The Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team aerials athletes kicked off their second World Cup of the season today in Changchun, China, highlighted by Winter Vinecki’s second career win and a podium for Chris Lillis. 

This is the first time the aerials team has been back in China for a World Cup since the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, where the U.S. took home the aerials team gold medal. The rare daytime event was a change of pace for the team, but one that they took in stride. 

During qualifications, Karenna Elliott and Quinn Dehlinger both finished first, setting themselves up nicely for the finals. Elliott ended the day with a new personal best, finishing in ninth place and scoring a personal best score of 88.51, improving upon her previous record of 12th from Engadin last yearm

“I’m very happy with my performance today. I did some of the best jumps today that I’ve done this season,” said Elliott. “It was incredible to qualify in the top position against so many great competitors. Even though I didn’t get a super high score on my final jump, I’m proud of myself for putting down another nice jump and landing it in competition. Walking away from this competition with a new personal best score and placement has given me confidence, and I am looking forward to future competitions. Since we have a month of training before our next competition at Deer Valley, I think I will be throwing some new tricks and am confident that this will be my best competition season yet!"

Tasia Tanner also scored a new personal best, landing in eighth place.

“Getting that new personal best today was really exciting. It was nice to take the momentum from Ruka and just keep moving forward,” said Tanner. “I was able to get my highest score ever and put down a clean jump. Obviously, there’s still room for improvement, but overall, I’m really happy with how I performed today. It’s been a long road to get where I’m at today, with this being my first healthy season in over two years. I’m looking forward to seeing how the rest of the season goes, and I can’t wait to compete on home snow again at Deer Valley!”

In finals, Winter Vinecki showed how much her triples have progressed since she started training them on snow only a few weeks ago in Ruka. Her newfound skills and perseverance helped her earn her second career victory. This is the first win from a U.S. woman in about three years. 

"It was not easy out there today, but I am so excited to have made the most of it and put my triples to my feet for the win," said Vinecki. "We were battling some brutally cold temperatures and strong winds all week and today was no exception. With still only having a handful of days of triples under my belt, I cannot thank my team around me enough for giving me so much encouragement and support so that I could get triples done again in this World Cup here in China. It has been a big few weeks for me so to top it off with a win and put on the yellow bib for the first time in my career feels incredible. I am excited for a little family time over the Holidays and then get some solid training in before the Deer Valley World Cup, where I am eager to keep this momentum going!"

Finishing behind Vinecki was Kaila Kuhn in seventh, followed by Tanner in eighth, Elliott in ninth, Megan Smallhouse in 14th, and Dani Loeb in 17th.

Olympic gold medalist Chris Lillis, who won his gold medal in China in 2022, also had a strong showing today, finishing in second place to earn his seventh career podium.

"I'm absolutely amped to put down another solid competition in some very tough weather and land on the podium," said Lillis. "I feel I'm in a great position to get back to home base and get some solid training in to continue my push for the Crystal Globe. Sharing a podium today with Winter was also super exciting as we have been teammates for eight years and it was a pleasure watching her get rewarded for taking the step up to the triple kicker. After a small Christmas break, all my focus will be on crushing Deer Valley!"

Quinn Dehlinger finished in seventh, Connor Curran in 17th, Justin Schoenefeld in 18th, and Derek Krueger in 20th. 

The team is headed into a training block before their next World Cup event in Deer Valley Feb. 1-3. 

RESULTS
Women
Men

Stifel U.S. Freeski Team halfpipe team athletes showed insane talent in the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix in Copper Mountain, Colorado with the men sweeping spots one through five. Alex Ferreira, Hunter Hess and Birk Irving landed on the podium, going 1-2-3. On the women's side, Hanna Faulhaber took home second place. 

Athletes gathered on the massive 22-foot tall superpipe today in Copper and the Americans dominated the event. Two-time Olympic medalist Ferreira took home the win, coming off his first place win in China last week and ultimately landing himself his twelfth career World Cup podium. As always, Ferreira was calm, cool and collected, going huge on his hits. In his winning run, he executed switch left 1080 tail, right double 1620 safety, left 1080 tail, switch right double 1080 Japan, left double 1620 safety. Hess, looking stylish, earned his third World Cup podium finish, coming in second, also fresh off a podium win in Secret Garden the week before. Birk Irving, Olympian and 2022-23 FIS Crystal Globe winner, took third for his seventh World Cup podium at his first event of the season. 

