First Career Win for Page in Idre Fjall
Nick Page took his first career win at the individual moguls FIS Freestyle World Cup in Idre Fjall, Sweden on Saturday. Page is the first U.S. man to win a moguls World Cup since Brad Wilson in 2016.
Cole McDonald also made final 2 and was fifth overall. Olivia Giaccio was the top finisher for the women, finishing just off the podium in fourth place, while Liz Lemley was fifth.
It was a historic day for 20-year-old Page, who captured his first and only other career podium in Idre Fjall in 2020, when he took third place. He came into the comp with some fire after taking fourth place in last week’s World Cup in Ruka, and knew he could find the podium. He built from round to round, qualifying ninth on Friday, and ended up third for final 2. He didn’t hold anything back and stomped a cork 7 tail on top, had a strong skiing middle section and pinned his cork 10 on bottom. With his high degree of difficult and fast skiing, he secured his first win.
“What a day!” said Page. “That was so cool. There were a lot of peers surrounding me that I’ve looked up to a long time, and to be able to come out on top was really special. It’s pretty hard to put into words.”
Hailing from Park City, Utah, where U.S. Ski & Snowboard is based, this result is something he’s been dreaming of since he was a boy. And he did it in style: beating the reigning World Cup champion since 2012 Mikael Kingsbury from Canada, who was second, and the individual moguls Olympic champion Walter Wallberg from Sweden in third.
“Mikael Kingsbury took me under his wing when I first joined the World Cup," said Page. "I remember when I was 14 years old, he and I were having dinner. He told me that the best wins are the ones that come when you beat someone at their best. Fast forwarding to now and sharing this win with someone I’m so close with and has done so much for me was really really special. I’ll be grateful for a long time.”
Behind Page and McDonald, Dylan Walczyk made the top 10 in ninth. Olympic silver medalist Jaelin Kauf and Alli Macuga both finished in the top 10 in seventh and 10th. It was Macuga's first ever top 10 finish in a World Cup. Hannah Soar was 13th.
Next up, the team will look to capitalize on the momentum at hand and refocuses on dual moguls on Sunday.
RESULTS
Women's moguls
Men's moguls
HOW TO WATCH
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Sunday, Dec. 11, 2022
5:30 a.m. EST FIS Moguls World Cup, Men's and Women's Dual Moguls, Idre Fjall, Sweden, streaming LIVE on skiandsnowboard.live.
