Ledeux, Magnusson and Ruud lead Aspen 2021 big air qualifications, but Ruud out for finals
Mar 16, 2021·Freeski Park & Pipe
Qualifications for the final event of the Aspen 2021 FIS Snowboard and Freeski World Championships went down on Monday, where Tess Ledeux of France, Birk Ruud of Norway, and Oliwer Magnusson of Sweden earned top spots in their respective heats as the top eight women and 12 men qualified through to Tuesday morning’s big air World Championships finals.
Ledeux, the reigning big air World Champion from the Utah 2019 event, showed that she’s more than ready to defend her title here in Aspen, stomping a spotless left side double cork 1260 mute on her first run for a score of 95.00 for the best score of the day for the ladies
"It’s a perfect day," 18-year-old Ledeux told FIS after her qualification jumps. "We have a lot of chance with the weather. The jump is just amazing. I am very proud of myself because I didn’t ski during two months before coming here, so I’m so happy to land these tricks.”
Over on the men’s side of things, Oliwer Magnusson set the benchmark for men’s heat one with a huge left side double cork 1800 tail grab that garnered him a score of 95.25 to lead the top six from his heat into Tuesday.
Heat two, meanwhile, saw the reigning big air crystal globe winner and two-time X Games big air champion Birk Ruud put down the top score of the day for either the men’s or the women’s fields, as his trademark left double bio 1800 mute grab was near-perfect, scoring 96.00 points.
However, there was some somber news soon after qualifications had finished, as the Norwegian team announced that Ruud would miss Tuesday’s finals to be with his ailing father and the rest of his family back home in Norway.
With Ruud not participating in on Tuesday, the other 11 athletes will compete for gold, while Ruud will officially finish in 12th position.
Finals at Aspen’s Buttermilk Mountain will begin at 10:00 on Tuesday morning.
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