contrast. She knew she had speed coming into the race, but wasn’t confident after a mediocre training run. However the mentally strong skier stuck to her plan and executed at each section to finish just .27 seconds behind Goggia.

The Italian's victory catapulted Goggia in front of Mikaela Shiffrin in the overall standings, who skipped the downhill and plans to race Sunday’s super-G. Goggia leads with 535 points over Shiffrin’s 525 points.

Jackie Wiles, who broke her clavicle in Val d’Isere last December, also skied into the points in 26th. Keely Cashman skied out and did not finish.

The women next race super-G in Val d’Isere on Sunday to finish out the weekend.

RESULTS
Women’s downhill

HOW TO WATCH
*All times EST

Sunday, Dec. 19, 2021 
4:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Giant Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Alta Badia, ITA, Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock
5:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Super-G - LIVE, Val D'Isere, FRA, Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock
7:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Giant Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Alta Badia, ITA, Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock

Please note: Streaming services and apps are third-party services and subject to such parties’ terms of use and data privacy. U.S. Ski & Snowboard disclaims any and all liability for use of third-party services and apps.

With a euphoric scream and instant tears, 29-year-old Bryce Bennett crossed the finish line at the Val Gardena downhill with a near-perfect run and his first ever career FIS World Cup win. It was the first victory for an American downhiller in nearly five years.

It seemed to come out of nowhere for the cheering Italian fans, who had seen Bennett finish in the middle of the pack in the downhill training runs, but the California native knew he could be fast on this hill. He had scored a fourth place finish in last year’s World Cup in Val Gardena and Americans have ruled at the venue in the past. Bennett kept it close up top, just a few tenths behind the leader, when he came into the terrain-heavy Ciaslat section near the bottom and stepped on the gas. The 6-foot-7 skier, who grew up riding BMX bikes, worked the bumps to shoot through the finish in first place. He looked up at his time, screamed an expletive we can’t publish here, and hollered in joy as he realized what he had just done.

“Over the last few weeks, I’ve been thinking about what a win would mean,” said Bennett. “It’s everything I thought it would be. I’ve been skiing poorly through the last few races, and here I felt really good and I just let it flow. It’s just frustrating when you have bad training runs and bad races, but here, anything can happen for me. I had a good plan. Honestly my expectations were a top 10 and then when I crossed the line and it was green, I was more than excited.”

Bennett was nearly beaten a few racers later by Aleksander Aamodt Kilde of Norway, who has won four of his nine World Cup victories on this hill, including Friday’s super-G, and was ahead in the splits, but he got low on his line and skied out to DNF. Otmar Striedinger of Austria was second and Niels Hintermann of Switzerland was third.

Bennett hadn’t had a banner start to the season, finishing in the 20s and 30s in the North American races, but he knew he had fast skis and his confidence was high. He had recently switched over to his teammate Steven Nyman’s serviceman Leo Mussi, who has now accumulated eight wins on the Saslong in Val Gardena, including Nyman’s three career victories on the track.

“Leo Mussi! I think he has the most wins here as a serviceman,” said Bennett. “When I ski poorly, I feel bad for Leo. He works so hard. He’s like my second dad. Steve, Leo and I have a good relationship and we’re tight together.”

Travis Ganong and Jared Goldberg also had solid runs, finishing 15th and 19th. Nyman was 23rd and Ryan Cochran-Siegle, who was second at this race in 2020, was 27th. Erik Arvidsson was 59th.

The speed men are done for the weekend, while the tech men head to Alta Badia on Sunday for a giant slalom.

So how are the U.S. Alpine Ski Team downhillers going to commemorate Bennett’s big win? “I think we’re going to have a couple beers tonight and celebrate,” laughed Bennett. “And I think I’m going to buy a boat.”

RESULTS
Men's downhill

HOW TO WATCH
*All times EST

Sunday, Dec. 19, 2021 
4:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Giant Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Alta Badia, ITA, Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock
5:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Super-G - LIVE, Val D'Isere, FRA, Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock
7:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Giant Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Alta Badia, ITA, Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock

Please note: Streaming services and apps are third-party services and subject to such parties’ terms of use and data privacy. U.S. Ski & Snowboard disclaims any and all liability for use of third-party services and apps.

Snowboardcross teams from around the world have been battling it out to see who will be first in Italy. The real excitement at Cervinia was the stiff competition on the women’s side. Friday after qualifications were finished, the U.S. women’s team had a solid showing—especially of note was Lindsey Jacobellis, qualifying in second place. A particularly impressive position after coming out of a serious elbow injury and surgery only a month ago; Faye Gulini qualified in fourth.

