Four American’s finished in the points in Sunday’s FIS Cross Country World Cup distance races on a wet, sloppy track in Falun, Sweden, led by Jessie Diggins in 14th.

With temperatures well above the freezing mark and no natural snow, organizers relied on machine-made snow to cover a narrow 2.5k loop for Sunday’s 10k four-lap women’s event and the men’s six-lap 15k freestyle mass start races. 

Four American men started Sunday’s race with David Norris posting his best World Cup result of the season in 24th. “I felt strong,” David said. “Lap three and four were so painful, but I luckily pulled it back together for the last two laps.”

Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov won the race, with Norway’s Sjur Roethe in second, and Ivan Yakimushkin of Russia in third. Benjamin Lustgarten was 60th, followed by Ian Torchia in 65th and Kevin Bolger in 68th. 

In the women’s 10k race, Norway’s Therese Johaug won her 12th race of the season 6.5 seconds ahead of Sweden’s Ebba Andersson in second. Norway’s Heidi Weng was third. Sadie Maubet Bjornsen was 21st, and Rosie Brennan was 23rd. Hailey Swirbul was 35th, just 11 seconds out of the points. Sophie Caldwell was 38th, Alayna Sonnesyn was 49th and Julia Kern was 57th.

"The conditions were pretty tough today, variable snow conditions on a really narrow course that made it difficult to move up," noted Julia, who is rebounding from a leg injury and made her first World Cup start in three weeks. "I did not feel good today...so just being able to race was a big accomplishment. I am hoping with another week of training and some more races coming up, I can gain back my fitness and work back into things."

Up next is the second stage race of the season - Ski Tour 2020 - Feb. 15-23 with six races spread out over nine days at five different venues in Sweden and Norway.

RESULTS
Women’s 10k mass start freestyle
Men’s 15k mass start freestyle

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

Alice Merryweather put down her best career super-G result in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, taking 14th.

It was a typical Garmisch race, with the dark Kandahar track full of bumps and Alice describing the race as a “bit of a rodeo.” Corinne Suter of Switzerland took the win and extended her lead for the super-G FIS Ski World Cup globe. Nicole Schmidhofer of Austria was second and Wendy Holdener of Switzerland was third.

Garmisch is becoming a favorite of Alice’s, having snagged eighth in the downhill last season, her best World Cup finish. Sunday’s super-G continued the upward trajectory she’s been on throughout the season, as the young skier regularly posts top-20 results.

“I’m pretty happy with today,” said Alice. “It was definitely not easy out there—pretty bumpy and Garmisch is always dark. But I’m really happy with the way I just stuck my nose in it. Sections were good; sections still weren’t what I want. I’m sitting in 14th right now and that’s my best super-G finish, so I’m pretty happy with it!”

Breezy Johnson, who was the top Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team finisher in Saturday’s downhill, took another top-20 result in 18th. Both Alice Mckennis and Jackie Wiles skied out of the course and did not finish. Both Germany's Viktoria Rebensburg—who was victorious in Saturday's downhill—and Italy's Sofia Goggia unfortunately sustained season-ending injuries.  

Mikaela Shiffrin, who is back in the states after her father unexpectedly passed away, remains in the lead of the overall World Cup standings by 145 points.

The women’s speed team has a break for a week while the tech women race a giant slalom and slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia on February 15 and 16. Speed events resume the following week in Crans Montana, Switzerland.   

RESULTS
Women's Super-G

STANDINGS
Overall
Super-G

Hannah Soar led the U.S. in an incredible night of dual moguls World Cup competition with a career-best second-place finish on the Champion course at Deer Valley Resort at the 2020 Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International. Jaelin Kauf landed back on the podium in third place after dueling teammate and friend Tess Johnson in the small final. 

Champion lived up to its name and took no prisoners. After being skied for five days in a row the moguls were deep and unforgiving. Voted MVP by her team, Tess skied the biggest upset of the night, knocking out until-then undefeated Perrine Laffont (France) in the quarter final. This allowed for all three American women to compete in the semi-final. Tess then met Canada's Justine Dufour-Lapointe in her semi-final round but was unable to beat her. Hannah and Jaelin dueled it out during their semi-final round with Hannah advancing to the big final and Jaelin to the small. Jaelin and Tess dueled it out in the small final, where Jaelin skied to third. Hannah and Jaelin shared the podium with Saturday’s winner, Justine. 

“Honestly I started out feeling pretty slow, my legs felt kind of like jello after skiing so many runs on Thursday night,” said Hannah as she caught her breath in the finish area. “For me sometimes it’s hard the second day after a day of success prior to come out and feel really great with my body. I feel like I did a great job and focused on the little things I needed to do to succeed today, as opposed to getting caught up in how I need to feel, or what I want to do by the end of the day. This is the second time I’ve dueled Jaelin and Jakara this year. It was great to get another chance. Jaelin is amazing! There’s nothing more than I would want than to be in the super final with Jaelin and Tess.”

“Sharing the podium with a teammate again makes it so much better,” said Jaelin. “It was so much fun skiing against Tess and Hannah tonight. From my perspective we had some of the best duals on the women’s side. It was fun to be a part of and I’m stoked to end up on the podium.”

