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Three U.S. Podiums Close Out X Games Aspen

By Andrew Gauthier
January, 26 2020
Alex Aaron podium
Aaron Blunck (left), Alex Ferreira (center) and Brendan MacKay (right) at the medal ceremony for Men's Ski SuperPipe during X Games Aspen 2020. (ESPN Images - Eric Lars Bakke )

In the final competition of X Games Aspen 2020 on Sunday U.S. Freeski Pro Team member Alex Ferreira defended his superpipe title securing his second-consecutive X Games gold medal. 

“Let’s go,” said Alex overcome by pure happiness. “I can not believe I went back-to-back. I have so many people to thank. Thank you to my coach Elana Chase. Thank you to my friends and family who came out, I love you guys so much.”

On Alex’s last run, he landed a beautiful double cork 1440 to surpass his teammate Aaron Blunck, and become the first Aspen local to ever win back-to-back gold medals in any X Games discipline. As Alex skied into the finish corral doing his classic pole spin celebration, he was almost immediately swept away by a sea of family and friends before he could even get off a winning interview with host and U.S. Freeski alumna Jen Hudak. 

The night was full of amazing moments like Kiwi Nico Porteous landing the first-ever double cork 1620 in halfpipe competition and Alex averaging almost 15 feet of amplitude in one of his runs. Aaron took home the silver medal and Canadian Brendan MacKay rounded out the podium with the bronze. 

“I loved the new format,” said Aaron. “It felt like all the pressure was off because it was an overall impression and you could have the option to change things up and do things differently rather than one run counts. I think it was a new way to do things and it really worked for the very well-rounded group of U.S. Freeski athletes.” 

Earlier in the day, U.S. Freeski Pro Team member Maggie Voisin earned X Games bronze in her first slopestyle competition back from ACL surgery. 

“Today was a super special day,” said Maggie. “I couldn’t be more grateful to get back on the X Games slope podium today. Nine months ago when I got knee surgery all I wanted was to just be ready and back in time to compete at X. I put no expectations on myself to get a podium this week, so snagging the bronze was very emotional for me. Thank you to everyone who helped me the past several months to get to this moment. It feels absolutely amazing to be back!”

This is Maggie’s fifth X Games slopestyle medal and it serves as proof of her incredible work ethic throughout her injury recovery process. To come out and podium on arguably the biggest stage for freeskiing as her first event back speaks to her grit. Maggie was so happy to be competing again that after her second run she exclaimed from the finish area, “I’m so happy to be back!” Maggie usually has a smile on her face and her love for skiing was on full display throughout X Games Aspen 2020. 

Maggie’s runs included both a forward and switch 900, beautiful rodeo 540’s off of the shark fin feature and consistent rails throughout the competition. 

Estonia’s Kelly Sildaru defended her title earning gold and Swiss skier Sarah Hoefflin took home the silver. 

Join us at Mammoth Mountain, Calif. or tune in to watch Maggie, Alex, and Aaron,  and the rest of the U.S. Freeski and Snowboard Team compete in FIS World Cup halfpipe and slopestyle competition at the Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix Jan. 29 - Feb 1. 

RESULTS
Women’s freeski slopestyle
Men’s freeski superpipe


LAND ROVER U.S. GRAND PRIX SCHEDULE

FREESKI
Wednesday, Jan. 29 - Slopestyle Qualifiers
Thursday, Jan. 30 - Halfpipe Qualifiers 
Friday,  Jan. 31 - Slopestyle Finals
Saturday, Feb. 1 - Halfpipe Finals

SNOWBOARD
Wednesday, Jan. 29 - Halfpipe Qualifiers
Thursday, Jan. 30 - Slopestyle Qualifiers 
Friday,  Jan. 31 - Halfpipe Finals
Saturday, Feb. 1 - Slopestyle Finals

HOW TO WATCH
Subject to change
All times EST
*Same-day delayed broadcast
** Next-day broadcast

FREESKI
Friday, Jan. 31

4:30 p.m. - Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix Halfpipe - Mammoth Mountain, Calif. - NBCSN

Saturday, Feb. 1
1:00 p.m. - Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix Slopestyle - Mammoth Mountain, Calif. - Olympic Channel

Sunday, Feb. 2
3:00 p.m. - Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix Slopestyle - Mammoth Mountain, Calif. - NBC**

SNOWBOARD
Friday, Jan. 31

12:30 p.m. - Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix Slopestyle - Mammoth Mountain, Calif. - NBCSN

Saturday, Feb. 1
4:00 p.m. - Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix Halfpipe - Mammoth Mountain, Calif. - Olympic Channel
5:00 p.m. - Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix Halfpipe - Mammoth Mountain, Calif. - NBC
11:30 p.m. - Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix Halfpipe - Mammoth Mountain, Calif. - NBCSN*

All streams will be available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Gold and OlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports and Olympic Channel app are available on the Apple App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire.
 

