Stevenson Leads Slopestyle Qualifier at Junior Worlds
Ryan Stevenson (Washington, N.J.) put down the top score of the men's freeski slopestyle qualifiers Thursday at the 2018 FIS Junior Freeskiing & Snowboard World Championships. Cody LaPlante (Truckee, Calif.) was also among the 12 competitors to qualify for Friday’s slopestyle finals.
In the first qualifying heat, Japan’s Taisei Yamamoto nailed the most technical rail line of the day, putting him top of the leaderboard with a score of 86.00, while Stevenson and Norway’s Birk Ruud had a close battle for the top spot in heat two.
Stevenson just pulled ahead with a more technical combination of tricks, including a backswap on wallride, left 270 in, right 270 in, backslide 270 safety out, left double 1260 safety, switch right double 1080 Japan, switch left double 1260 safety to score 90.33. LaPlante finished fifth in heat two with a score of 63.66.
The women’s slopestyle qualifications are scheduled to take place on Friday morning, followed by both men and women’s finals at 1:30 p.m. local time at the Big Bucks Park at Cardrona Alpine Resort.
RESULTS
Men’s slopestyle qualifier heat 1
Men’s slopestyle qualifier heat 2
START LIST
Men’s slopestyle finals
Women’s slopestyle qualifier
Cody LaPlante
USASA Series: North Tahoe Series
Cody LaPlante has style, class and and goes big! He stomped his first double-flat spin at the age of 11. Yes - 11. He was the worlds first 14-year-old to pull a Triple Misty. And, the young skier out of Lake Tahoe won the USASA national slopestyle title in 2012 and 2013 and the overall title in 2014.
Showing that he has all-around skills, LaPlante has also raced skicross events. LaPlante has grown up skiing the slopes of Alpine Meadows at Lake Tahoe, cutting his teeth with the Alpine Freestyle Team.