Park & Pipe European Cup season set to wrap in Austria
Apr 20, 2022·Freeski Park & Pipe
The 2021/22 European Cup Park & Pipe season is set to finally wrap up this week in Austria, with snowboard action hitting the Kitzsteinhorn halfpipe on April 20, while the freeskiers will be over in Stubai for slopestyle competition from April 21-22.
Also on the agenda for Kitzsteinhorn this week is the Austrian and German Masters competitions for big air on April 19 and slopestyle on April 21.
It’s been a busy few months on the European Cup scene for both the snowboarders and the freeskiers, with nearly 15 competitions going down for each discipline since the new year. With excellent late season conditions currently being enjoyed in both Kitzsteinhorn and Stubai, we’re looking forward to ending the 2021/22 Europa Cup season on a high this week in Austria.
We’ll have full a breakdown of all the big winners of the various Continental Cup seasons for you next week, but for this week’s competitions there’s a couple main storylines to watch out for as some up-and-coming riders look to top the European Cup standings and lock down World Cup quota spots for next season.
SNOWBOARD
On the snowboard side of things its Berenice Wicki (SUI) leading the women’s European Cup halfpipe standings after taking the win at the EC premium-level halfpipe event in Laax a month ago. While Wicki has finished in the top-3 of the European Cup standings in each of the past three seasons, this winter she made a huge jump in the World Cup rankings by ending up in seventh overall, so whether or not she claims top spot on the EC this season, her place on the World Cup startlist next season is very much locked in.
Just behind Wicki on the EC standings is Kona Ettel of Germany, the 14-year-old up-and-comer looking to join her big sister Leilani on the World Cup stage next season. Third place, meanwhile, is currently held by Isabel Loetscher (SUI) and she, along with a handful of others also have a shot at overtaking Wicki at the top of the women’s rankings.
For the men it’s Chaeun Lee (KOR) sitting on top after taking the win in Laax. It’s been a breakout year for Lee in his first full season of international competition action, as the 16-year-old claimed halfpipe gold and big air bronze at the Leysin 2022 Junior World Championships, while also impressing at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games with an 18th place result.
Whether or not he ends the season on top of the EC halfpipe standings, you can count on Chaeun Lee being a name you hear a lot more of in the coming years.
Second spot for the men currently belongs to 15-year-old Jonas Hasler (SUI) - the same ranking he’s held for each of the past two seasons. The bronze medallist at the Leysin JWCs, Hasler also put in a full season of World Cup action in 2021/22, and looks to be the next great one for the strong Swiss team.
Speaking of which, Swiss veteran Patrick Burgener is in third on the men’s rankings. However, Burgener in no way needs the EC points, and recent social media post suggest he’s off strumming his guitar in the sun somewhere, anyhow.
So, with no other riders in striking distance, it’s going to come down to Lee and Hasler on the men’s side of things this week in Kitzsteinhorn.
FREESKI
Standing head and shoulders above the rest on the women’s European Cup freeski slopestyle and big air rankings is France’s Lou Barin, who had a truly dominant season in 2021/22, with five victories and eight total podiums while dropping in on essentially every competition on the calendar. With 124 points more than her French compatriot Jade Michaud, currently second-ranked for the women, Barin has locked in first overall on the rankings and earned herself a guaranteed World Cup spot for next season.
Over on the men’s side of things the standings are a looking little more interesting, with fully nine skiers within striking distance of the top spot and the top five skiers only separated by 13 points.
Currently in first overall by a single point is Alexis Ghisleni, also of France. While Ghisleni only has one podium on the season, he does have a total of eight top-10 finishes, and has clearly put the work in when it comes to showing up week-in and week-out and getting solid results. If he’s able to close the season out on top and grab a World Cup quota spot it will be huge for the 18-year-old.
That won’t be easy though, as Ghisleni will have World Cup-regular Sam Baumgartner of the host Austrian squad, Germany’s Vincent Veile, and a handful of talented others to fend off in Stubai if he hopes to finish on top.
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