Best of the Rest: Freestyle Standouts pt. 2

To start off a new month we're putting together our second collection of "Best of the Rest" performances from the FIS Freestyle and Freeski World Cup, where we're looking back at some of the second and third place efforts from the past couple of seasons (and, in the case of ski cross, where all the podium results go down in the same run, we'll simply be looking at some of the exceptionally compelling big final finishes).

Check out part one of our BOTR offerings HERE, scroll down here to see what we've got for you this month, and keep checking back as we update this column throughout September.

Eileen Gu (CHN) and Noah Bowman (CAN) open the season with 2nd place finishes at Cardrona (NZL)

One year ago from this, the first week of September, we opened the 2019/20 FIS Freeski World Cup competition season at New Zealand's Cardrona Alpine Resort, taking to the halfpipe at the Winter Games NZ for the first action of what would end up being one of the most compelling halfpipe World Cup seasons in recent memory.

As is typically the case down in Cardrona, where so many of the world's best go to get their 'off-season' reps at the resort's top-tier park and pipe, there was a heavy field on hand despite the fact that the calendar was still technically set to "summer" for the predominantly northern hemisphere-based athletes.

Of the six riders who hit the podium there in Cardrona, five would end up in the top three of their respective fields on the final overall halfpipe standings. The only athlete who would not end in the top three at season's end was the one who took second place in the ladies' competition, as Eileen Gu (CHN) stepped into the first halfpipe competition of her World Cup career and immediately made an impact by taking second place.

Spinning three of the four directions while holding a variety of grabs and maintaining overhead amplitude on every one of her five hits down the pipe, Gu displayed the sort of effortless, stylish, and technical skiing that is going to see her be a force in in all three of the World Cup freeski events for many years to come.

Oh, and we should probably mention that the only reason Gu didn't finish higher up than 5th on the 2019/20 halfpipe rankings is probably because she only actually entered two events, with her other World Cup start last season resulting in a win at the season-ender in Calgary (CAN).

Over on the men's side of things, it was Canada's Noah Bowman firing up what would go on to be the best season of his 12-year World Cup career in the right way, as he turned in the sort of quietly mindblowing, technical run that he does better than almost anybody else in the world.

Beginning with a right down the pipe 1080, Bowman then proceeded to put on a tech clinic for the Kiwi crowd, going back-to-back-to-back with switch tricks on his final three hits -  including a final hit switch double cork down the pipe left side 1080 - to finish in second place, just over two points back of eventual winner Birk Irving (USA).

Bowman's podium in Cardrona was the first of what would be four-straight for the 28-year-old, and he would finish the season ranked second overall on the final World Cup rankings behind only Aaron Blunck (USA), giving him the highest final placement of his career thus far.

First World Cup top-3 for Abbey Willcox and Sofia Alekseeva

The 2019/20 FIS Freestyle Ski Aerials World Cup season was full of some extraordinary performances that didn’t necessary hit the headlines, with the bulk of the post-competition attention and accolades generally reserved for the winners. Nevertheless, getting on the World Cup podium is indeed something truly special for any athlete, and there’s no better place to show love to some of these less-celebrated performances than in our “Best of the Rest” series.

After taking a closer look at Lewis Irving’s return to the World Cup top-3 following in August, today we’ll switch to the women’s side of things with two different athletes coming through with matching tricks for career milestones, as Australia’s Abbey Willcox and Russia’s Alekseeva both nailed back lay, fulls to earn their careers’ first World Cup podiums.

It took exactly seven World Cup starts for 23-year-old Abbey Willcox to finally land on a World Cup podium, and the member of Australia’s “Flying Kangaroos” team did it in style, scoring her first maiden podium result at what is the most iconic venue in freestyle skiing at Deer Valley (USA).

With her previous best result being a 12th place finish in Shimao Lotus Mountain (CHN) that she earned just a month and a half earlier, there wasn’t probably a lot of people anticipating Willcox finishing in the top-3 that evening in Deer Valley. But fortunately for all the fans across the Pacific Ocean in Australia, Willcox skied super solidly all day in Deer Valley, finishing things off in the super final with a near-perfect back lay, full, that earned a score of 81.78 and thus her very first spot on the World Cup podium.

