Gu and Ferreira all-but locked in for globes at halfpipe season finale in Mammoth
Jan 07, 2022·Freeski Park & Pipe
It may only be the start of January, but we’re already just two days away from awarding our first crystal globes of 2021/22, as the FIS Freeski halfpipe World Cup season is set to draw to a close on Friday evening at the Mammoth Mountain (USA) Toyota U.S. Grand Prix.
That’s right - after the season opener in Copper Mountain (USA) back in December and a double-header in Calgary (CAN) last week, we’re already checked off three of four competitions in this World Cup season, and after qualifications on Thursday and finals on Friday we’ll be crowning the first halfpipe World Cup champions since the 2019/20 season.
Thursday’s halfpipe qualifications at Mammoth will begin with the men at 13:15 PST, followed by the women at 19:00. Friday’s finals, meanwhile, are slated to go down under the lights at 19:00.
GU SET TO CHECK CRYSTAL GLOBE WIN OFF CAREER TO-DO LIST
It has been a meteoric rise to freeski supremacy for Eileen Gu of China, as in just over two seasons of international competition she’s become one of the world’s absolute best in slopestyle, big air and, especially, halfpipe.
In the last twelve months alone Gu has won Aspen 2012 halfpipe gold, slopestyle gold and big air bronze; X Games halfpipe gold, slopestyle gold and big air bronze, Dew Tour halfpipe gold and slopestyle silver; as well as taken World Cup wins in slopestyle, halfpipe and big air.
Two things she’s yet to claim in her young career are a FIS Freeski crystal globe or an Olympic Winter Games medal, and it seems more than likely that she’ll check both those boxes off in the next month.
First up is the globe.
Gu has gone three-for-three in halfpipe World Cup competition so far this season to sit well atop the women’s standings with a perfect 300 points. Only Rachael Karker (CAN), currently sitting in second with 220 points, theoretically had a chance to catch Gu; however, Karker, along with much of the Canadian A-team, have elected to sit out this week’s action in Mammoth, meaning that this whole week is basically one long victory lap for Gu before she collects her trophy on Friday evening.
While all eyes will be on Gu over the next couple days, not to be forgotten is the host U.S. team, who are still very much in the midst of their team selection process ahead of the upcoming Olympics.
17-year-old Hanna Faulhaber has been leading the charge for the USA thus far this season, having just racked up back-to-back podiums in Calgary - the first two World Cup podiums of her career. Along with veterans Brita Sigourney and Devin Logan, the U.S. women are looking like a lock for at least one podium this week.
Also dropping in at Mammoth is Estonia’s Kelly Sildaru - a true triple threat like Gu, albeit one we haven’t seen as much of on the World Cup tour in the past couple of years. Sildaru finished just behind Gu in second at the Dew Tour a few weeks ago, and the friendly rivalry between the two should be one of the great storylines to watch through Beijing 2022 and beyond.
Also watch out for the Chinese duo of Zhang Kevin and Li Fanghui and lone Canadian women’s representative Amy Fraser.
FERREIRA ESSENTIALLY LOCKED IN FOR SECOND CAREER CRYSTAL GLOBE
While the men’s World Cup standings are currently lead jointly by Canada’s Brendan Mackay and Alex Ferreira of the USA, with Mackay not travelling to Mammoth this week we’re not going to be able to witness the dramatic finish to the season that could have been.
Since no other skier on the men’s list can catch Ferreira in any scenario, the 27-year-old is all-but guaranteed the second globe of his career. And, as the last time he won the World Cup title was back in 2017/18 when he also claimed PyeongChang 2018 Olympic silver, his performance this season is looking like a good omen as we speed towards the Beijing Games in February.
Alongside Ferreira the U.S. is rolling heavy this week, with Aaron Blunck, Lyman Currier, David Wise, Birk Irving, Cassidy Jarrell and a handful of others all set to drop and make some noise on home soil.
While a U.S. halfpipe sweep in is entirely possible, it’s also not entirely likely, what with the likes of reigning halfpipe World Champion Nico Porteous on the scene and dialing things in before he heads to Beijing looking to improve on his bronze medal from PyeongChang.
Canada will be sending the big-boosting Marineau brothers Dylan and Evan, while Austria’s Marco Ladner and Rafael Kreienbuehel of Switzerland are a few others who could be in the finals mix on Friday night.
Finally, a big shout-out to France’s Kevin Rolland, as one of freeskiing’s legends has announced that this will be the final World Cup competition of his long and storied career. The Inawashiro 2009 halfpipe World Champion, bronze medallist at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, three-time X Games winner, and six-time World Cup winner with 15 total World Cup podiums, Rolland will go down as one of the greatest of all time following his retirement after Beijing 2022.
QUICK LINKS:
Livestream for halfpipe finals (with geo restrictions)
Livestream for slopestyle finals (with geo restrictions)
Mammoth Mountain FIS data page (start lists, live scoring, results)
Halfpipe: Photos (FIS Freeski) / Photos 2 (US Ski & Snowboard)
Slopestyle: Photos (FIS Freeski) / Photos 2 (US Ski & Snowboard)
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