Sharpe and Wise take victories in Calgary
Feb 17, 2019·Freeski Park & Pipe
The 2018/19 season’s third FIS Freeeski halfpipe World Cup competition went down on Saturday night at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, with Cassie Sharpe (CAN) taking victory in the ladies’ event, while David Wise (USA) went for the top spot on the men’s side.
It was another frigid night in Calgary, but the anticipation ahead of the Saturday’s competition was extremely high, with world’s best freeski halfpipe action coming back to Calgary five years after the last World Cup event was staged at COP back in 2014. And like in the old days, also this season’s event delivered a top-notch show with some of the best riders in business giving an enthusiastic crowd plenty of reasons to cheer on.
In the ladies’ competition it was Cassie Sharpe who took her first World Cup victory of the season, as she stomped her first run with a massive 1080 on her last hit for a score of 91.50 points and the leader spot early on in the competition. But as any other competitor could beat that 90-point mark on Saturday night, it was Sharpe who ended up with another important win to her record.
“It’s super rad to have pretty much my whole family here, my friends, and my friends’ friends”, said Sharpe, “Everyone was here cheering for us so I really needed that victory, to do it here in front of my family and on home turf. I’m happy it all worked out.”
Second place on the day went to another member of the Canadian Halfpipe Team, as the 21-year-old ripper Rachael Karker snagged her second World Cup podium of the season in front of the home crowd in Calgary.
Representing China Zhang Kexin finished the competition in third for her careers’ fourth World Cup top-3 finish.
In the halfpipe World Cup standing, it’s Rachael Karker who took over the lead following her Saturday’s second place performance at Canada Olympic Park. Karker sits atop the ranking with 210 points, with Zhang Kexin dropping into second with 196 points and Cassie Sharpe following just behind in third with 180 points.
Things were equally exciting over in the men’s competition, as the double Olympic Champion David Wise managed to grab his first victory of the season. Wise received a score of 90.00 points for his firs run of the evening including his trademark back-to-back double 12s. And while other riders were pushing it hard to beat Wise’s score, it was the 28-year-old American, who impressed the judges the most and finished on top of the podium at the end of the day.
“It’s super important to me to come and support not just the people who keep halfpipe skiing going, but also the places,” said Wise, “So to have another World Cup in Calgary and to ski and compete here again is awesome.”
“We would have loved it to be a little less windy and a little less snowy, but that’s the way it goes. I’m stoked of how I skied and in spite of the conditions I was having the most fun. The guys were really pushing the level tonight and it’s sick to be a part of that.”
Dropping in for New Zealand Nico Porteous finished the competition in Calgary just behind Wise in second, while the Canadian Noah Bowman rounded out the men’s podium in third, for his second straight spot on the podium after he won a bronze medal at the Utah 2019 world championships last weekend in Park City.
With the second place finish in Calgary Nico Porteous moved on top of the halfpipe World Cup classification leading the way with 210 points. Simon d’Artois, who finished the competition in Calgary in seventh place, follows up in second with 176 points, while David Wise has now moved into third place with 160 points.
The 2018/19 halfpipe World Cup will be back in action in three week’s time with the final stop of the season slated to take place on US soil at Mammoth Mountain Resort. And with the World Cup crystal globes still up for grabs for a handful of riders, we’ll be certainly looking for another exciting competition once the FIS Freeski tour take over the California’s prime ski resort on March 6-9.
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