Just like for Wilcox, it also took exactly seven starts for 16-year-old Sofia Alekseeva to make into World Cup top-3, as the Russian A-team's young gun made the most out the circumstances going down around her to claim her career’s best results in front of the thrilled home crowd in Moscow. 

While so many of the favourites struggled throughout the evening to put down their tricks cleanly, Alekseeva was able to land her back Lay-Full for a score of 76.56 points, claiming the third place on Russian soil in the day that we’re sure she will remember for a long time…

Midol brothers (FRA) finish 1-2 in Innichen 2018

The big final of the first of back-to-back Cross Alps Tour races in Innichen/San Candido (ITA) in December 2018 saw one of the most incredible heats of that Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup season, where several moments of near-disaster and brilliant skiing lead to an historic moment for les frères Midol, as brothers Jonathan and Bastien finished the day ranked one-two for the first such finish by siblings in ski cross World Cup history.

While the 2018/19 season’s eventual crystal globe winner Bastien grabbed the hole shot and lead the race from start to near-finish, a tight fight between him and his older brother saw the pair very nearly take each other out at several points in the big final heat.

However - perhaps recognizing how awkward the next family gathering in the Midol household might be should a crash happen - the brothers settled down to some clean skiing through the twisting GS section of the course, before Jonathan was able to swing out from Bastien's draft over the bottom hip jump, make the pass, and hold on for his first career World Cup win.

Throw in the fact that the pair was also able to hold off the reigning Olympic gold medallist Brady Leman (CAN), who finished third place on the day, and you’ve got a truly special moment indeed for not only the French brothers Midol, but also for World Cup ski cross history.

Incredibly, the pair once again shared the podium in the next day's race, though this time it was Bastien crossing the finish line ahead of his brother, finishing in second while Jonathan claimed third place.

This was definitely some weekend to remember, therefore the Midol brothers are also in our "Best of the rest" list.

Birk Ruud and Ulrik Samnoey storm Destne (CZE) for Norway

We’ll take any chance we can get to take a look back at the season-ending Destne Soldiers Big Air World Cup, where the massive jump, enthusiastic Czech crowd, and maniacally good skiing by the 12 athletes in the final resulted in one of the most memorable competitions of the 2019/20 season.

While France’s Antoine Adellisse walked away the big winner with his first-ever World Cup win, it was the Norwegians who were representing hardest as a nation, with eventual big air crystal globe winner Birk Ruud and his young teammate Ulrik Samnoey both going bananas to finish up second and third once the dust had all settled.

Birk Ruud emerged this season as perhaps the most talented big air/slopestyle/halfpipe triple threat since the heyday of Gus Kenworthy, as Ruud earned podiums in both big air and slopestyle in 2019/20, while also making finals in halfpipe competition at Calgary.

No matter which event he’s skiing in, Ruud is never anything less than thrilling to watch, and his performance in Destne is the pure distillation of that. Dropping two absolute bombs - a bugged-out switch left double 1620 and his signature left double bio 1800 mute - the 20-year-old earned his fourth podium of the season in Destne while locking down his first World Cup crystal globe.

Then there was 18-year-old Ulrik Samnoey. While Samnoey was outdone by his teammate Ruud (by just three points), the younger rider quite possibly won the unofficial long-jump competition between the two, as he sent his final-hit left triple 1440 indy truckdriver to the final line on the landing, just barely holding on to his landing of the monster trick.

Combined with the ultra-clean left triple 1620 from his first hit, Samnoey would earn a two-jump score of 188.50 out of a possible 200 points, while locking down the first podium of his young World Cup career and helping to put an exclamation point on a big air season to remember for the Norwegian Freeski Team.