“Obviously I would have liked to be on the podium today,” reflected Tess. “But looking back on my day I'm so proud of myself, and this is an incredible night in front of a home crowd. I'm just stoked I was able to put down some of my best skiing.” On besting the top woman Perrine, “I had a bit of a moment after that dual and I’m just really proud of myself, I’ve done it once before and I knew that I could do it again. She’s an incredible skier and I’m just honored to have the opportunity to push myself against the best in the world.”

The American women showed their might on the meanest course in freestyle skiing and they’re hungry for more. The #PowHERhouse is back! “I think a sweep is definitely coming pretty soon,” said Jaelin. 

On the men’s side, in his first ever dual mogul World Cup start Kalman Heims laid it down and was the only American man to qualify for the finals. Advancing to the finals by just 38 hundredths of a second against Canada’s Elliot Vaillancourt, Kalman skied an impressive dual against France’s Ben Cavet and kept him on his toes the whole time. It wasn’t enough to advance to the round of eight, but Kalman posted a career-best in 12th place. “[This] was amazing,” he said. “It met and exceeded my expectations. Being out there, looking down at the crowd, I could hear everyone in both of my ears, it was incredible. I just listened to my coaches and put down some of the best runs I ever skied!”

Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury won his 61st World Cup on the Champion course, France’s Ben Cavet took second and Sweden’s Walter Wallberg rounded out the podium in third. 

It was a rowdy competition with no shortage of carnage. On Champion, anything is possible and every run counts towards that podium. Jesse Andringa went head to head with Australia's Brodie Summers and finished the night in 20th, Dylan Walczyk finished in 23 after dueling Japan's Ikuma Horishima. Brad Wilson finished 27th and Nick Page in 28th. Madison Hogg, in her second World Cup start, finished 17th; sister Kasey Hogg finished 26th.

“It was a great night of personal bests in front of an amazing crowd,” said Head Moguls Coach Matt Gnoza. “I’m very proud of the athletes for their performances tonight.”

The greatest show on snow did not disappoint and the U.S. Moguls Team is energized for the next part of their schedule. The Team has a brief break to do some local training and visit with friends and family before they head overseas for two events in Tazawako, Japan Feb. 22-23. 

RESULTS
Men’s Dual Moguls
Women’s Dual Moguls

HOW TO WATCH
Sunday, Feb. 9
3:00 p.m. - Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International men and women’s dual moguls, Deer Valley, Utah - NBC

Red Gerard was the top finisher for U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes on day three of the 2020 Dew Tour at Copper Mountain, Colo. Reminiscent of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, Red came in clutch on his final run to top the podium in front of his friends and family. 

“I feel insane right now,” said Red. “I started off riding this morning and the course seemed slow due to fresh snow yesterday and didn’t think things were going to go my way. I can’t believe things worked out and I’m on the podium with my best friend (Brock Crouch). It’s my home turf, home mountain, my whole family was able to come out, and I’m sharing the podium with my best friend. What can I say? -  I’m hyped.”

Red was in the top spot after run one, however, this wouldn’t last long as a collection of stellar runs immediately followed by the majority of the field. On Red’s last run, he would climb the ranks once again to his own disbelief. This win checks an important box for Red. He now has won three of five pinnacle snowboard events including Dew Tour, U.S. Open, and the Olympics. This is Red’s first Dew Tour medal. 

U.S. Snowboard Team alumnus Brock Crouch finished second and Norwegian legend Stale Sandbech rounded out the podium in third. 

Maddie Mastro also found success for the U.S. Snowboard Team, earning second place in the modified superpipe. Maddie’s top run included stylish frontside and backside alley-oops on the transition features as well as her signature method, a crippler, and a backside 540 in the traditional portion of the superpipe. 

“Riding the modified superpipe today was awesome,” said Maddie. “I love being able to mix it up, be creative, and challenge myself, so I had a blast today. I had a lot of fun on the transition features. My goal was to utilize both sides and I wanted to flip them - I thought that would be fun. The flip got the best of me in the beginning, but I was able to tame it after that.”

Maddie was coming off a second-place finish at the Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain, Calif., where she landed her double crippler for the second time in the competition. Due to falls on her second and third runs, Maddie would not have the opportunity to land the double crippler at Dew Tour. Although Maddie may have been unable to put down the exact run she was looking for, there was a bright side in addition to her podium finish. That bright side’s name is Sonny Alba, a fellow Mammoth Lakes, Calif. athlete. Sonny is a 13-year-old shredder who has looked up to Maddie since she started riding halfpipe. 

“I have watched Sonny Alba ride for the past five years, which is pretty much half her life,” said Maddie, laughing to herself. “It’s crazy for me and awesome to watch her progress and ride. I always thought she had this incredible potential and she was such a great all-around rider. It’s amazing to be able to witness her first big contest.”

The lights weren’t too bright for Sonny’s big Dew Tour debut as she landed frontside and backside 540’s, as well as a few hand plants with what seemed to be beautiful skateboarding inspired style.

