ANC Freeski/ Park & Pipe season comes to a close in Cardrona
Oct 12, 2022·Freeski Park & Pipe
The final leg of the 2022 FIS Snowboard and FIS Freeski Australia New Zealand Cup wrapped up over the weekend in Cardrona Alpine Resort (NZL), with the host Kiwis racking up a slew of excellent results just before everyone turns their attention north of the equator for the start of the World Cup season in less than two weeks.
Despite some adverse weather wiping out two scheduled competition days, the organisers in Cardrona were able to regroup and use weather days to push forward with the full slate of big air, slopestyle and halfpipe competitions for both the snowboarders and freeskiers. Read on for some of the highlights…
FREESKI
New Zealand’s own Luca Harrington walked away from the final FIS competition action of the season in Cardrona as the undisputed king on the men’s side of things, as the 18-year-old took top spot in both the big air and slopestyle competitions. With triple cork 1440s and double cork 1800s in the big air competition and smooth lines throughout his day of slopestyle action, Harrington showed the rest of the field what it takes to establish yourself as a World Cup regular.
“It’s been a really good training year so far,” said Harrington, “I have become really comfortable on the course so taking that same comfortable mindset into a competition is key. It really worked well for me today and the other day in Big Air as well.”
Also impressive on the men’s side was another Cardrona local in Gustav Legnavsky, who claimed top spot in the halfpipe competition. Both Legnavskyh and Harrington would also walk away with the NZL National Championship titles with their victories, while both would also finish atop the ANC standings for the season - Lagnavsky for halfpipe and Harrington for slopestyle & big air.
For the freeski women it was Daisy Thomas of Australia having the strongest week in Cardrona, earning a victory in the big air competition and a third-place finish in the slopestlye. Canada’s Jordan Peet would earn the victory for the women in slopestyle.
However, while Thomas finished the season strong in Cardrona, it was her compatriot Mabel Ashburn who would finish in top spot on the slopestyle & big air ANC rankings after earning a second-place finish in the Cardrona big air and a seventh in the slopestyle. On the halfpipe side of things it was Sylvia Trotter of New Zealand finishing up on top of the standings at season end.
SNOWBOARD
A heavy collection of teams on hand for training sessions in Cardrona meant that there were some serious names on the start lists and on the podiums for the ANC snowboard competitions that went down last week.
Tops amongst those names on the men’s side was Japan’s Ryoma Kimata, as the 20-year-old claimed the victories in both the slopestyle and big air events with some trademark technical wizardry.
The Swiss snowboard team also had a strong showing, with Moritz Thoenon and Alex Lotarto finishing second and third in slopestyle, respectively, and Nicolas Huber earning a runner-up result in the big air. Third place in the big air went to 16-year-old Rocoo Jamieson, giving the New Zealand rider the best result of his young career.
Jamieson also finished fourth in the men’s halfpipe competition at Cardrona, where the USA’s Jason Wolle earned the first ANC win of his career.
For the snowboard women we saw both Lucia Georgalli (NZL) and Mari Fukada earning a pair of podiums in Cardrona, with Georgalli taking the slopestyle win and third in the big air, and Fukada winning big air while finishing second in the slopestyle.
The always-strong Japanese team walked solidified their status as the weekend’s biggest winners when Sara Shimzu claimed the women’s halfpipe victory on Saturday.
Despite not competing at Cardrona, Australia’s Matty Cox would finish the campaign as the top-ranked men’s slopestyle & big air competitor, while Japan’s Zensei Nishizuka would lead the men’s halfpipe rankings.
For the women it was rising star Mia Brookes of Great Britain atop the ANC slopestyle & halfpipe rankings, while the above-mentioned Shimzu would take the title for women’s halfpipe.
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