Guilia Tanno (SUI) and Jesper Tjader (SWE) shine with second-place finishes in Font Romeu (FRA)

The 2019/20 slopestyle World Cup season opened up with good vibes galore as we brought the action to the Pyrenees resort of Font Romeu in the south of France. With perfect blue skies, warm temperatures, and a January competition date resulting in all the riders on hand firing at their best, it was a strong start to a strong season.

While Tess Ledeux (FRA) would take the home-soil win for the women and Mark Hendrickson (CAN) earned his maiden victory on the men's side, the second place spots on the podium were filled by two of the very best in the business as Giulia Tanno and Jesper Tjader claimed runner-up distinctions.

Tanno had a remarkable string of results to start the 2019/20 season, earning three straight big air second-place finishes in the season's first three events, and she then carried that momentum into the slopestyle portion of the calendar with her strong showing in Font Romeu.

With a switch left 900 and a right side 900 in her jump line, combined with an ultra-smooth bottom rail section that included a switch left 270 on to switch on the imposing canon rail, Tanno would finish up the contest in Font Romeu in second, less than three points back of Ledeux and one position better than her third place finish at the venue in 2018/19.

On the men's side of things, Jesper Tjader came into Font Romeu in the throes of a somewhat surprising streak, having gone more than three years without a World Cup slopestyle podium. However, that previous World Cup podium came at the very same venue in Font Romeu, and while the course set-up was different at the 2019/20 season-opener, he was able to conjure some magic there once again.

Coming out firing with a right double 1260 and his signature double mute, Tjader cleans the jump section smooth, stylish, and uniquely as always, setting himself up well to close things out strong in the rail section, which he does with aplomb.

Choosing to hit the massive battleship rail first, Tjader locks into a high-speed left side slide into a massive backflip out, clearing the rest of the lengthy rail. With a switch left on to 450 out and an authoratative right side 450 on 270 out to finish things off, Tjader earned a score of 85.70 from the judges, and the 2013/14 slopestyle crystal globe winner was able to snap the longest no-podium streak of his sloepstyle World Cup career in impressive fashion.

Rachel Karker and Aaron Blunck make their marks at Secret Garden

With September coming to a close, that means we’re wrapping up our “Best of the Rest” series now with a look backwards that’s also a look forwards, as we turn to Secret Garden (CHN) - the site of the upcoming Zhangjiakou 2021 FIS Freestyle, Snowboard and Freeski World Championships, as well as the venue for Freeski and Snowboard competition at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

With the freeski halfpipe world’s best on site this past December to get a taste of the spot that will become the center of the snowsports world for a couple of weeks in each of the next two seasons, Canada’s Rachel Karker and Aaron Blunck of the USA made their mark on the ultra0important venue with strong second-place showings there in China.

One of the biggest boosting skiers in the women’s halfpipe world, Karker’s amplitude, style and ever-improving technical prowess  was in full display in Secret Garden. Coming out of the gate firing, Karker went left flare, right 900, left 900 in the first half of her run, and with a little extra oomph on her final hit switch alley-oop there’s a pretty good chance she could have claimed top spot from eventual winner Valeriya Demidova (RUS).

Still, with back-to-back second place finishes at Secret Garden over the past two seasons, Karker looks more than comfortable at what is the most important halfpipe in the world for the next two winters.

Then there was Aaron Blunck, the eventual 2019/20 crystal globe winner who brought what probably wasn’t his absolute “A” game to the pipe in Secret Garden (a couple of his grabs were pretty quick), but still put down a good enough version of the mindbendingly technical sort of halfpipe run to which we’ve come to expect to from the two-time reigning world champion to land on the podium.

Dropping dubs on four of his five hits - a switch left dub 900 japan, to switch dub 1080 japan, to a left dub flatspin 900, to a right double 1440 - Blunck had his foot on the gas pedal from top to bottom of his run. After finishing things off with a super stylish switch alley-oop 720 into a little flashy-slashy on the close-out wall, Blunck would earn a score 90.75 to finish less than one point behind winner Noah Bowman (CAN).

Thanks for following along the last couple months! Stat tuned as we look forward to the 2020/21 season from here on out...