“When I found out I had a spot in at Dew Tour, I was shocked,” said Sonny. “It was super last minute, about 9 p.m. last night. I grew up watching Maddie, so riding with her in today’s competition was a little nerve-racking, but also really exciting. I had a lot of fun today!”

Jiayu Liu of China earned first place and Queralt Castellet of Spain finished third. 

U.S. Freeski Pro Team member Alex Hall also earned a second-place finish in slopestyle. Alex has been very successful this season in big air winning Norway X Games, the Modena, Italy World Cup, and the Visa Big Air presented by Landrover in Atlanta, Ga, but he has been struggling in slopestyle. Those struggles ended on Saturday. 

“It feels so good to find a podium in slope, especially here at Dew Tour,” said Alex. “I wasn’t skiing my best at some of the slope competitions this year. Then I went and messed up my first run here, which made me incredibly nervous moving forward. I’m hyped I was able to put it down, especially with some difficult speed due to fresh snow. I’m so stoked.”

His run was displayed trademark A-Hall style with technical rails and jumps that included outrageous grab combinations. However, Alex wasn’t the only U.S. Freeski Team member skiing well and he made that clear speaking highly about his teammate Colby Stevenson.

“If Colby would have landed his second run clean, I believe he would have won easy,” said Alex. “He’s been skiing amazing. He’s such a boss and I love watching him out there.”

Prior to the Dew Tour, Colby earned two slopestyle wins in two weeks at X Games Aspen and the Mammoth Grand Prix. Announcer, former athlete, and professional freeskiing head judge Mike Atkinson claimed that the “trick du jour” was Colby’s 360 rail transfer that had even Colby’s fellow athletes animated in the finish area. 

Norwegian freeskier Christian Nummedal won the event and Swiss Andri Ragetlli took third. Colby would finish fifth overall just ahead of teammate Nick Goepper in sixth.

Alex went on to win the street style event later that evening. In the same event and staying true to Alex’s previous comments, Colby continued his impressive skiing and earned the best trick award. 

Back in the superpipe, U.S. Freeski Rookie Team member Abigale Hansen earned her best results of the season with a fourth-place finish. She shifted the contest into full gear with a solid run and the rest of the field followed suit. She improved her score every time she dropped into the pipe showing great consistency building on her run. 

Canadian’s Cassie Sharpe and Rachael Karker finished first and second respectively and Zoe Atkin of Great Britain finished third. U.S. Freeski Team members Brita Sigourney and Devin Logan finished fifth and seventh respectively. 

Competition continues at Dew Tour on Sunday with the men’s ski and snowboard modified superpipe final, as well as the women’s ski and snowboard slopestyle final. Head out to Copper Mountain or tune in live to catch all the action.

RESULTS

HOW TO WATCH 
Winter Dew Tour will be live-streamed in its entirety on DewTour.com, Facebook Live, YouTube
Subject to change
All times MST

FREESKI
Sunday, Feb. 9
9:00 a.m. - Men’s Ski Modified Superpipe Final - Copper Mountain, Colo.
2:00 p.m. - Women’s Ski Slopestyle Final - Copper Mountain, Colo. 

SNOWBOARD
Sunday, Feb. 9 
10:45 a.m. - Men’s Snowboard Modified Superpipe Final - Copper Mountain, Colo. 
12:30 p.m. - Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle Final - Copper Mountain, Colo.
 

Sophie Caldwell led four Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team teammates into the points, finishing seventh in Saturday’s FIS Cross Country World Cup classic sprint in Falun, Sweden.

Competing in heavy, wet and tricky snow conditions, Sophie advanced to the finals after a photo-finish in the semifinals resulted in a tie with Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen of Norway. This resulted in seven athletes on the starting line of the final heat, where Sophie finished seventh.

Sadie Maubet Bjornsen was 17th, Jessie Diggins was 20th and Hailey Swirbul scored her first classic sprint World Cup points, finishing 25th.

“An aggressive day out there on the course today,” Said said. “With very small amounts of natural snow here, the races always seem to be more wild and fierce when conditions like this come. Unfortunately, Falun hasn't gotten snow all winter, so we are racing on a small ribbon of snow spread across the course.”

Sweden’s Linn Svahn took the victory in front of the home crowd, her third career World Cup win. Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva was second and Sweden’s Jonna Sundling was third.

Up next, the women will compete in a 10k mass-start freestyle and the men in a 15k mass-start freestyle Sunday. 

RESULTS
Women’s classic sprint
Men’s classic sprint

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST
Sunday, Feb. 9
3:20 a.m. - Men’s 30k freestyle, Falun, SWE - OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold
8:30 a.m. - Women’s 15k freestyle, Falun, SWE - Olympic Channel, OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow.
 

Breezy Johnson led the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, finishing 17th in the downhill.

Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany took her first FIS Ski World Cup downhill win by an impressive .61 seconds in front of her home crowd, while Federica Brignone of Italy captured yet another podium in second. Speed skiing and alpine snowboarding sensation Ester Ledeka of the Czech Republic was third.