Diggins Third, Leads Four Americans in Top 16 at Classic Sprint

By Tom Horrocks
January, 26 2020

Jessie Diggins snagged her second classic sprint podium of the season to lead four Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team athletes into the top 16 in Oberstdorf, Germany, Sunday. Sophie Caldwell was fourth, Sadie Maubet Bjornsen was ninth and Rosie Brennan was 16th.

“It was really fun to get out there and snag another classic sprint podium, which is weird for me, but I’ll always take it,” Jessie said of her third-place finish behind winner Natalia Nepryaeva of Russia, and second-place finisher Anamarija Lampic of Slovenia. Jessie also finished third in a classic sprint in Val di Fiemme, Italy, earlier this season, and now has three career World Cup classic sprint podiums.

Four Americans qualified for the heats with Jessie leading the way in third, Sadie qualifying fourth, Sophie in ninth, and Rosie 11th. Caitlin Patterson finished 61st in qualifying, and Alayna Sonnesyn was 66th. Putting her disappointing result from Saturday’s skiathlon behind her, Jessie won her opening quarterfinal heat, then advanced as a lucky loser into the finals. 

“Yesterday, I just felt so tired and my legs were just dead. It was really, really, hard. It was a big struggle and I was fighting with everything I had,” Jessie recalled of Saturday’s 15k skiathlon. “But I just told myself that ‘today it’s a new day, you never know, so I’m just going to go out there and give it everything I have.’”

In the final, Sophie - who cruised through her quarterfinal and semifinal heats to reach the finals - skied toward the front of the group with Jessie sitting fifth going into the first of three climbs. On the second climb, both Sophie and Jessie made a move up the outside to position themselves for the downhill before heading into the third and final climb.

“Halfway through the final climb, I was like ‘I don’t know, I’m going to keep trying.’ And luckily, I got behind Nepryaeva because I thought she would start going on the second hill, and I was fortunate that she went and it that cleared a space for me to try to follow, and then I just got a really good draft into the finish and felt strong in the double-pole.”

Natalia and Anamarija were able to glide ahead down the final hill and battle for the win, leaving Jessie and Sophie to duke it out for the final podium spot. For the second time this season Sophie was edged out at the line by a teammate for the final podium spot, but so far this season she has five top-five sprint results. 

“Sprint is always such a bittersweet event for me,” said Rosie. ”While today was the best classic sprint of my career, I still felt that I made some mistakes and didn’t ski as well as I felt.”

However, Rosie and her teammates will have another shot at the Oberstdorf course as Sunday’s race was a preview what the athletes will see at the 2021 World Championships.

“For a World Championships course, it should be hard,” Jessie said. “It’s really challenging, but it’s a fair course…and its very spectator friendly, which is going to be great.”

“I know there are probably some sprinters that aren’t excited about the length, but I felt the course did a good job of including all kinds of skiing and really rewarding good skiers,” Rosie added.

In the men’s race, no Americans qualified for the heats. In the qualification round, Simi Hamilton was 32nd, Andy Newell was 41st, Tyler Kornfield was 55th and Noel Keeffe was 64th in his World Cup debut.

Up next, a number of athletes will enjoy a training camp in Seefeld, Austria, in preparation for the next FIS Cross Country World Cup event in Falun, Sweden, Feb. 8-9 with another classic sprint, a 15k freestyle for the women and 30k freestyle for the men.

RESULTS
Women classic sprint
Men’s classic sprint

WORLD CUP STANDINGS
Women’s overall
Men’s overall
Women’s sprint
Men’s sprint

 

Men's Slalom Team Shows Promise in Kitzbuehel; Looks Ahead to Schladming

By Megan Harrod
January, 26 2020
Kyle Negomir and Ben Ritchie Kitzbuehel
Kyle Negomir and Ben Ritchie stand in the start gate at Kitzbuehel, Austria, and take it all in. (Max Hall - U.S. Ski & Snowboard)

In what is a rebuilding year for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team in slalom, the American slalom skiers showed flashes of brilliance but will have to look ahead to the Schladming Night race on Tuesday evening to show what they are made of, under the lights. 