“It's epic to be in my home state of Colorado and just down the road from Aspen,” said Stifel U.S. Freeski Team athlete Alex Ferreira. “All these other guys are all so young and so talented and I'm the old guy in the field now so I’ve just got to keep working super hard and keep doing my absolute best and honestly just keep having fun. The sport of skiing is growing. It's getting better and everybody is insanely talented these days, so to just to be in the mix is an absolute blessing.”

Three-time Olympic slopestyle medalist Nick Goepper made his debut in halfpipe and put down an impressive run to just miss the podium in fourth place. Three-time Olympic halfpipe medalist David Wise was fifth, Dylan Ladd eighth and three-time Olympian Aaron Blunck landed in 10th. 

On the women’s side of things, Faulhaber, the reigning world champion, landed in second place, clinching her fourth career World Cup podium. In her winning run, she threw straight air tail, left cork 900 safety, flair 540 safety, left 720 mute, switch right cork 720 Japan into a left 1080 safety. Teammates Riley Jacobs and Svea Irving also competed in finals, coming in sixth and seventh place respectively. 

Eileen Gu ultimately came out on top for China finishing in first and Zoe Atkin of Great Britain finished third.

"I'm so happy with the whole team today," said Stifel U.S. Freeski Team halfpipe team head coach, Mike Riddle. "To have 10 athletes advance to finals is amazing and they all threw down in the contest. Huge congrats to Alex Ferreira for staying undefeated this season and Hanna and Hunter on their second podium of the year. Big congrats to Birk for putting it down when it counts on his third run to take third. Goepper made his debut in the halfpipe scene and walked away with fourth, showing he has what it takes. I'm a very proud coach every day, but especially today!" 

Next up, the Stifel U.S. Freeski Team halfpipe athletes take a break from competition before heading to Mammoth Mountain Jan. 31 - Feb. 4, 2024.

Results
Women’s Halfpipe
Men’s Halfpipe

Olympic champion and Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team athlete Red Gerard finished on the podium in third in the Visa Big Air presented by Toyota at Colorado's Copper Mountain. 

The Visa Big Air featured many of the world’s best snowboarders as they gathered to take on the enormous jump, where runs are judged on difficulty, amplitude, variety and progression. 

It's a Colorado bluebird day as Gerard took on the massive feature in Copper and ultimately took home the third spot in his home state in front of his friends and family. He earned himself his 11th World Cup career podium, just a week after he clenched third in Edmonton Big Air World Cup.

Gerard took three runs in finals: switch backside triple 16, back 18 melon and then on his third and final run he was bumped out of the third spot but ultimately answered on the next run with his classic clean switch backside 16 weddle, putting him back in podium position. 

Hiroaki Kunitake of Japan nabbed the number one spot and Sam Vermaat of Netherlands the number two.

On the women’s side of things, Hailey Langland just missed the podium in fourth, executing switch front 900 weddle, front 900 slob air and on her third run dropping in switch again with cab 1080 weddle. 

Kokomo Murase of Japan nabbed the number one spot and executing a never-been-done trick: back triple 1440 weddle. She was the first woman to compete two 14s and two triples, making history at the Visa Big Air. Mari Fukada of Japan came in second and Mia Brookes of Great Britain was third.

Olympic silver medalist in slopestyle Julia Marino also made finals, but had trouble putting down her tricks and finished in seventh. Rori Avelar of Park City Ski & Snowboard also made finals, but fell during practice and did not start. 

Jake Canter, Sean FitzSimons, Fynn Bullock-Womble, Brooklyn DePriest, Chris Corning, Brock Crouch, Lucas Ferry, Judd Henke, Liam Johnson, Luke Winkelmann, Rebecca Flynn and Courtney Rummel were also in Copper for the competition but did not advance to finals. 

The Visa Big Air presented by Toyota wrapped up the big air World Cups on the circuit, with the FIS Crystal Globes being handed out at the finish to Kira Kimura for the men and Brookes for the women, marking them the most dominant big air riders on the World Cup circuit in the 2023-24 season. Langland and Gerard were named the U.S. national champions. 

The Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team slopestyle/big air athletes now have a long break before traveling to Laax, Switzerland Jan. 17-20 for the next World Cup. 

RESULTS
Women's big air
Men's big air

The Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team kicked off the weekend with a moguls event in Alpe d’Huez, France, and Jaelin Kauf and Olivia Giaccio landed on the podium.

Men’s qualification was Thursday, where two U.S. men, Dylan Walczyk and Dylan Marcellini, qualified for today’s finals. 

It was a beautiful bluebird day in Alpe d’Huez, with soft snow conditions favorable to the U.S. team. The morning started with women’s qualifications, where all seven women competing moved on to finals, showing the depth and skill of the team. 

Four women made it to super finals where Jaelin Kauf finished in second, and Olivia Giaccio snagged third place for the third week in a row. Jakara Anthony of Australia won the event. Also in the top 10 were Hannah Soar in fifth, Liz Lemley in sixth, and Tess Johnson seventh. Alli Macuga was 12th and Kai Owens 16th. 

“Today was a lot of fun,” said Kauf. “The course was skiing super well, and I was stoked with my skiing in the middle. I still feel like I have a lot of improving left to do, but I am moving in the right direction. I’m excited for another duals comp tomorrow!”

The men had another solid day of skiing, with Dylan Marcellini finishing in 11th and Dylan Walczyk in 14th. Cole McDonald finished qualifiers in 23rd, followed by Nick Page in 49th. 

Next up, the men and women compete in dual moguls on Saturday.

RESULTS
Women's moguls
Men's moguls 

On Friday’s Val Gardena men’s super-G, the Stifel U.S. Ski Team had a strong day placing four in the top 30, highlighted by Jared Goldberg’s 10th place result. 

The race conditions were strong once again for the speed racers. The super-G set was fairly open and straight, favoring those that can glide and carry speed well. As the day went on, the light improved and the track maintained its quality, giving racers in the back a very good chance to move up. 

The day's podium was set in stone after 30 racers with Austrian Vincent Kriechmayr in the top position, his teammate Daniel Hemetsberger just two hundredths behind in second and Swiss skier Marco Odermatt in third, a mere three hundredths behind the pace. 

Goldberg ran bib 46 and immediately had quick splits. He catapulted himself into the top 10, ultimately landing a 10th place finish in a three-way tie. He shared the position with Italian Guglielmo Bosca and Canadian Jeffrey Read. 

“I feel really good because I skied how I wanted to and was really locked into the front of the boot with control,” said Goldberg. “I was in a good mindset after racing yesterday and today I was out there skiing for fun.”

The fast skiing continued with Bryce Bennett, fresh off a win the day before, running with bib 62. His fast skiing and confidence came through with his splits in the green. Bennett was on the cusp of another podium finish until he had a slight bobble toward the end slowing his speed. Bennett crossed the line in 14th place. 

“This is the most super-G I have ever skied in a prep period and what I practiced this summer was urgency. We are moving forward and we are going to keep pushing,” said Bennett. “There were some really good splits so I am happy and I am hoping to keep the momentum rolling.” 

Stifel U.S. Ski Team athletes Kyle Negomir and Sam Morse also made it into the top 30. Negomir was just shy of a career best finish in 24th place and Morse in 30th. Ryan Cochran-Siegle, River Radamus and Sam DuPratt also raced and ended up in 44th, 48th and 52nd.

“It feels good to make more turns in super-G. The course was pretty easy and you had to be extremely clean while also taking as much risk as you can,” said Negomir. 

The speed men are ready for another crack at the Val Gardena downhill Saturday, feeling positive about the chances for the squad. 

“Team vibes are good. We are supportive of each other having a lot of fun and we can see we have good speed and can win,” said Goldberg. “The target is on my back I think but it doesn't matter, you still have to execute and focus on that,” said Bennett. 

The men will start the downhill Saturday from the top of the slope, making for another exciting day of men’s alpine skiing. 

RESULTS

Men's super-G

HOW TO WATCH (Times in ET)

5:45 a.m. - Val Gardena/Gröden, men’s downhill, skiandsnowboard.live

The Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team started off strong in Trondheim with three Americans in the top-15 in the skate sprint, led by Jessie Diggins in fourth, Julia Kern in ninth and Kevin Bolger in 12th. 

In the debut skate sprint of the year, at the site of the upcoming 2025 FIS World Cross Country Ski Championships, the competition was stacked. With 57 on the startlist for the women and 77 for the men, the last sprint race of period one was set to be exciting. 

On the American side, six athletes advanced to the heats, based on landing in the top 30 in the qualification round. For the women, Kern had the fifth fastest qualification time, with Diggins and Brennan not far behind in 10th and 11th. On the men's side, JC Schoonmaker, coming fresh off his first World Cup podium in the Östersund classic sprint qualified eighth, with Bolger in 13th and Ben Ogden in 18th. 

In the men's quarterfinal heat, Bolger was the only American to advance, winning his heat. For the women, Diggins won her heat and went on to eventually win her semifinal. Kern was second in her quarterfinal, punching her ticket to the semis, but ultimately did not advance through to finals. Brennan, despite a fast quarterfinal heat, did not advance. 

"I was really happy to be out there and have one of my best sprints," said Kern, post-race. "The best part of the day was just getting out there and skiing."

In the final, Diggins was the lone American, alongside Sweden, Germany and Norway. In the finishing stretch of the technical, hilly sprint course, the eventual winner of the day, Kristine Skistad of Norway turned on the gas to out-sprint both Linn Svahn and Emma Ribom of Sweden, who filled the remaining podium positions. At the end of the day, Diggins was just off the podium in fourth, adding another top 10 to her outstanding 2023-24 resume and further solidifying her leading position in the World Cup overall standings. 

The team is back on snow for the 20k skiathlon on Saturday, where they will race 10k in classic skis, switch mid-race, then 10k on skate skis. 

RESULTS
Men
Women

In the first men’s speed race of the season, Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete Bryce Bennett took the win in Thursday’s downhill race in Val Gardena/Gröden, Italy. It was his second victory on the track. 

“Last season I struggled all season long and I worked as hard as I could this summer," said Bennett. "But this year I am feeling confident and I want to continue this not just today, but this whole season." 

After a few days of concerning weather, the sun was overhead and blue skies came through, making for a beautiful downhill day in the Italian Dolomites. It was the first speed race of the season, after two previous speed weekends in Zermatt-Cervinia and Beaver Creek could not go on due to weather. 

The race began from the super-G start and the times were extremely close, with less than one second separating 30th place from first. After 30 races, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde of Norway, the season’s previous downhill globe winner, held the lead, with Swiss phenom Marco Odermatt in second. 

But make way for Bryce Bennett. Bennett blazed down the track running bib 34. His top split immediately on par with the top racers and he kept getting faster and faster. The noise of the crowd was defeaning as Bennett flew over the final jump, punching it to the line with the green light flashing. Bennett roared in the finish, winning his second World Cup downhill in his career. 

“I am speechless," said Bennett. "We have been working really hard with a lot of good camps this summer and I have been showing good skiing but I just love it here. I changed the approach last year and this year and I am just so happy. I wanted a good run today and I just had to let it flow and trust myself.”

Val Gardena has been a beloved place on the Stifel U.S. Ski Team through the years, with legends such as Billy Kidd, Bode Miller, Steven Nyman, Ryan Cochran-Siegle and Bennett having wins and podiums on the Saslong track. And a lot of credit goes to the renowned Fischer serviceman Leo Messi, who now has nine wins on the track between Bennett (2), Nyman (3) and Italian Kristian Ghedina (4). 

The rest of the Stifel U.S. Ski Team squad also came back with strong results. Cochran-Siegle landed a 14th place in the downhill and Jared Goldberg took 18th. Both men skied exceptionally well and are amped for the next two races in Val Gardena.

“I am feeling like I had a good approach mentally and am focusing on the things I do well,” said Cochran-Siegle. “I think this will give me some confidence for the next few days.” 

Stifel U.S. Ski Team athletes Kyle Negomir landed just outside of the 30 in 37th, Sam Morse was 45th and Sam DuPratt made his return to the World Cup tour in 58th place. 

For DuPratt, making it to the finish line was the biggest accomplishment of his day. Three years ago on the exact same track, DuPratt had a large crash and broke both of his legs, taking him out of the sport for the next few seasons. 

“It had to be pretty poetic to have my first World Cup back be in Gardena where I went down three years ago,” said DuPratt. “I think it added to some nerves. I don’t know if I felt them but they were in the back of my head. The fear of crashing again is definitely something I thought about, but it happens and I just need to accept it and work on my skiing. I'm happy to be back and ready for the super-G.” 

The speed men will now prepare for a super-G race in Val Gardena/Gröden Friday with another downhill Saturday. 

RESULTS
Men's downhill

HOW TO WATCH (times in ET)
5:45 a.m. - Val Gardena/Gröden, men’s super-G, skiandsnowboard.live
5:45 a.m. - Val Gardena/Gröden, men’s downhill, skiandsnowboard.live

The world's most dominant Para snowboard team took no time showing this year's competition that they are stronger than ever. The season kicked off in Landgraaf, Netherlands, with a set of banked slalom events, where the U.S. Para Snowboard Team secured seven podiums throughout two days of competition. 

The competition was held in the “ice box,” an indoor venue that the team has grown to love, as it has become a familiar stop to start the season.  

Noah Elliott’s back-to-back wins highlighted the event in a stacked field in the LL1 classification. Elliott, a two-time Paralympic medalist, has been an integral part of the U.S. team since 2017.

“I am thrilled to have had such an incredible start to the season. All summer, I have been preparing mentally and physically for how intense the season will become,” said Elliott. “I made it a point to spend more time in my recovery and strength training in preparation to ride at my absolute best. Moving forward, I’m continuing to train hard and push myself. I’m really looking forward to spending more time with my teammates on snow and at competitions.”

Due to a smaller pool of participants in the women’s LL1 and LL2 classifications, athletes will compete in combined-class events this season. Despite competing against athletes in different classifications, Brenna Huckaby showed her dominance in the women’s field by bringing home second and third-place finishes. 

On day one, Evan Strong was also on the podium in the first event in third, followed by Keith Gabel in fourth, Zach Miller in fifth, and Joe Pleban in sixth. Additional podiums on day two of the competition came from Mike Minor in second and Miller in third. Just off the podium was Gabel with another solid fourth-place finish, along with Strong in fifth and Pleban in sixth.  

The team is heading into a training block before their next World Cup event in Pyha, Finland, in February.

RESULTS
Men, Day One
Women, Day One
Men, Day Two
Women, Day Two

In what many would say is Jessie Diggins' best event, the reigning 10k skate world champion took home her 16th career victory in today's 10k in Östersund, Sweden - her second victory of the 2023-24 season and 50th career World Cup podium. Rosie Brennan and Sophia Laukli finished within the top 10 in fifth and eighth, respectively. 

It was another landmark weekend for the Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team, with two individual podiums, over a dozen athletes in the top 30 and career bests across the board. Going into weekend four of racing, Diggins continues to lead the World Cup overall with Brennan close behind in second. Diggins also leads the distance overall; Brennan is third and Laukli is 16th. 

Sunday's 10k skate featured a technical three-lap course in snowy and cold conditions. The men started the day with the individual start format, sending an athlete off the line every 15 seconds. Coming off the energy and momentum of yesterday's historic day, the U.S. sent three into the top 30: Johnny Hagenbuch in 13th, Gus Schumacher in 21st and Zanden McMullen in 28th. Hagenbuch, who had a standout race, secured his career-best result, breaking through to the top 20; McMullen also had a career-best day, besting his 28th place from earlier this season in the Ruka World Cup 20k skate. 

"Today’s race felt great - a continuation of the form that started to come around in the relay in Gällivare," said Hagenbuch. "I executed my pacing really well, and it’s very gratifying to have a such a good result also! Hopefully I’ll be able to carry this momentum into Trondheim, U.S. Nationals and the rest of the season through NCAAs."

For the women, it was nearly a repeat of last weekend, where Diggins won the 10k skate by 23.1 seconds. This time, she won by 23 seconds -  an incredible margin for the shorter of the distance races on the circuit. Across every time check on course, Diggins was in the lead, with Brennan close behind. It was a course that played to the strength of the Americans - gradual gliding sections, technical corners and working descents. Alongside Diggins, Brennan and Laukli in the top 30 was Julia Kern, who ended the day in 29th.  

At the end of the day, Diggins credited her win "to the boys," mentioning in the post-race live interview that "she wanted to ski as fast as JC (Schoonmaker)," and that her race today was for the men's team, as well as shouting out to the wax technicians for providing the entire team with outstanding skis for the third weekend in a row. 

Next up, the Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team will travel to Trondheim, Norway for the final race weekend of period one before taking a break for the holidays. 

RESULTS
Women's 10k skate
Men's 10k skate

Olympic champion and Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team athlete Red Gerard finished on the podium in third in the FIS Style Experience Snowboard Big Air World Cup in Edmonton, Canada.

The Edmonton World Cup featured many of the world’s best snowboarders as they gathered to take on the large scaffolding jump, where runs are judged on creativity and style over "spin-to-win" tactics. 

Gerard took on the massive feature in Edmonton and ultimately clenched the third spot among the stacked field, earning himself his 10th World Cup career podium. One of the world’s top big air competitors, this type of contest and style of jump is Gerard's bread and butter. He took three runs and executed three tricks: switch back 1620 weddle, back 1620 melon and back 1800 melon.

Taiga Hasegawa of Japan nabbed the number one spot and Yiming Su of China the number two.

Gerard was the only U.S. snowboarder to make the finals in men’s and women’s competitions. Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team rider Luke Winkelmann advanced to semifinals and teammates Jake Canter, Sean FitzSimons, Fynn Bullock-Womble, Brooklyn DePriest and Hailey Langland were also in Edmonton for the competition but did not advance to semifinals or finals. 

Next up, the Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team slopestyle/big air athletes will travel back stateside for the Visa Big Air Presented by Toyota in Copper Mountain, Dec. 13-16. 

Results 
Women’s Big Air
Men’s Big Air