Breezy has shown some brilliance in the last few races, taking two top-10 results in January. While 17th wasn’t exactly where she wanted to have finished on the Kandahar track, she was still in good spirits. “It was tough out there,” said Breezy. “It was bumpy out there. I thought I skied my best, which is just what you want to do every day. Whatever the result is, at least there’s nothing I would have changed about my approach that much. It’s time to just go back, keep working and move forward.”

Alice Merryweather finished right behind Breezy in 19th place, while Alice Mckennis was just out of the points in 32nd. Jackie Wiles, who is still coming back from injury, was 38th.

Federica’s second-place finish closed the gap for the overall World Cup to just 190 points behind Mikaela Shiffrin. Mikaela is currently back home with her family in Colorado after her father passed away unexpectedly.

The women race a super-G on Sunday to finish out the weekend.

Luke Winters and Tommy Ford raced slalom in Chamonix, France on Saturday, with no U.S. men qualifying for a second run. Clement Noel of France took the win with Timon Haugan of Norway second and Adrian Pertl of Austria third. The U.S. men will look for strong finishes in Sunday’s parallel giant slalom.

RESULTS
Women’s Downhill
Men’s Slalom

STANDINGS
Women’s Overall
Women’s Downhill

Men’s Overall
Men’s Slalom

Megan Nick led the U.S. in aerials in her first career podium, a second place, in front of 7,500 hometown fans on Deer Valley’s White Owl course at the 2020 Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International. She stomped out a beautiful double full full, a trick she only recently brought to snow, in only the second- time in her career she has advanced to the super finals. Megan shared the podium with winner Allaksandra (Belarus) and Abbey Willcox (Australia), who came in third. 

“My night actually didn't go as planned,” said Megan of her first podium. “Training was a little iffy, but I had nothing to lose in the super final so I went for it and was able to put it down. It was really special to [podium] in front of my family and friends, and the atmosphere at Deer Valley is just awesome.”

The U.S. fielded 16 athletes and four women and four men made it through to finals under the lights on Friday: Kaila Kuhn, Madison Varmette, Megan Nick, Winter Vinecki, Jon Lillis, Eric Loughran, Nick Novak, and Justin Schoenefeld. 

Madison Varmette threw her first double full full in competition, but didn’t quite nail the landing and finished in 12th place. “I was a little nervous,” reflected Madie in the finish area. “But I just tried not to think about it. I did a million on water, so I just had to trust myself and my coaches. And it’s actually a lot more fun than scary!” 

Kaila made her first career super finals in her fourth World Cup start. She threw a nice lay full, which scored well but didn’t have the DD to put her on the podium. “I’m super excited, getting a chance to compete with the best in the world and getting a top-six tonight was absolutely amazing,” said Kaila. “I don't have too much World Cup experience so I’m really excited to hopefully get some more top-sixes and compete with the best in the world.”

Winter had her best night at Deer Valley yet, landing just off of the podium in fourth place, a career-best, after performing a lay full. “It’s taken me a few years now to have a good result at Deer Valley, so I’m excited to just be able to stick all of these jumps to my feet,” said Winter all smiles in the finish area. “And on not quite a high DD of a trick, to be able to stick that, that was awesome. Now I know I have all the training, I can do these big jumps and compete against the best!”

Eric Loughran led the American men with a fifth-place finish. He uses the air so well and stomped both of his finals runs. “I’m feeling pretty good after this competition, it's the first contest of the year,” Eric said. “It was a late decision with Bergy and me to keep the tricks mellow, lay double full full rather than going for a bigger trick there. I’m really excited to see how the season goes.”

Jon Lillis earned a sixth-place finish with his double full full full. “I think everybody’s feeling like all of the jumping is coming together,” said Jon. “It’s all a credit to Vlad and the new energy he’s brought being the new head coach of the team. I can't wait to see how we do moving forward.”

It was a historic night on the White Owl course, perfect weather paired with a flawless course allowed the men to push it to the limits on Friday. Russia’s Maxim Burov threw a double full full double full - that’s a quintuple twisting triple backflip and the current highest DD trick in aerials - in almost perfect fashion, earning a score of 139 out of a possible 150. Switzerland’s Noe Roth threw another quint: a double full double full full, a trick he had never competed before. Quintuple twisting tricks are not unheard of in aerial skiing, but having two competed and landed in the same World Cup competition is rare. Russia’s Illia Burov rounded out the podium in third. 

Megan Smallhouse finished 14th, Ashley Caldwell in 15th Morgan Northrop in 17th and Karenna Elliott (Park City Ski & Snowboard) in 21st. A fifteenth place was not what Ashley had hoped for but took it in stride, “I’m definitely a little frustrated. Deer Valley is our home event so you do want to perform here. I am motivated for the rest of the season. This is our first World Cup, sometimes it’s important to get some of the jitters and some of the mistakes out of the way first. So as we head to Moscow I’m motivated. I do want to land on the top of that podium and I’ve definitely felt some emotion here that will push me to do that.”

In her second World Cup start and first Deer Valley World Cup start, Karenna was excited to get valuable experience under her belt. “It was really amazing to be out here at Deer Valley,” she said. “The site is just awesome and the weather held out for the competition. I was a little bit slow on my jump so unfortunately, I had to punch front. But I had a lot of fun jumping out here with all of these amazing athletes.”