On Saturday the sun was bright and the sky clear, but tensions were high. Team U.S.A.’s own Faye Gulini and Lindsey Jacobellis would be battling it out with Michela Moioli from Italy, and Belle Brockhoff from Austria.

Right out of the gate it was a tight race, each athlete giving it everything they had. Into the first large turn it was Moioli in first, Gulini in second, Jacobellis in third, and Brockhoff in fourth. Moioli got the inside line for the next turn with Gulini right next to her. Jacobellis got pushed a little wide and had to make an evasive maneuver not to run into her teammate which would ultimately slow her down and allow a window for Brockhoff to sneak through in the next few turns. Through the next couple of jumps and turns the battle for first place continued between Moioli and Guliui, each trading position for the leader of the pack.

It came all the way down to the wire and a literal photo finish at the end with Moioli taking the top podium spot by  quarter-inch of a board length in front of Gulini. Brockhoff took third and Jacobellis finished in fourth place, crossing the finish line fractions of a second behind. If you didn’t catch this live, it is worth watching, a few times. This is the sort of competition that we want to see, and looking at the passion and drive these athletes have I have no doubt we will see more to come!

On the U.S. men’s side of things, they had a difficult showing and tough competition with Hagen Kearney and Mick Dierdorff in the top 20 after qualifications on Friday. But they were unable to keep the momentum going for the rest of the qualifying runs.

Now the U.S. team will head home for the holidays for a little rest and relaxation before the next race in deep in Siberia, where we will open the New Year with back-to-back races in Krasnoyarsk, Russia on January 8 and 9.

World Cup standings Women
World Cup standings Men

Hannah Halvorsen posted a career-best World Cup result, finishing seventh, to lead six Davis U.S. Cross Country Team athletes into the top 30 at the FIS Cross Country World Cup freestyle sprint in Dresden, Germany, Saturday. 

"I’m still a little in shock," Halvorsen said of her result. "It was surreal and exciting to make my first semis. The best part of the day was the confidence I gained by skiing in a semi and feeling like I was in the mix. I am grateful for this opportunity and cannot wait for more."

Jessie Diggins was eighth, Hailey Swirbul was 16th, and Julia Kern was 22nd. In the men’s freestyle sprint, JC Schoonmaker was ninth, and Logan Hanneman finished 30th.

Sweden’s Maja Dahlqvist won her fourth-consecutive World Cup sprint of the season, while her teammate Jonna Sundling was second, followed by Slovenia’s Anamarija Lampic in third. In the men’s race, Norway’s Haavard Solaas Taugboel posted the fastest qualifying time and went on to win his first career World Cup race. Italy’s Federico Pelligrino was second, followed by Lucas Chanavat of France in third. 

Halvorsen qualified 25th and advanced to the semifinals after dodging some second-turn carnage caused by Norway’s Magni Smedaas. With Smedaas, Swiss Laurien van der Graaff, and Germany’s Sofie Krehl sprawled out on the snow, Halvorsen skied to the inside and finished second in her quarterfinal heat.

Meanwhile, Diggins finished third in her quarterfinal heat and advanced to the semifinals as one of two Lucky Losers. In the semifinals, Halvorsen and Diggins just missed advancing to the finals, finishing third and fourth respectively on the tight, fast Dresden track.

Up next, Dresden hosts a freestyle team sprint Sunday. 

RESULTS
Women’s freestyle sprint
freestyle sprint

STANDINGS
Women’s World Cup overall
Men’s World Cup overall
Women’s World Cup sprint
Men’s World Cup sprint

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST

Sunday, Dec. 19, 2021
6:00 a.m. FIS Cross Country World Cup Men's and Women's Team Freestyle Sprint - LIVE, Dresden, GER, Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock

It was one, two, three (and four!) for the men’s slopestyle podium at the Dew Tour at Copper Mountain, Colorado. Colby Stevenson was the top qualifier coming into the event, and he held on to the top spot, but not without an exciting back-and-forth with teammate Alex Hall who finished in second, followed by Nick Goepper in third, and Mac Forehand finishing just off the podium in fourth—what a result for the U.S. Freeski Team!

Hall overtook Stevenson at the end of the second round of qualifying, so the pressure was on for Stevenson to retake that top spot. Stevenson upped his third rail trick from qualifiers stomping a 450 out of the donkey at the end of the rail, then added another layer of difficulty.

