Beida Lake, China – Olympic champion Hannah Kearney won the debut moguls World Cup in China on Tuesday for her second victory of the season.nKearney, of Norwich, Vt., was followed by Canada’s Jennifer Heil, of Spruce Grove, Alberta, and Kristi Richards, of Summerland, British Columbia, in second and third, respectively. In the men’s competition, Canada’s Mikeal Kingsbury, of Deux-Montagnes, Quebec, won the men’s competiton with Guilbaut Colas of France in second and Canadian Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau, of Drummondville, Quebec, in third, giving Canada four of the six podium positions in Beida Lake.
Kearney led three women into the top 10 while the U.S. men posted four top 10 results. Tuesday’s competition marked the third consecutive podium finish for Kearney, who has placed first, second and now another first in the opening three stops of the World Cup. Kearney remains firmly in control of the yellow jersey, while teammate Patrick Deneen, of Cle Elum, Wash, was bumped into second in the men’s standings.
“I qualified first after some shaky training,” said Kearney. “But I am proud to be the first victor in China.”
Kearney was joined in the top 10 by teammates Heather McPhie (Bozeman, Mont.) in fifth and Heidi Kloser (Vail, Colo.) ninth. The USA’s Eliza Outtrim finished 14th to total four American women in the top 15.
“I was really happy that I qualified fourth,” recounts a smiling McPhie. “I kind of had a slow start to this season. Coming into finals I had trained a couple of D-spins the day before, so I threw one in the finals. I was really happy to be pushing myself and skiing fast. I’m getting the hunger back to compete.”
Heil, who now lives in Montreal, was more than a second ahead of the rest of the field and her total score was only .8 off of Kearney’s.
“I did some great things with my skiing today, I took it up a level,” Heil said. “I made a small mistake in the middle section that cost me, but I definitely laid the foundation for my confidence and my skiing to be at its maximum after Christmas.”
She added that its exciting to be on tour with a Canadian team that is, in her words, “on fire.”
Richards said her performances in Finland, France and here over the past ten days have been a breakthrough.
“I feel like I am better able to focus and get into the groove and be able to stand in the gate and be ready to perform regardless of what else is going on around me,” Richards said.
Other Canadian women’s positions included: Audrey Robichaud of Quebec City in fourth; Chelsea Henitiuk of Whistler in 8th; and Maxime Dufour-Lapointe in 13th.
Teen mogul sensation Kingsbury, who qualified in first position amongst the men earlier in the day, said of the Beida Lake facility, “The chairlifts here were pretty slow, so we didn’t get a chance for a training run between qualifications and finals, so I talked to my coach and we decided not to risk doing anything different than I had done all day for my final run.
“Before my [final] run, I was listening to the scores from the other competitors and I knew I was in a position to win if I just put down the run I did in training. I did a clean run with a back full and a cork 720. I wasn’t the fastest guy, but I didn’t make any mistakes.”
This is Kingsbury’s second World Cup podium, he took home the silver ten days ago in Finland.
For his part, Rousseau, 31, said he was “happy and overwhelmed” by how well he has been skiing. “I thought last year at the Olympics was the pinnacle for me, but I’m still in great shape and I’m still improving,” he added.
However, Rousseau’s celebration of his third place finish was eclipsed by his pride in his young teammate. “Mikael has everything a mogul skier needs: jumps, speed and the right mindset. He proved it today and now I can leave the National Team this year with the knowledge that it’s in good shape for years to come,” Rousseau said, referencing his planned retirement following February’s World Championships in Deer Valley, Utah.
Other Canadian men’s positions included: Eddie Hicks of Langley, British Columbia, in eighth; Cedric Rochon of St. Sauveur, Quebec, in 15th; and Alex Bilodeau of Rosemere, Quebec, in 17th after catching an edge and falling in the qualification round.
Olympic bronze medalist Bryon Wilson, of Butte, Mont., led three U.S. men into the top 10 with a sixth place performance. Jeremy Cota, of Carrabassett Valley, Maine, finished seventh, while South Lake Tahoe, Calif.’s Sho Kashima and Joe Discoe of Telluride, Colo., ended the day in ninth and 10th.
“My qualifying run went really well, I qualified in fifth,” said Wilson. “In the finals coming out of the top air I had a bobble and I think that cost me the podium. But overall I was happy with my performance.”
David Digravio (Farmington, Maine) and Deneen also made the finals in China, with Digravio in 11th. Deneen wsa a DNF.
The inaugural World Cup moguls competition in China went off fairly smoothly. Fewer athletes in attendance than previous events forced some schedule changes on competition day. Changes included a combined training session for both men and women that was held immediately after training.
“It was like the old days when we used to be divisional skiers growing up,” said Kearney about the change-up. “It became a mental game that appealed to me. It all worked out in my favor.”
The U.S. Freestyle Ski Team not only had to adapt once they were in China, but also had to adapt after more than 50 hours of travel time to get to Beida Lake. Delays kept the team in Amsterdam overnight before having to spend nearly eight hours on the tarmac before takeoff. Upon arrival, the skiers had to make adjustments to the food and water. With cultural food experiences such as the cooked whole chicken’s feet were not touched, even in a room full of adventurous people.
“I almost ate one,” said U.S. Freestyle Ski Team Coach Garth Hager.
The World Cup season breaks for the holidays with competition resuming Jan. 7 in St. Johann, Austria.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
FIS Freestyle World Cup
Beida Lake, China – Dec. 21, 2010
Moguls
Men
1. Mikeal Kingsbury, Canada, 25.60
2. Guilbaut Colas, France, 24.14
3. Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau, Canada, 24.05
4. Sho Endo, Japan, 23.88
5. Nobuyuki Nishi, Japan, 23.88
Women
1. Hannah Kearney, Norwich, VT, 25.34
2. Jennifer Heil, Canada, 25.26
3. Kristi Richards, Canada, 23.83
4. Audrey Robichaud, Canda, 23.62
5. Heather McPhie, Bozeman, MT, 23.09