Justin Schoenefeld finished ninth, Nick Novak in 12th, Quinn Dehlinger in 15th, Alex Bowen in 16th, Derek Kreuger (Park City Ski & Snowboard) in 20th and Chris Lillis in 24th. “I definitely had a little bit of trouble in the final,” said Nick. “But I’ve been jumping well all day and I’m really proud of how I jumped. I wish I did some of my jumps like I did in training. But you win some and you lose some. It’s a wonderful venue, wonderful people, I couldn't be happier.”

The 2020 Intermountain Freestyle International at Deer Valley Resort served as the U.S.  Ski Team aerial skiers' first World Cup competition of the season. Kicking off their World Cup tour on home snow in front of the highest energy crown in freestyle was a special send-off for these athletes that fly out to Moscow Saturday for their next World Cup on Feb. 15.

Freestyle fun continues Saturday night with dual moguls. Skiers go head to head to push each other to the absolute limit on the Champion course. Finals begin at 7:30 p.m. MST. 

RESULTS
Women’s Aerials
Men’s Aerials

HOW TO WATCH

FREESTYLE
Saturday, Feb. 8
3:00 p.m. - Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International men and women’s moguls and aerials, Deer Valley, Utah - NBC**

9:30 p.m. - Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International men and women’s dual moguls, Deer Valley, Utah - Olympic Channel, OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Feb. 9
3:00 p.m. - Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International men and women’s dual moguls, Deer Valley, Utah - NBC**

The wind died down and the snow started falling - the roar of the crowd reached all the way up the legendary Champion course - it was night one of the 2020 Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International at Deer Valley Resort. The world’s best mogul skiers showed Park City what they’re made of in a thrilling night of competition. 

The U.S. fielded 17 athletes, with three women and three men making finals under the lights: Brad Wilson, Nick Page, Jesse Andringa, Hannah Soar, Jaelin Kauf and Tess Johnson. Hannah Soar, Nick Page and Jesse Andringa had career-best finishes in singles fourth and 10th, 11th, respectively. Wasatch Freestyle skier Kasey Hogg, in her World Cup debut in front of friends and family, skied into an impressive 19th place finish. 

Tess kicked it off for the women in finals and threw her new heli-mute, but missed the grab which cost her a shot at the super final. She ended the night in ninth place and was in a good head space following her run. “I’m feeling so good,” she said with a huge smile on her face. “I love this course. There’s nothing more magical or special than skiing under the lights at Deer Valley with all of our friends and family cheering us on. There's nothing like it.”

The fastest woman in the world Jaelin Kauf laid it down and was one second faster than any other competitor in the round of 16, and then went off to smoke everyone again in super finals. She had an aggressive run in her classic heli to back X, but it wasn’t enough for the podium on Thursday and she came away in fifth place. “It was definitely not the result I was going for,” she reflected. “I was shooting for the podium, for that number one spot. I’m really happy with my skiing, just competing on this course under the lights in front of this crowd is spectacular every single time. I’m really happy with how I performed with my skiing, I felt really good about it.” As far as how she keeps that momentum to ski the fastest she can. “Just not thinking about it I guess. The course is sweet [here] so it makes it easy to go fast.”

Hannah has been taking a more methodical approach to her skiing this season, experimenting with different trick combinations in competition. She opted for a back tuck to back grab for Thursday night. “Today was almost like taking a step back for me doing a back tuck to a back grab, which I have never competed before. Usually, I have a full or a cork somewhere in that run. So it was interesting in that way taking a step back from DD and focusing on skiing as fast as I can in order to make that final, that super final, get a win.” This is Hannah’s third super final of the season, and she’s thrown three different run packages each time. “Hannah is continuing to climb the ladder,” said Head Moguls Coach Matt Gnoza. “This is her personal best in fourth place. She already has the DD in her back pocket, it’s just a matter of bringing them back out. So that’s the next step for her, sewing that DD into finals.”

On the men’s side, in his first World Cup final in his sixth World Cup start, on home snow in front of his hometown, Nick Page stomped it out skiing a beautiful D spin to a cork 7 and ended the night in 10th. “You know it was crazy,” Nick said of his first finals experience. “Throughout the season I’ve been pretty stressed before all of these runs. And then this event I was just in this really nice place. I was in front of my whole family and in front of my whole home town for that matter. It was just so fun! It was the most fun night.”

Brad Wilson lit it up with a double full to a back X. He favors the Champion course and skied fearless and aggressive to end the night in 12th. “Brad just keeps chipping away at the finals,” said Matt. “He puts himself in there each week and sooner or later he'll clean up and it'll be right there for him.” 

Jesse Andringa was the top qualifying U.S. man with an outstanding run he hoped to duplicate in finals. He skied the unofficial fastest run ever on Champion to deafening cheers from the thousands of fans, but it wasn’t enough to send him to super finals and he landed in 11th place, the best singles finish of his career so far. “I messed up my top air so then I knew I had to put on a smoke show,” said a breathless Jesse after his run. “So I just sent it and felt like I was on it the entire way, and I kept going faster and faster. I didn’t have a great bottom air, but you know, it was fun! Felt like I was flying.”