Switzerland's Daniel Yule won his third FIS Ski World Cup slalom race of the calendar year, with Austria's Marco Schwarz in second by .12 and France's Clement Noel in third, .37 seconds off the pace. Daniel ended a 52-year winning drought at the Kitzbuehel slalom. The last—and only—Swiss man to win a World Cup slalom event in Kitzbuehel was Dumeng Giovanoli in 1968.

All eyes were on the 19-year-old Norwegian, Lucas Braathen after he knifed the first run coming down into the lead ahead of Daniel by .33 seconds from bib 34. It appeared he'd hang on to a podium position second run, but he slipped back to fourth place, .49 seconds off Daniel—a career-best result for the young Attacking Viking. 

The conditions at Kitzbuehel were favorable to the entire field, with a consistent and grippy-icy surface. High bib numbers—like Austria's Adrian Pertl, who started bib 73 and finished eighth on the day—were able to lay it down and punch it in there. The young guys, like Lucas, are skiing fast and the veterans, like France's Julien Lizeroux (41-years-old), are still skiing fast—making it near-impossible to squeeze in the top-30 in the men's slalom field at the moment. It is, arguably, the deepest and most challenging field on the circuit at the moment. 

The young American men's slalom field showed some promising and solid sections, but Luke Winters and AJ Ginnis finished just outside of the 30 in the first run, while Ben Ritchie skied a fast top split before he DNFed, and Kyle Negomir ran into some trouble on the top and did not qualify. It's a tough course with a lot of rolls and lots of terrain, and all of the guys except for AJ had not skied it previously. They'll take the experience and look ahead to Schladming. 

"I got a little bit thrown on the top, like the third or fourth gate, but I think my splits were still OK up there," Luke reflected. "Then, I skied all the way down and was trying to push it, but came over the last roll and had a little mistake. It's so tight right now in World Cup slalom...you have to be clean all the way down, and also ski really well. I know I have the speed, and I'm really looking forward to Schladming in a couple of days. We all know we have the speed, it's just about getting from top to bottom clean and fast." 

Up next, the men will take on the famous Schladming, Austria Night Race under the lights—with crowds of nearly 60,000 flare-throwing, cheering, drinking Austrians—on Tuesday night. 

RESULTS
Men's Slalom

STANDINGS
Overall
Slalom

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
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Twitter
Official event hashtag: #Hahnenkamm

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Monday, Jan. 27
1:00 p.m. - Men’s downhill & super-G, Kitzbuehel, AUT - NBCSN**
3:00 p.m. - Men’s slalom, Kitzbuehel, AUT - NBCSN**

Tuesday, Jan. 28
11:45 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1, Schladming, AUT - NBC Sports Gold
2:45 p.m. - Men’s slalom run 2, Schladming, AUT - NBC Sports Gold

**Next-day broadcast

Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app. 

Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow

Why isn’t Kitzbuehel available live on NBCSN or Olympic Channel?
The reason Kitzbuehel is available via Gold Pass rather than NBCSN or Olympic Channel is that World Cup events held in Austria are not part of the TV agreement that NBC Sports has with FIS. They are controlled and sold by a different rights holder and were purchased by NBC Sports Gold for exclusive use within “Snow Pass.” If you have any further questions, please reach out to NBC Sports Gold's help desk at support@nbcsports.com. 

Why doesn’t “Snow Pass” have commentary?
In order to provide 900+ hours of content at an affordable price, we rely on the world feed (a video feed provided by the rights holder), which often does not include English commentary. Commentary is available on all television coverage provided by NBC, NBCSN and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, and live streaming via authentication at NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.

 

Shiffrin Wins Bansko Super-G and Finishes Weekend with 250 More Points

By Courtney Harkins
January, 26 2020
Mikaela Shiffrin Bansko Super-G
Mikaela Shiffrin takes her second win of the weekend in Bansko, Bulgaria. (Getty Images/Agence Zoom - Christophe Pallot)

Mikaela Shiffrin took her second win of the weekend in Bansko, Bulgaria, winning her fourth FIS World Cup super-G.

