Ruka, Finland – The FIS Freestyle World Cup ski season opens on Saturday with dual moguls in Ruka, Finland.
“Ruka is a classic first event to the World Cup tour,” said Todd Schirman, Freestyle Program Director for the U.S. Ski Team. “The team and staff have been preparing for this moment since last April and now all the hard work will pay off. With last year’s success the athletes are very driven, the team knows they can be on the podium consistently and want to prove that they are the best team in the world. I applaud all of the hard work this summer and look forward to a successful season.”
This weekend’s event kicks off a series of World Cups abroad before the U.S. Ski Team returns home for the USANA U.S. Freestyle Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y., Jan. 19-21. Headlining the American team north of the Arctic Circle on Saturday are Heather McPhie, of Bozeman, Mont., and Cle Elum, Wash.’s Pat Deneen. Last season the U.S. took three of six podium spots with Vermont’s Hannah Kearney in first, and Eliza Outtrim, of Hamden, Conn., and Sho Kashima in second.
Outtrim is the only one of last winter’s three U.S. podium finishers to compete this time around. Kashima, of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., is rehabilitating from his second knee surgery. Kearney, the reigning Olympic champion, will sit this one out while she continues her recovery from a training crash in early October in Zermatt, Switzerland, in which she fractured two ribs. Kearney still plans to compete in Lake Placid next month.
“I’m excited to be back in Ruka, Finland to kick off the World Cup season with a dual event. I love the good pitch on this course and the cold wintry snow – both make for some awesome rip-able moguls,” said Outtrim. “The past two years I’ve had great success here with a fourth and second in the singles event. With it being a duals event this year, I’m anxious to see if i can have the same, or hopefully better, success. More than anything, I can’t wait to get in the gate again!”
Canada’s team for Ruka is also a force to be reckoned with, led by 2010 Olympic Champion and reigning dual mogul World Champion Alex Bilodeau along with 2012 Crystal Globe winner Mikael Kingsbury. Last season the team won 32 FIS World Cup medals — 11 gold, 13 silver and eight bronze – and put eight athletes in the top ten of the FIS World Cup rankings.
Rosemère, Quebec’s Bilodeau, who took a sabbatical for most of last season to concentrate on his university studies, will be a formidable presence on the tour this season.
“It feels good to be back and I feel good on my skis,” acknowledged Bilodeau, who is optimistic about his return to full-time competition,
Kingsbury landed on the podium at every World Cup last season and collected eight wins on his way to the Crystal Globe. The Deux-Montagnes, Quebec native had an excellent off-season and is in top shape coming into the first event.
“For the men, it’s been a productive summer of training and now it’s time to deliver the results,” said Canadian Head Coach Rob Kober, who added, “I am feeling as confident as ever in my team. The guys are in great shape. Everyone is healthy and looking good.”
On the women’s side the Canadian field is also deep with 18-year-old Justine Dufour-Lapointe roaring to eight World Cup medals and a second place showing in the overall rankings last season. Dufour-Lapointe is bolstered by her two older sisters, all from Montreal; Cholé, the fifth place finisher from the Vancouver Olympics who landed on the podium twice in 2012, and Maxime who had five top-ten finishes last year.
Quebec City’s Audrey Robichaud had a breakout season in 2012 despite missing a couple of early season events due to a back injury. She earned back-to-back gold and silver medals in Japan and wound up fourth in the world rankings.
“I plan to keep the momentum from last year going and keep doing what I’ve been doing,” said Robichaud, adding, “I have a great connection with our coaches, there’s a lot of confidence and trust there.”
The biggest challenge for the entire World Cup field in Ruka may be the extreme weather. The thermometer has been stuck below zero Fahrenheit this week and there hasn’t been a lot of snowfall thus far this winter in northern Finland, so the course is made from manmade snow, which tends to be rough and icy for competitors.
Following the Ruka dual mogul event on Saturday the World Cup makes its way to Krieschberg, Austria for another duals competition on Dec. 22. After returning stateside for the USANA U.S. Freestyle Cup in Lake Placid, the World Cup moves to Deer Valley, Utah, for the Feb. 2-4 Visa Freestyle International.