France’s Perrine Laffont claimed her sixth-straight World Cup victory on the Champion course. She remains undefeated this season. Australia’s Anthony Jakara took second and Canada’s Justine Dufour-LaPointe rounded out the podium in third. Japan’s Ikuma Hiroshima stole the show with his second win of the season, Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury came in second and Sweden’s Felix Elofsson earned his first World Cup podium with a third place. 

Tom Rowley finished 21st, Alex Lewis in 26th, Kalman Heims in 30th, Bruce Perry Jr. in 35th, Landon Wendler in 36th, Emerson Smith - in his first World Cup since 2018 - in 37th and Dylan Walczyk in 42nd. Madison Hogg finished 24th, Kai Owens - in her first World Cup under the lights - in 25th, and Maggie Ryan in 34th. 

Six regional athletes joined the U.S. Team on the world’s greatest mogul stage. “My goal was to make it down Champion since it’s the hardest course in the world,” said Kasey. “Ending up 19th was definitely more than I expected and I’m really excited about it.” Kalman Heims, in his fifth World Cup start, had an incredible qualifying run and was having a blast on the Champion course. “The course has been awesome all week,” he said. “The little fresh snow last night really made things nice for us athletes. The middle section was awesome. I just remembered the cues Matt told me and was able to keep it in control and lay down my best run so far on Champion. 

The U.S. Moguls Team has another chance at moguls glory with dual mogul competition on Saturday night under the lights on Champion. “Saturday I’m looking to just enjoy it, have fun, rip it,” said Hannah. “Just go fast, go big, put on a show for the crowd!” There’s nothing like the energy of thousands of fans cheering on the greatest skiers going head to head in what may be the greatest show on snow.  “I'm looking forward to skiing again,” said Brad. “Hopefully it keeps snowing and we can keep skiing some pow bumps, ski under the lights with everybody here.”

Just shy of podiums on Thursday, the U.S. Team is pumped to give their hometown crowd an awesome night of competition. “I love duals, it’s so exciting here,” said Jaelin. “This course is incredible every single time, I'm looking forward to going head to head with some of these girls, it should be super fun!”

“[The team is] skiing fast, they really know how to ski this course well,” said Matt of what we can expect on Saturday. “Most of the athletes were very competitive in their speed, so that bodes well for duals. We’re exiting the jumps well, I think duals is going be a fun night.”

Competition continues Friday night with the first aerials World Cup of 2020. This is the U.S. Team’s first World Cup competition and getting to compete in front of friends and family is the perfect way to kick off their season. 

Results
Women’s Moguls
Men’s Moguls

HOW TO WATCH
FREESTYLE

Friday, Feb. 7
9:30 p.m. - Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International men and women’s aerials, Deer Valley, Utah - NBCSN, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Feb. 8
3:00 p.m. - Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International men and women’s moguls and aerials, Deer Valley, Utah - NBC**

9:30 p.m. - Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International men and women’s dual moguls, Deer Valley, Utah - Olympic Channel, OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Feb. 9
3:00 p.m. - Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International men and women’s dual moguls, Deer Valley, Utah - NBC**

Double-Olympic gold medalist Jamie Anderson continued her hot-streak at the 2020 Dew Tour Thursday at Copper Mountain, Colo. Jamie led Team Oakley in the Team Challenge competition and earned her third win in three weeks.  

“I’m stoked on Team Oakley grabbing the win today,” said Jamie. “The Team Challenge was super fun. It’s a really light vibe and a good atmosphere with all your friends. It felt great to have the whole Oakley Team out there supporting me. This event truly embodies the spirit of snowboarding.” 

The Dew Tour Team Challenge consists of slopestyle, modified superpipe, and street style competition. Jamie was pulling double duty representing her team in both slopestyle and the street portion, yet she was able to win each competition and work towards the victory for Team Oakley. Today also marked the first time the world’s best female athletes represented their brands in the event alongside a male counterpart. 

On the freeskiing end of the Team Challenge, no U.S. Freeski Team members walked away with a team victory, but there were some notable highlights. Representing Team Faction, Alex Hall was the winner of the slopestyle portion and landed a beautiful 270 on front side 630 off with a tail tap. Also, back-to-back X Games Aspen gold medalist Alex Ferreira landed a massive double-flat 720 with Japan grab out of the quarter pipe, and into the traditional portion of the superpipe despite speed challenges. 

Team Volkl, led by captain Hunter Hess, was the host to U.S. Freeski Rookie Team member Grace Henderson’s Dew Tour competition debut. With Alex, veteran and two-time Olympic medalist Nick Goepper, U.S. Freeski Rookie Team member Marin Hamill, and the 2018 Olympic slopestyle gold medalist Oystein Braaten from Norway, they may have very well been having more fun than anyone. 

“I put in a lot of work out here,” said Hunter jokingly as he didn’t compete in any element of the Team Challenge contest. “The results today mainly fall on me, it’s all on my shoulders.”

