Gremaud and McEachran earn the crowns at weather-shortened Stubai slopestyle
Nov 24, 2023·Freeski Park & Pipe
While hopes were high for a proper finals showdown to finish off the 2023/24 slopestyle World Cup season-opener in Stubai, high winds on Friday morning and a weather forecast that predicted heavy snow and winds from Friday afternoon through to Sunday meant that that was not to be the case, and officials and organisers at the Stubai World Cup were forced to cancel the remainder of the competition when faced with the grim weather situation.
The damaging winds that greeted the Stubai World Cup crews early Friday morning were so severe that the resort announced it would not be opening for the day. And, while the sunny skies that accompanied those winds made conditions appear promising from the valley, the almost certain arrival of heavy snow later in the day on Friday and the extended outlook for that snow to persist through the weekend meant that jury had no choice but to announce the full cancellation of the remainder of the Stubai programme.
Fortunately, Thursday’s successful completion of qualifications in Stubai means that an official result can be declared based off of those qualification scores, with the Stubai gold crowns going to Switzerland’s Mathilde Gremaud on the women’s side of things, and Evan McEachran of Canada earning his first World Cup victory to take home honours for the men.
GREMAUD MAKES IT TWO-FOR-TWO SO FAR IN 2023/24
Also the winner of the Big Air Chur season-opening World Cup on home soil back in October, Gremaud took her second victory of this young season with a standout second run that began with a left double cork 1080 safety grab on the first jump and then a right bio 900 safety on the second, before she stomped a switch left on to frontside 630 mute grab out, a switch right 270 on, and finally a left 270 on to 270 out through the rail sections for a score of 87.50 and the win.
Second place for the women went to Thursday’s birthday girl Tess Ledeux of France, who in her first run of the day was able to stomp for the first time in her career a back-to-back combo of right double cork 1080 safety grab to left double cork 1080 mute grab.
In her second run she again stomped the double-doubles combo, and then improved her score with a rail line that went right-side on to backside 450 out, then switch right-side 270 on, and finally right-side on to frontside switch up to switch for a score of 85.50 and her 18th career podium. With her next World Cup top-3, Ledeux will tie Norway’s Johanne Killi for the most in women’s FIS Freeski history.
While Gremaud and Ledeux were in a class of their own on Thursday, New Zealand’s Ruby Star Andrews would wind up in third place with a score of 70.50 to earn her second career podium for her run that went left-side cork 900 tail grab, switch right-side 540 Japan grab, left-side on to backside 450 out, switch right-side tails-over 270 on to forward, and then left-side 270 on to forward.
MCEACHRAN EARNS FIRST WORLD CUP VICTORY WITH AUTHORITY
For the men it was a heavyweight battle at the top, with the best 12 skiers across the two men’s heats all registering scores in the 80s or above.
However, there were only two men who managed to break into the 90s on Thursday, with McEachran and Mac Forehand both dropping in first for their heats and both putting down absolute hammers to set the tone.
McEachran’s opening run of heat two was the gold standard of the day, as he went massive on the jumps with a switch right-side double cork 1800 safety and then a switch left-side double cork 1440 mute, before lacing the rails with a switch left on to bio 810 safety off, then a right on frontside switch up backside switch up to forward, and finally a left on 360 switch up to 270 out to finish things off for a score of 93.00 and his first career World Cup victory.
Forehand would garner a score of 90.50 for his squeaky-clean first run, which included a switch left double cork 1620 cuban and a right double cork 900 mute through the jumps, then a switch left on to cork 810 blunt out, disaster 450 to switch, and finally a switch right-side 270 on to 270 out to end.
Rounding out the men’s podium in third place was Forehand’s USA teammate Alex Hall, as the reigning Olympic champ put together what was inarguably the most creative run of Thursday’s action to grab his 10th career World Cup podium.
Even for the most hardened trick list analyst Hall’s run can be a mind-bending one to see written out, as he lead things off with a right-side double cork 1080 bring-back to 900 safety grab, into a switch left tailbutter 1260 mute, and then went into the rails with a right-side on 360 switch up 270 out, then a right on to switch, to switch tails-over frontside switch up to switch in the second rail section, before wrapping up with a switch right-side 270 on pretzel 270 out for a score of 88.75.
With Stubai now in the books we look ahead to China and a return to the iconic big air venue that served as host to Beijing 2022 Olympic action, where qualifications are taking place on 30 November, followed up by finals on 2 December.
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