Dehlinger Wins, Caldwell Second in Le Relais

The Americans returned to Aerials FIS World Cup competition in force with Quinn Dehlinger winning his first World Cup and Ashley Caldwell claiming her 18th career World Cup podium with a second place. A prime jump site and enthusiastic crowd proved just what the U.S. Aerial Freestyle team needed at the Le Relais, Canada event. 

“It honestly feels unbelievable and it is still settling in,” Dehlinger said from the finish area of his first World Cup victory. “It is so rewarding to have all the hard work and training finally pay off - and it paid off big. I had the mindset to do what I need to do, just think about the beginning of the jump first and the rest will come.” 

“Big thanks goes out to my mom and dad for this,” he added. 

“The site here is so wonderful, the people are incredible,” reflected Caldwell of how the day went for her. “Such a great event. We had a really excited crowd. People are passionate about aerials and you can tell. I had a pretty tough summer and fall and so to have something nice and brought to have happen feels really good.”

I am so proud of Quinn,” she added. “He’s been jumping incredibly and totally earned this win. I’m proud of the younger athletes being able to  do high quality jumps to land on top of the podium.” 

Dehlinger was on fire all day, stomping his Full Double-Full Fulls to qualify for finals in second and supers in third. His super’s round Double-Full Full Full earned a score of 122.62 to beat out the rest of the field. Not only was this Dehlinger’s first World Cup win, it marks his first World Cup podium and first World Cup super finals appearance. 

Chris Lillis qualified for finals, and performed a high-scoring Full Full Double-Full Full to qualify in first going into the super round. Lillis threw a Double-Full Full Full in supers, earning a score of 118.55 and just missing the podium in fourth place. 

Switzerland’s Noe Roth came in second and Ukraine’s Dmytro Kotovskyi came in third. Park City Ski & Snowboard’s Ian Schoenwald tied his career-best result with 13th, just missing the cutoff for the finals round. 

Le Relais marked Caldwell’s first World Cup competition of the 2022-23 season after a tough summer and fall training period. She had strong jumps all day long, qualifying in fourth for finals and supers with a Full Full. Her super round Full Double-Full earned 92 points, landing her in second place. Caldwell shared the podium with Canada’s Marion Thenault (first) and Ukraine’s Anastasiya Novosad (third). 

Kaila Kuhn, Winter Vinecki and Dani Loeb all qualified for finals. Vinecki finished seventh, Loeb finished twelfth. Kuhn made a strong showing in the first round of finals with her Full Full but finished the day in sixth with her Lay Full in supers. 

Aerials competes again Sunday in Le Relais. Dehlinger is hoping for another great day. “I’m going to start with the basics and try and replicate [today].” 

Results
Women’s Aerials
Men’s Aerials