The Team Challenge competition seemed to have temporarily lifted significant pressure off many of the athlete’s shoulders. Even Grace, who was competing in her first-ever Dew Tour, was all smiles during the halfpipe competition. 

“This has been super fun,” said Grace. “This is actually my first pipe event and I would never think it would be at Dew Tour. I’m happy to be here with Alex and Nick trying to crush it for Team Volkl.”

While last week’s Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix resembled pristine spring conditions, day one of Dew Tour kicked off with relentless snowfall causing the cancellation of both snowboard and freeski slopestyle qualifications. However, the day finished strong with a complete freeski and snowboard Team Challenge program. Although skiers and riders only competed on the first four-features (rails) during the slopestyle portion of the competition due to challenging conditions, it still made for a great day of powdery competition. 

Competition continues on Friday with the women’s ski modified superpipe final. Head out to Copper Mountain or tune in live to catch all the action.

RESULTS
Snowboard and Freeski Team Challenge

ROSTERS
Snowboard Team Challenge
Freeski Team Challenge

HOW TO WATCH 
Winter Dew Tour will be live-streamed in its entirety on DewTour.com, Facebook Live, YouTube
Subject to change
All times MST

FREESKI
Friday, Feb. 7
12:30 p.m. - Women’s Ski Modified Superpipe Final - Copper Mountain, Colo. 

Saturday, Feb. 8
1:00 p.m. - Men’s Ski Slopestyle Final - Copper Mountain, Colo. 
3:00 p.m. - Women’s Ski Streetstyle Final - Copper Mountain, Colo. 
5:45 p.m. - Men’s Ski Streetstyle Final - Copper Mountain, Colo. 

Sunday, Feb. 9
9:00 a.m. - Men’s Ski Modified Superpipe Final - Copper Mountain, Colo.
2:00 p.m. - Women’s Ski Slopestyle Final - Copper Mountain, Colo. 

SNOWBOARD
Saturday, Feb. 8
9:00 a.m. - Women’s Snowboard Modified Superpipe Final - Copper Mountain, Colo. 
10:45 a.m. - Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle Final - Copper Mountain, Colo. 
3:45 p.m. - Women’s Snowboard Streetstyle Final - Copper Mountain, Colo. 
6:45 p.m. - Men’s Snowboard Streetstyle Final - Copper Mountain, Colo. 

Sunday, Feb. 9 
10:45 a.m. - Men’s Snowboard Modified Superpipe Final - Copper Mountain, Colo. 
12:30 p.m. - Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle Final - Copper Mountain, Colo.
 

Freestyle returns home this week with the 2020 Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International at Deer Valley Resort.

The action kicks off Thursday night with moguls under the lights on Champion Ski Run, known as the champion maker. Athletes who podium on Champion are likely those you’ll see on the next Olympic podium. One of the steepest and longest courses on the circuit, this is a U.S. Team favorite - it’s fast and it’s fun. 

On the women’s side, watch for Jaelin Kauf, fastest woman in mogul skiing, as she progresses her run, with the addition of a cork 7. Deer Valley could be where she skis it well enough to add more World Cup hardware to her arsenal, which includes 13 podiums, six of which are victories. Hannah Soar is having a phenomenal season, claiming her first World Cup podium - a third place in dual moguls in Thaiwoo, China, and making four out of five finals. Tess Johnson is looking to bring the heat, as she’s been working in a new trick to her package: a heli mute grab. It’s improved at every event she’s skied and the hometown crowd at Deer Valley could be just what she needs for a major breakthrough. Rookie Kai Owens will be making her third and fourth career World Cup starts. Kai was the youngest American to start in a moguls World Cup when she made her debut in Tremblant, Quebec, and has made finals in both events she has competed. 

For the men, Deer Valley athlete Brad Wilson is looking forward to competing on home snow. “The competition here is so awesome, it’s the best stop on tour,” said Brad. “Deer Valley does the best job hosting us. The course on Champion is also legendary. Almost all of the greatest athletes in the history of our sport have competed here and we get to be a part of that legacy. I look forward to ripping some runs on Champion and getting to be a part of that legacy.”

Jesse Andringa is looking to break into the finals, he’s skiing with fun and confidence and still riding the high of his awesome dual against Canada's Mikael Kingsbury in China. Also looking to break into finals are rookie Team members Alex Lewis, and Nick Page, the hometown crowd and support could just be what these two need to make it happen. These will be both Alex and Nick’s sixth and seventh World Cup starts, and their first World Cup event on Champion. Tom Rowley, in his third competition back from injury, will look to prove himself back in the top ranks. Also returning from injury is Emerson Smith, competing in his first World Cup start since 2018.

Joining the U.S. Ski Team are athletes from regional programs. As the host nation, the U.S. has additional quota start opportunities and is fielding 17 U.S. athletes. Local Wasatch Freestyle skiers Madison and Kasey Hogg will be making their World Cup debuts in front of their friends, family, and community. Steamboat Winter Sports Club skiers Maggie Ryan and Landon Wendler will also be making their World Cup debuts Thursday. Former U.S. Ski Team athlete Bruce Perry, Jr. (Squaw Valley Ski Team) is climbing his way back into World Cup ranks after taking some time off during the 2017-2018 season. Kalman Heims (Killington Mountain School) will have his fifth and sixth World Cup starts.

