Final World Cups To Take Place Before Brit’ Olympic Selection Announcement
The British Ski and Snowboard contingent which forms part of Team GB in PyeongChang will be announced next week and the final World Cups before selectors sit down are taking place over the coming days.
The Cross Country team has concluded it’s pre-Olympic World Cup schedule and will not be taking part at the event in Slovenia, however a host of other athletes are already out competing or preparing for action over the weekend as the countdown to PyeongChang enters its final phase.
In particular, many eyes will be focused on the men’s slalom in Kitzbuhel where history was made last January.
FIS Alpine World Cup, Kitzbuhel AUT – Sunday 21 January
British Alpine skier Dave Ryding scored six top 10 results in 2016/17 and has backed that up again this season with another three, however it was his performance in Kitzbuhel last January which still lingers long and clear in the memory of British alpine fans.
Ryding became the first British alpine skier to stand on a World Cup podium in more than 35 years when he finished second on the famous slalom course in 2017, and in doing so stamped himself as a serious contender on the biggest stage in the sport.
‘The Rocket’ has described Kitzbuhel as “the Wembley of alpine skiing” and just as vocal a crowd will be in attendance on Sunday when he takes on local favourite and world number one, Marcel Hirscher.
While Ryding lamented a “rookie error” last week when he failed to finish his first run in Wengen, he will draw on confidence from his 2017 podium as tries to make lightning strike twice in Austria.
FIS Snowboard World Cup, Laax SUI – Wednesday 17 to Saturday 20 January
Snowboarders love playing, training and competing at Laax however the Swiss resort has proved frustrating this week as extreme weather conditions continue to impact the Laax Open World Cup event.
GB Park and Pipe have sent a strong contingent of six snowboarders to compete in the slopestyle events, however the qualifiers which were slated for Wednesday and Thursday have so far been postponed.
Aimee Fuller and Katie Ormerod are both down to compete in their first World Cup slopestyle competitions since September. Fuller earned a top 20 in the discipline at Sochi 2014 while Ormerod has finished inside the top five in four of her past six World Cup slopestyle events.
Four men are hoping to compete in the men’s event should the weather clear enough to get competition underway.
Jamie Nicholls has reached the slopestyle World Cup podium three times including a 2016 victory in the Czech Republic, but has competed lightly this season ahead of the PyeongChang Olympics. Rowan Coultas, who has three World Cup top 10s to his credit, has also had a light competition schedule in 2017/18, last competing in New Zealand more than four months ago.
This will be Matt McCormick’s fifth World Cup of the season across both big air and slopestyle, in stark contrast to 18-year-old Fin Bremner whose only other major senior competition came in a Europa Cup big air contest last February.
FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup, Mammoth Mountain USA – Wednesday 17 January
GB Park and Pipe’s halfpipe skiers stayed in America following the event in Aspen last week and last night contested the qualification round of the World Cup at Mammoth Mountain. While no one was able to progress to the finals after the heats were dominated by local skiers, there were still some impressive performances.
Rowan Cheshire’s progression back to the top of the sport continued, finishing just 3.40 points off her first final of the season to claim 11th place while Molly Summerhayes was 21st overall.
Murray Buchan was highest-placed in the men’s competition, finishing 15th after he landed his first ever back-to-back double 900s in competition. Xander Glavatsky-Yeadon and Peter Speight also claimed top 20 performances.
FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cups
Aerials - Lake Placid USA – Friday 19 & Saturday 20 January
Ski Cross - Nakiska CAN – Friday 19 & Saturday 20 January
Moguls - Tremblant CAN – Saturday 20 January
A further three Freeski World Cups are being held across North America over the coming days with eight British athletes in action.
Lloyd Wallace was not happy with his performance in Deer Valley last weekend but he has chances to make amends with a pair of World Cups in Lake Placid on Friday and Saturday. Wallace has previously competed in four World Cups at Lake Placid and has finished inside the top 20 on the last two occasions.
Emily Sarsfield, Emma Peters, Pamela Thorburn and Ollie Davies are all lining up at Nakiska for the final Ski Cross World Cup before the Winter Olympic Games. Following the World Cup, Liz Stevenson will join the squad for a pair of Nor-Am Cup races early next week.
And in Canada, the British Moguls Team will be in action at Tremblant. Makayla Gerken Schofield, Thomas Gerken Schofield and Max Willis are all in action, each competing in their seventh World Cup of the campaign.