Behind Mikaela, Marta Bassino of Italy grabbed her second second-place finish of the weekend, and Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland was third. "It was a perfect weekend for me," said Mikaela, who won the first downhill on Friday and was fourth in the downhill on Saturday. "It was super fun, but again—it was a really big challenge." Mikaela walked away from the weekend with a massive 250 more points to extend her lead in the overall. 

Shiffrin put down a risky, aggressive run down the dark and bumpy Bansko track, but it was worth it, as she came out .29 seconds ahead of Marta. The triumph also means she’s won a race in every discipline besides the alpine combined this season.

Mikaela, who has been lauded as more of a technical skier, has been excelling in speed events over the last few years and her confidence continues to grow. “I felt really good on my skis—I felt like I could do what I wanted to do,” she said. “But I had to be really aggressive. It wasn’t always perfectly clean, but it was the fastest way I could ski this hill and this course. I’m super excited.”

The win brings Mikaela’s total to 66 wins—just one shy of Marcel Hirscher’s record of 67 wins—and leaves Mikaela in the lead of the overall, slalom and super-G standings and second place in the giant slalom and downhill standings. But she isn’t counting her chickens yet, having struggled to find the top spot in the last couple of weeks. In fact, this was just Mikaela's second victory of the calendar year, and she wants to make sure the fans and the media know it's not easy...even though her skiing looks graceful and effortless. Winning one World Cup is tough. Winning 66 times is otherworldly. 

“This season has been a really big challenge—every single race,” said Mikaela. “There are so many women that are skiing really fast, really strong. Every race is such a big fight and I haven’t been the one on top of this fight every time. Certainly, I’ve been feeling sometimes like the expectations that I have or that other people may have, I’m not quite living up to that. It’s hard not to feel like I’m failing sometimes, even though this is an incredible season.”

Rounding out the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team, Alice Merryweather skied into the points in 19th place. Breezy Johnson was 32nd and Alice Mckennis was 37th. Jackie Wiles skied out of the course and DNFed but is OK.

The women have more speed events next weekend, heading to the 2014 Olympic venue: Rosa Khutor in Sochi, Russia. Mikaela is undecided about whether or not she will travel to Russia for the speed series.

RESULTS
Women’s Super-G

STANDINGS
Overall
Super-G

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Sunday, Jan. 26
12:30 p.m. - Women’s super-G, Bansko, BUL - NBCSN*

*Same-day broadcast

Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app. 

Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow

 

Three Americans Podium at Big White SBX

By Andrew Gauthier
January, 25 2020
Podium
Eliot Grondin (left), Omar Visintin (center), and U.S. Snowboardcross Team member Alex Deibold (right) on the podium at the Big White FIS Snowboardcross World Cup in Canada. (Canada Snowboard)

U.S. Snowboardcross Team members Alex Deibold, Senna Leith, and Faye Gulini all claimed third place finishes at the FIS Snowboardcross World Cup double feature in Big White, Canada. Alex found his success on Saturday, while Faye and Senna followed suit on Sunday in the second and final race of the weekend. 

“This podium felt special today,” said Alex. “I’ve made a lot of changes in my life recently and had a shift in perspective. I feel so lucky to just to be out here. The support I got from my coaches and especially my teammates, means so much to me. Everyone on our team is riding so well right now and I hope we can carry some momentum into tomorrow.”

Alex’s third-place marks his first World Cup podium since 2017 in Veysonnaz, Switzerland, and his sixth World Cup podium of his career. Alex must have been pleased as the team did seem to carry momentum into day two of competition with both Faye and Senna racing their way to the podium.

Coming into race number two of the weekend, Faye had collected three top-10 World Cup finishes already this season. On Sunday, she put it all together to earn her first podium of the season, and second of her career. She now sits in fifth overall in the FIS Cup Standings.

“I fall more and more in love with my sport every race,” she said. “I’m so happy that all my hard work paid off today. I’m looking to carry this momentum into the last couple of races of the season. The team dynamic and spirit is at an all-time high and I see a lot more podiums in the near future for the U.S. Snowboardcross Team.”

For the men, Senna had a huge day earning his first World Cup Podium. 

“With difficult visibility caused by fog and mist, unpredictable things were happening throughout the race,” said Senna. “I knew I had to be patient, especially with the most crucial part of the course being the last third, where I managed to maintain good position in each heat. Earning my first podium is just hard to believe, but at the same time, I have visualized myself in this position so many times, I’m starting to understand it’s real. Also, I know how much time and effort I have put in to improve my riding, so it feels amazing. After I crossed the finish line, my whole team tackled me and I really felt the love. There is so much comradery within the team right now, which makes this podium really special.” 