Competition continues Friday night with the world’s best aerial skiers launching themselves off of the double and triple kickers to perform quadruple twisting backflips. This is the first World Cup competition for the U.S. team this season as they elected not to compete in China last December and the Moscow event was postponed until Feb. 15. Competing at Deer Valley as the first event of the season sets the Team up for success with home snow advantage and a roaring crowd. The aerials’ season only has them traveling further and further from home as they compete in places like Kazakhstan and Siberia. 

Leading the Americans is veteran, 3-time Olympian and 2017 World Champion Ashley Caldwell. Known for being one of the few women who jump the triple, Ashley has a multi-year plan going into the next Olympic cycle and is taking this year to compete doubles and let her body heal from previous injuries in order to make her stronger for next season. Top-ranked American Eric Loughran is amped on the Deer Valley course. “I’m feeling great, the sun was shining, it’s been an awesome day,” said Eric of the first day of training. “My jumping is going awesome. The hometown crowd is pretty sweet, seeing all of my friends up here on the landing is going to be awesome. Getting to be able to compete in front of Park City is amazing.”

Chris Lillis has been crushing it in training this extended prep period, and if he jumps like he has been, he will be a podium contender. Teammate and brother Jon Lillis is looking solid and landed all of his jumps during Day 1 of training. Justin Schoenefeld, who finished his first World Cup season last year ranked 10th, has been strong in training as well. This will be Justin’s first Deer Valley start. Veteran skier Alex Bowen has been putting in the work this season and is eager to fight for podiums. Nick Novak will look to score World Cup points. Also making his Deer Valley debut is rookie member Quinn Dehlinger, who was all smiles after day one of training, landing all of his jumps.

On the women’s side Winter Vinecki, who finished last season ranked seventh, is showing good form and landing qualities, and if she performs how she has been training, she will be a contender for super finals. Morgan Northrop is working on her Full Double Full and we may see her compete it on snow this week. Megan Nick just landed her first Double Full Full on snow last training camp and is excited to potentially perform it under the lights on the White Owl course. Madison Varmette is putting in the work on her Double Full Full. New Team members Kaila Kuhn and Megan Smallhouse are both training hard for what will be their first World Cup start as U.S. Ski Team members. This will be Smallhouse’s first Deer Valley World Cup. (Need a refresher on all-things-aerials? Check out Aerial Skiing 101)

Joining the U.S. Ski Team are two Park City Ski & Snowboard aerial skiers, bringing the total American aerial competitors to 16. Karenna Elliott will be competing in her second-career World Cup and Derek Kreuger will be making his World Cup debut. 

The fun concludes on Saturday night with everyone’s favorite show on snow, dual moguls. Although a crowd and athlete favorite event, dual moguls is not competed at the Olympic Winter Games. Last year’s dual moguls night was one for the books, with three Americans medaling: Brad, silver; Jaelin, silver; and Tess, bronze. The Americans love a good duals night, balancing pushing themselves to the limit to put on a good show with keeping a competitive edge over the rest of the field.

The mogul and aerial skiers of the U.S. Ski Team are primed and ready to show their hometown crowd what they’re made of. As the only domestic stop on the FIS Freestyle World Cup Tour, this is a true homecoming event as many of these athletes call Park City and Utah home. 

Social
#DVWorldCup

Instagram
@usskiteam
@deervalleyresort
@intermountain

U.S. Starters
Moguls
Jaelin Kauf
Tess Johnson
Hannah Soar
Kai Owens
Kasey Hogg
Madison Hogg
Maggie Ryan
Brad Wilson
Jesse Andringa
Alex Lewis
Nick Page
Tom Rowley
Emerson Smith
Dylan Walczyk
Bruce Perry Jr.
Landon Wendler
Kalman Heims

Aerials 
Ashley Caldwell
Kaila Kuhn
Madison Varmette
Megan Nick
Megan Smallhouse
Morgan Northrop
Winter Vinecki
Karenna Elliott
Alex Bowen
Chris Lillis
Eric Loughran
Jon Lillis
Justin Schoenefeld
Nick Novak
Quinn Dehlinger
Derek Kreuger

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST

FREESTYLE
Thursday, Feb. 6
9:30 p.m. - Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International men and women’s moguls, Deer Valley, Utah - Olympic Channel, OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Friday, Feb. 7
12:30 a.m. - Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International men and women’s moguls, Deer Valley, Utah - NBCSN*

9:30 p.m. - Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International men and women’s aerials, Deer Valley, Utah - NBCSN, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Feb. 8
3:00 p.m. - Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International men and women’s moguls and aerials, Deer Valley, Utah - NBC**

9:30 p.m. - Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International men and women’s dual moguls, Deer Valley, Utah - Olympic Channel, OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Feb. 9
3:00 p.m. - Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International men and women’s dual moguls, Deer Valley, Utah - NBC**

*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast
 

Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app

Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow.