Halfpipe World Cup returns to Canada Olympic Park in Calgary
Feb 14, 2019·Freeski Park & Pipe
Fresh off the Utah 2019 FIS World Championships in Park City, the FIS Freeski halfpipe World Cup is set to be back in action this weekend in Calgary, with the Halfpipe Rodeo ready to hit the stage of Canada Olympic Park with qualifications on Thursday, February 14, and finals on Saturday, February 16.
The site of several competitions for the Calgary 1988 Olympic Winter Games, Canada Olympic Park is now one of top training facilities in the country for some of the world’s best freestyle ski, freeski and snowboard athletes.
Despite a rich history of organising various freestyle and snowboard events, it will be just the second time for Calgary to host the freeski halfpipe event. The first competition went down back in 2014, when Justin Dorey led the Canadian sweep on the men’s side, while Rowan Chesire (GBR) took the top spot in ladies’ event.
And so, after a five-year absence, the FIS Freeski World Cup is thrilled to be back at COP, and with one of the best halfpipes in North America and a strong collection of the world’s best athletes on hand in Calgary, the Halfpipe Rodeo event is shaping up to deliver top-tier action once the competition goes down under the light on Saturday evening.
In the ladies’ event watch out for local favourite Cassie Sharpe (CAN), who is coming straight off her silver medal performance at Utah 2019 World Champs in Park City. Sharpe should be highly motivated for a win on her home court in Calgary, as the reigning 2017/18 halfpipe World Cup crystal globe winner looks to close the gap to the current World Cup leader Zhang Kexin (CHN).
After missing the competition in China, Sharpe is currently in fifth position in the overall standing, more than 50 back of Zhang. However, with two more stops to go into the season, and taking Sharpe’s consistency into consideration, she still has a good chance to defend last year’s title.
And though Sharpe is the biggest draw on the ladies’ side, a win won’t be easy for her by any means this weekend. With Utah 2019 bronze medallist Brita Sigourney (USA), 2018 Dew Tour winner Rachael Karker (CAN), the already-mentioned Zhang, as well as Annalisa Drew (USA) and Abigail Hansesn (USA), all on hand, it should be a highly-competitive event this weekend.
Switching over to the men’s side, keep an eye on the Canadian duo of Noah Bowman and Simon d’Artois. Bowman has just won the world championships bronze medal in Park City, and is certainly motivated to repeat his 2014 performance from Calgary, where he finished in second, just behind the Canadian halfpipe legend Justin Dorey.
D’Artois on the other hand wrapped up the world championships competitions in Utah in fourth, missing the podium to his teammate Bowman by the smallest of margins. He is currently leading the World Cup standings with a 10 point advantage over second-ranked Nico Porteous (NZL), and with Porteous also on hand in Calgary, d’Artois will have to come with a strong showing on home turf if he wants to keep the yellow bib before heading for the season’s finals at Mammoth.
Going further down the list, keep an eye on veterans like the 2019 Utah World Champs silver medallist Kevin Rolland (FRA), as well as the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Champion David Wise (USA). Then add to the mixes the likes of Bird Irving (USA), Brendan Mackay (USA), Hunter Hess (USA), or Thomas Krief (FRA) and suddenly it is shaping up to be a heavy-hitting competition set to go down this Saturday.
Qualifications in Calgary are scheduled to take place on Thursday, starting with the ladies at 12:00 MST. Finals are slated to go down on Saturday evening at 19:00 MST.
WATCH LIVE:
Live on Eurosport player (Europe), Eurosport 1 (Asia/Pacific), Olympic Channel & NBC Sport (USA)
QUICK LINKS
Calgary FIS data page (event programme, start lists, live scoring, results)
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