Senna also spoke to why he thinks the U.S. Snowboardcross Team found so much success in Big White over the course of the two race program.

“I think our success has to do with the team spending a lot of time on snow together, but more so our that our team is full of very good all-around snowboarders,” he said. “I think we were all able to be smart through variable conditions.”

U.S. riders will continue snowboardcross competition in Sierra Nevada, Spain, March 6-7 for the fourth of five FIS Snowboardcross World Cups. 

CUP STANDINGS
Men’s snowboardcross
Women’s snowboardcross

RESULTS
Men’s snowboardcross - Jan. 25
Women’s snowboardcross - Jan. 25
Men’s snowboardcross - Jan. 26
Women’s snowboardcross - Jan. 26
 

Stevenson Makes History at X Games Aspen

By Andrew Gauthier
January, 25 2020
Colby hero
Evan McEachran (left), Colby Stevenson (center), and Fabian Boesch (right) at the medal ceremony for Jeep Men's Ski Slopestyle during X Games Aspen 2020. (ESPN Images - Eric Lars Bakke)

Colby Stevenson put down a dominant performance to become the first X Games rookie to win gold in freeski slopestyle on day three of X Games Aspen 2020 Saturday. 

“I had no idea I was gonna win today,” said an ecstatic Colby. “I was just hoping to make it to finals and after I qualified first I was relieved. I came out today with a smile on my face, we had beautiful weather, and I couldn’t ask for much more. I had four different runs in mind and somehow was able to put them all down. It’s amazing to have my family here and thank you everyone for watching.”

This is Colby’s second gold medal of the week after winning the inaugural ski knuckle huck event on Thursday night. After qualifying in first-place in slopestyle, Colby carried that momentum and a positive attitude with him throughout the week in Aspen. 

Last year’s defending gold medalist Alex Hall finished in sixth place and had a very unique approach to shark fin feature stomping a double misty 900. Double Olympic slopestyle medalist Nick Goepper put on an impressive display of skiing to finish behind Alex in seventh. Nick dislocated his shoulder in training earlier in the week, but persevered to not only qualify, but lace together multiple top to bottom runs in the finals. 

Canadian Evan McEachran finished in second place and Swiss freeskier Fabian Boesch finished in third. 

In women’s superpipe, U.S. Freeski Team member and Olympic bronze medalist Brita Sigourney put on a great display of skiing finishing sixth. Brita had consistent amplitude as well as landed back to back 900’s on her second run that lit up the Aspen crowd. 

Estonian Kelly Sildaru finished earned her first X Games superpipe gold medal, and Canadian’s Rachael Karker and Cassie Sharpe finished in second and third respectively. Kelly is the youngest women’s X Games freeski superpipe gold medalist at 17 years-old. 

X Games action continues on Sunday with the final day of competition. See the full broadcast schedule below.

Watch Colby's Runs Here

RESULTS
Men’s freeski slopestyle 
Women’s freeski superpipe


HOW TO WATCH
Subject to change
All times EST
@XGames - Streaming via YouTube, Facebook and Twitter pages.
*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

FREESKI
Sunday, Jan. 26

2:00 p.m. - Women’s Ski Slopestyle Finals - Aspen, Colo. - ESPN2
8:30 p.m. - Men’s Ski Superpipe Finals - Aspen, Colo. - ESPN
 

Anderson Gold, Gerard Bronze at X Games Aspen Slopestyle

By Andrew Gauthier
January, 25 2020
jamie
Laurie Blouin (left), Jamie Anderson (center), and Kokomo Murase (right) at the medal ceremony for Jeep Women's Snowboard Slopestyle during X Games Aspen 2020. (ESPN Images- Eric Lars Bakke)

U.S. Snowboard Pro Team member and double-Olympic gold medalist Jamie Anderson remained podium perfect on day three of X Games Aspen 2020 with a gold medal in snowboard slopestyle.

“I tried to stay consistent today and my ability to do that came down to practice,” said Jamie. “I definitely have been snowboarding half my life or maybe more and I think all of that experience came into play today. I have just been trying to get my runs together all week because it takes a lot to win here with all the girls doing there best and riding so well. I’m stoked to be on top of the podium.”

Jamie’s win marks her sixth X Games slopestyle gold medal, surpassing Canada’s Mark McMorris and the legend Shaun White who both won five X Games Slopestyle events. In addition, this is her 17th X Games medal, cementing her position as the winningest woman in X Games history, summer or winter. Jamie has gone 15 for 15 winning medals at every slopestyle competition she has entered at X Games. 

U.S. Snowboard Pro Team rider and last year’s silver medalist Hailey Langland had some very impressive moments displaying board control like no other. Her rails were arguably the most stylish and technical in the field and she landed the cab double cork 1080 on her last run. Hailey was the first woman to land that trick in competition in big air just a couple years ago at X Games Aspen. Hailey finished just outside the podium in fourth. 

Canada’s Laurie Blouin finished in second and Japan’s Kokomo Murase finished third. 

The day continued with men’s slopestyle where Red Gerard earned his first-ever X Games medal claiming the bronze. This is the first time an American man has made the podium in X Games snowboard slopestyle since 2012 when Olympic gold medalist and U.S. Snowboard alumnus Sage Kotsenburg earned the silver medal. 

“Stoked to finally get my first X Games medal,” said Red. “It was a heavy day and all the boys rode really well. Happy to have made the podium.”

From the outside looking in, the new jam session live ranking format would seem to favor Red as well. Athletes are judged on the entirety of their performance versus the best of three runs. Red’s ability to land a variety of runs and adapt throughout a competition is uncanny. This proved true for Red on Saturday and his range as a snowboarder was apparent.

American Brock Crouch finished in fourth place and U.S. Snowboard Team member Judd Henkes finished in fifth. Canadian Darcy Sharpe won his first X Games gold and Norwegian Mons Roisland took home the silver medal. 

X Games action continues on Sunday with the final day of competition. See the full broadcast schedule below.

RESULTS
Women’s snowboard slopestyle
Men’s snowboard slopestyle


HOW TO WATCH
Subject to change
All times EST
@XGames - Streaming via YouTube, Facebook and Twitter pages.
*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

 

SNOWBOARD
Sunday, Jan. 26

2:00 p.m. - Snowboard Rail Jam - Aspen, Colo. - ESPN2
8:30 p.m. - Snowboard Knuckle Huck - Aspen, Colo. - ESPN
 

Soar Leads U.S. in Tremblant World Cup

By Courtney Harkins
January, 25 2020
Hannah Soar Tremblant
Hannah Soar skis to sixth in the Tremblant World Cup. (ID One USA - Mike Page)

Hannah Soar led the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team at Canada’s Mont Tremblant on Saturday with a personal-best single moguls result, finishing sixth in the FIS Freestyle World Cup.

The event took place on the classic Flying Mile course with Perrine Laffont of France taking the win for the women, bringing her winning streak to four. Yuliya Galysheva of Kazakhstan took second and Anastasia Smirnova of Russia was third.

Conditions were great in Quebec with cold temperatures keeping the snow hard. Hannah, who hails from just a few hours south of Tremblant in Killington, Vermont, used that hometown feeling to make it to her first single moguls super final. She advanced her speed, skiing and jumping throughout each round with only a minor bobble in the super final keeping her off the podium.

Showing the strength of the U.S. women’s team, Jaelin Kauf also snagged a top-10 finish, taking ninth place. She brought her new trick—a cork 7—to the competition in finals, which she has been working hard on throughout the six-week World Cup break.

She's just starting to bring the cork 7 into top-to-bottom runs and the coaching staff said ‘it’s now or never,’” relayed U.S. Freestyle Ski Team Moguls Head Coach Matt Gnoza. “She’ll reflect back on this day in weeks to come and be glad she took that step. She may not see the results right away, but it’s a step in the right direction for her to continue to be one of the top competitors on the World Cup tour.”

15-year-old Kai Owens crushed her first World Cup, qualifying for finals and eventually finishing 11th. “It was an awesome intro to World Cup skiing for her,” said Matt. “We’re really excited about that. Being the youngest competitor to ever start for the U.S. and then to qualify for the finals—it was fun to watch Kai grow as an athlete and a competitor today. She handled it like a pro.“

Tess Johnson finished 12th, showing that her progression is continuing, throwing a 360 mute grab in both the qualifying round and finals.

“All in all, it was a really exciting day for the women’s team,” said Matt. “We didn’t end up with a podium, but having four team members in the finals was really cool—one of being them a rookie in her first World Cup. They’re moving in a good direction into Calgary and Deer Valley. I think today was about growing as athletes with a vision for the future with all the new tricks.”

Mikael Kingsbury of Canada won the competition for the men, thrilling the Canadian home crowd, with Ikuma Horishima of Japan finishing second and Benjamin Cavet of France third.

The U.S. men also had a solid day. Jesse Andringa led the Americans, qualifying sixth into the finals with a cork grab to a cork and eventually took 16th place.

“Jesse's qualifying run was super impressive,” said Matt. “It was really exciting to see him ski with that confidence and like he really belongs on the World Cup. I expect good things from him in the weeks to come.”

Brad Wilson skied in his first World Cup of the season and finished in 17th—only one spot off of finals. World Cup rookies Alex Lewis and Nick Page also competed, snagging 29th and 31st place, respectively. “They’re just grinding it out, learning how to compete at this level,” said Matt of the rookies. “They each had little mistakes, but take out their mistakes and they both had phenomenal runs with very competitive times. That elusive final isn’t as far away as they think. They’re working hard, learning from every opportunity they get and pretty soon we’ll see it come to fruition.”

Rounding out the U.S. men, Dylan Walczyk was 35th, Kalman Heims 38th and Tom Rowley, who is coming back from a back injury he sustained in December, finished 42nd.

Next up, the World Cup tour makes a stop in Calgary on Saturday before it comes to the home of the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team: Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah.  

RESULTS
Women’s Moguls
Men’s Moguls

Gold Leads American Sweep at X Games SuperPipe Session

By Andrew Gauthier
January, 25 2020
Taylor podium
U.S. Snowboard Pro Team members Jake Pates (left), Taylor Gold (center), Toby Miller (right) at the medal ceremony for Snowboard SuperPipe Session during X Games Aspen 2020. (ESPN Images - Eddie Perlas)

U.S. Snowboard Pro Team member Taylor Gold led an all American podium at the inaugural X Games snowboard superpipe session on the second night of X Games Aspen 2020. In a brand new competition where style, creativity, and fun are the name of the game, Taylor was able to let his true colors shine. It was a night full of hand plants, lip tricks, gator rolls, and pure joy for the riders. 

“The new format for X Games session really brought out everyone’s creativity, which was super cool to be a part of,” said Taylor. “It was easy to see that everyone was having a great time. I was really stoked to land my new trick because I wasn’t able to put it down during the first event. Not to mention I was able to connect it with some tricks that I think are really fun.”

U.S. Snowboard Pro Team members and teammates Jake Pates and Toby Miller earned silver and bronze respectively. 

“Last night was incredible,” said Toby. “None of us knew what to expect with it being a new event. As soon as practice started I knew immediately that the event was gonna be a blast. Everyone rode incredible and showed how much fun you can truly have in a halfpipe. I could not be happier to have walked away with third place. Getting to share the podium with Taylor Gold and Jake Pates was a moment I will never forget!” 

The men’s superpipe session, just like the knuckle huck competition, is a symbol of a new era in freeskiing and snowboarding where style and variety are king, and the number of spins and flips are secondary. Although today this is deemed as “new,” it relates back to the core of both sports. In addition to these new competitions, the live-ranking jam-session format, which encourages athletes to do different runs with no scores involved, also caters to this new direction versus the previous format (best score out of three runs). Progression doesn’t always need to be marked by an extra 180, but rather by the way athletes go about putting together an entire performance throughout their event. 

Stay tuned for more action from X Games throughout the weekend. See the full broadcast schedule below. 


RESULTS
Men's snowboard superpipe session


HOW TO WATCH
Subject to change
All times EST
@XGames - Streaming via YouTube, Facebook and Twitter pages.
*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

FREESKI
Saturday, Jan. 25

1:00 p.m. - Men’s Ski Slopestyle Finals - Aspen, Colo. - ABC
8:30 p.m. - Women’s Ski SuperPipe Finals - Aspen, Colo. - @XGames
10:00 p.m. - Women’s Ski SuperPipe Finals - Aspen, Colo. - ESPN

Sunday, Jan. 26
2:00 p.m. - Women’s Ski Slopestyle Finals - Aspen, Colo. - ESPN2
8:30 p.m. - Men’s Ski Superpipe Finals - Aspen, Colo. - ESPN

SNOWBOARD
Saturday, Jan. 25

1:00 p.m. - Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle Finals - Aspen, Colo. - ABC
1:00 p.m. - Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle Finals - Aspen, Colo. - ABC
10:00 p.m. - Men’s Snowboard Big Air Finals - Aspen, Colo. - ESPN
10:00 p.m. - Women’s Snowboard SuperPipe Finals - Aspen, Colo. - ESPN

Sunday, Jan. 26
2:00 p.m. - Snowboard Rail Jam - Aspen, Colo. - ESPN2
8:30 p.m. - Snowboard Knuckle Huck - Aspen, Colo. - ESPN
 

Bennett Takes Another Top Result at Kitzbuehel Downhill

By Courtney Harkins
January, 25 2020
Bryce Bennett Kitzbuehel DH
Bryce Bennett had his best finish to date on the famed Kitzbuehel downhill. (Hans Bezard - Agence Zoom/Getty Images)

In the most challenging and famous FIS World Cup on the circuit, Bryce Bennett grabbed a solid eighth-place result in the Kitzbuehel downhill.

Thrilling the raucous Hahnenkamm crowd, the Austrian men went 1-2 with Matthias Mayer winning and Vincent Kriechmayr taking second. Beat Feuz of Switzerland tied Vincent for second. It was Matthias' second win in Kitzbuehel, having won the super-G in 2017, and became the eighth man to win the speed double at the venue.

Bryce, who has shown strength over the years, had a tough beginning to the 2019-20 season but turned it around in Wengen, Switzerland, the week before Kitzbuehel with a seventh-place finish in the Lauberhorn downhill. Having finished 14th last season at Kitzbuehel, the top-10 result is Bryce's best career result on the Hahnenkamm. The result gave him the confidence he needed, and with unusually aggressive and grippy snow on the Streif track, he put it all on the hill.

“I just had my plan and I was set on committing to it,” said Bryce, who previously had a career-best downhill venue result of 14th at Kitzbuehel last season. “It was a cool feeling—I haven’t quite experienced that at Kitzbuehel. I fully committed to it and it felt like I had a pretty solid ride. I was excited.”

In Friday night's bib draw, Bryce wore jorts (jean shorts) and a jean vest, with an American flag as a cape. He walked out on stage and the crowd of thousands roared. Then, he boldly chose bib one over bib 19. The fans loved it. Bryce ran bullet in the downhill and getting to open up the storied event and sit in the leader's box for a good chunk of time was a cool experience. But next year, he wants to stay in the leader's chair and win it all. “I’m excited because I left everything on the hill and don’t have any regrets,” he said. “I’m bummed, but I learned a lot and I’m excited to try and win this thing.”

Steven Nyman also put down a solid run, despite making a big mistake, taking 13th. He was in the green on the top section of the course and leading at the fourth split before making a costly mistake. In the finish, he let out his frustration with a yell when he realized he was within striking distance of his first Kitzbuehel podium—and quite possibly win. Jared Goldberg and Travis Ganong finished in the points in 23rd and 30th, respectively. Sam Morse was 41st in his Kitzbuehel debut, holding his hands up and making a moose—his nickname—sign at the TV camera in the finish. Ryan Cochran-Siegle DNFed, but is OK and skied down to the finish.

The Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team slalom team gears up for Sunday’s slalom race in Kitzbuehel with Luke Winters leading the way for the Americans.

RESULTS
Men’s Downhill

STANDINGS
Overall
Downhill

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Sunday, Jan. 26
4:30 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1, Kitzbuehel, AUT - NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 2, Kitzbuehel, AUT - NBC Sports Gold

Monday, Jan. 27
1:00 p.m. - Men’s downhill & super-G, Kitzbuehel, AUT - NBCSN**
3:00 p.m. - Men’s slalom, Kitzbuehel, AUT - NBCSN**

*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app. 

Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow

Why isn’t Kitzbuehel available live on NBCSN or Olympic Channel?
The reason Kitzbuehel is available via Gold Pass rather than NBCSN or Olympic Channel is that World Cup events held in Austria are not part of the TV agreement that NBC Sports has with FIS. They are controlled and sold by a different rights holder and were purchased by NBC Sports Gold for exclusive use within “Snow Pass.” If you have any further questions, please reach out to NBC Sports Gold's help desk at support@nbcsports.com. 

Why doesn’t “Snow Pass” have commentary?
In order to provide 900+ hours of content at an affordable price, we rely on the world feed (a video feed provided by the rights holder), which often does not include English commentary. Commentary is available on all television coverage provided by NBC, NBCSN and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, and live streaming via authentication at NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.