“I learned a new trick on the first jump—the nosebutter dub 10.” Says Stevenson, “I’ve never done it—super excited about that. I was just doing a nosebutter cork 10, which I was equally as hyped on in the qualifiers, but I knew the dub 10 would score a little higher especially if I could get a Japan grab in it.” And that’s exactly what he did to retake the top spot with a score of 96.25.  “It’s insane to come out here and win a Dew Tour, talk about a dream,” said Stevenson, who adds this win to his first place finish at the 2021 Aspen Grand Prix slopestyle.

Hall, who’s coming off a recent second-place finish at the VISA Big Air in Steamboat, earned second today with a score of 95.25. “It feels good,” he said. “Today I had a little better practice, and all the boys were throwing down and we made it work with the speed. I’m just hyped for Colby [Stevenson]— he laid it down—last guy to go, last run —that’s what you want to see in events, that’s what makes it exciting. He had the best run of the day so I couldn’t be happier for him and I’m stoked for Nick as well, and Mac rounding out in fourth. It’s nice to see the Americans on top!”

2018 Slopestyle Silver medalist Nick Goepper took the third spot with a score of 89.50, followed by Mac Forehand in fourth and a score of 87.75.

In the women's field, weather forced the cancellation of the qualifiers, so the full field of twelve women ran today in finals. Marin Hamill was the top finisher in eighth place, followed by Grace Henderson in ninth, Bella Bacon in 10th, Jay Riccomini in 11th and Marion Balsamo in 12th. 

FULL RESULTS
Men’s Ski Slopestyle Finals
Women’s Ski Slopestyle Finals

HOW TO WATCH

2021 DEW TOUR LIVE STREAM SCHEDULE

Tess Johnson led the Americans in Friday’s Moguls World Cup in Alpe d’Huez, France, claiming her career-fourth World Cup podium with a third place finish. Friday was a perfect bluebird day at the French ski resort and the Olympic-style course demanded aggressive skiing, which Johnson was happy to provide. 

“I’m over the moon right now, it’s been three years since my last singles podium and it's just been a journey and a half to get back here,” said Johnson. “I was proud to throw cork on my top air and my signature venom on the bottom. To do that and land on the podium is a dream come true.

“This course has been pretty challenging all week. The top air and top air exit in particular have been a massive challenge. I just went out there and stuck with my cork through some tough training, focused on my cues all week long, and it really paid.”

Friday’s result is the culmination of years of hard work from Johnson. The 21-year-old has pushed hard to bring her degree of difficulty up over the past few seasons. “I’m just proud that I stuck with this sport in times of feeling like a failure, that I stuck with doing cork. Here I am having competed a cork 7 on top air, in one of the most challenging top airs. I’m proud of my coaches for believing in me.”

Johnson built her momentum through the day, scoring high in her airs and skiing a powerful middle section all competition-long. “Tess just got better every run,” said Head Mogul Coach Matt Gnoza. “You could see her build her confidence and determination each run, focusing on what she can control. Her finals run bottom venom grab was so dynamic. It had nice lift and peeled open. She really tweaks it, which the judges really respond to. The way Tess skied that middle section into the bottom air, she’s moving in a really great direction.”

Johnson shared the podium with Australia’s Jakara Anthony, in first, and Japan’s Anri Kawamura, in second. 

Five women qualified for finals: Johnson, Hannah Soar, Kai Owens and Morgan Schild. Owens really pushed it in her finals run with one of the faster times of the field but landed just outside of qualifying to Super Finals and finished the day in seventh. Soar skied a strong run as well to finish the day in eighth. Giaccio finished 13th and Schild 16th.

Schild battled back-to-back injuries since her 2018 Olympic season to come back fighting for a shot at 2022. After laying it all out on the snow during qualifications, Schild pushed out of the World Cup start gate for the last time on Friday during Finals.

“It was a bittersweet ending,” Morgan reflected. “I think about that Dr. Seuss quote ‘don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.’ I have nothing but gratitude for the sport. Watching the women crush it week in and out, I’m grateful to have been around this new generation of competitors, it's an honor. It’s very inspiring to see the next generation step up to that challenge and take it in stride. I look forward to watching all of these gals crush it at the Olympics.”

“Today was emotional and when I think about my performance in Finals and Super Finals, I  skied for Morgan today, and proud to say that I did,” said Johnson. 

Madison Hogg finished 22nd, Jaelin Kauf finished 25th

Three men represented the U.S. in finals: Nick Page, Brad Wilson and Cole McDonald. Page skied an aggressive middle section and finished the day in ninth. Wilson dug himself out of an early start position after a bit of a struggle in qualifiers and finished in 13th. In only his fourth World Cup start McDonald made his second Finals appearance and finished in 16th. Dylan Walczyk finished 24th.

Japan went 1-2 with Ikuma Horishima winning the men’s event and teammate Daichi Hara claiming second. Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury rounded out the podium in third.  

“This course is steep and the athletes really had to work hard the entire way down,” said Gnoza. “This is why we spend so much time in the gym at the USANA Center of Excellence, for when we get to a course like this. Kudos to our High Performance staff for making sure these guys were ready for it.” 

Moguls competition continues Saturday with Duals. Five women qualified Thursday for Saturday’s Round of 16: Johnson, Owens, Giaccio, Soar and Kauf. “[This podium] definitely makes me motivated,” said Johnson on how she’s feeling heading into tomorrow’s competition. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn't pretty tired. But I’m psyched for tomorrow, I’ve already qualified and am excited to ski.”

RESULTS
Women’s Moguls
Men’s Moguls

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST

8:00 a.m. FIS Freestyle World Cup Dual Moguls - LIVE, Alpe D'Huez, FRA, Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock

Streaming services and apps are third-party services and subject to such parties’ terms of use and data privacy. U.S. Ski & Snowboard disclaims any and all liability for use of third-party services and apps.

Broadcast and streaming are updated on the U.S. Ski & Snowboard website throughout the season.

2021-22 Freestyle World Cup Schedule
2021-22 Freestyle Olympic Schedule

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On a sunny day amongst the jagged peaks of Val Gardena, Italy, both Ryan Cochran-Siegle and Travis Ganong skied confidently to snag the top 10 in the super-G, taking ninth and 10th, respectively.

Aleksander Aamodt Kilde of Norway continued his tear, winning his third FIS World Cup in a row and his third Val Gardena speed event in a row. Matthias Mayer and Vincent Kriechmayr of Austria finished second and third.

Cochran-Siegle is only a handful of races back on the World Cup circuit after breaking his neck in Kitzbuehel last season, but is methodically working his way back to the podium. He has grabbed a few top-10 results on the World Cup in the 2021-22 season so far, including a 10th in a Lake Louise downhill, sixth in the Birds of Prey downhill and now ninth in the Val Gardena super-G, and he knows that podium is in reach for Saturday's downhill, where he was second in 2020 and his mother, Barbara Ann Cochran, was second in both the World Cup and World Championships in 1970. “I think tomorrow is a pretty different race,” said Cochran-Siegle. “I just gotta go back to the training runs and look at video—what line I want to ski and how I want to ski and approach it. I think it's good to get a decent day out of this and then just trying to move forward to focus on tomorrow now.”

Ganong is also feeling confident after his 10th place result and sees it as another key milestone on his path towards a medal in the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. “I think if I have a clean run and no mistakes, I’ll be up there with the best any day,” he said. “I’ve felt like that for a long time, but then have had a lot of mistakes over the years. I feel really balanced, confident and comfortable on skis right now, so it makes it fun to ski and that’s when results come. It’s a good spot to be in—in an Olympic year like this.”

Jared Goldberg also finished in the points, taking 30th. Bryce Bennett was 38th, Steven Nyman 42nd and Erik Arvidsson 43rd. Sam Morse crashed and DNFed, but is OK.

Norwegians have dominated the super-Gs in Val Gardena, having won eight of the last 10 in the stunning Dolomites venue from a combination of the now-retired Aksel Lund Svindal, the recently injured Kjetil Jansrud and Kilde. But expect the stars and stripes to come out swinging in Saturday’s downhill, with athletes like Cochran-Siegle, who was first and third in the downhill training runs, Bryce Bennett and Jared Goldberg, who have both had top-10 results on the hill, and the ‘King of the Saslong’ Steven Nyman to return to his favorite downhill on the circuit. Nyman has three wins on the Saslong and though he’s still coming back from injury, he loves this track.  

The men race downhill on Saturday before the tech team races giant slalom on the other side of the valley in Alta Badia Sunday. The women begin their speed weekend in Val d’Isere, France on Saturday with a downhill and a super-G Monday.

RESULTS
Men’s super-G

HOW TO WATCH
*All times EST

Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021 
4:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Downhill - LIVE, Val D'Isere, FRA, Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock
5:45 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - LIVE, Val Gardena, ITA, Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock

Sunday, Dec. 19, 2021 
4:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Giant Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Alta Badia, ITA, Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock
5:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women's Super-G - LIVE, Val D'Isere, FRA, Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock
7:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Giant Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Alta Badia, ITA, Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock

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