Cox and Reiherd conquer icy Lake Placid
Aug 31, 2018·Freestyle
Lake Placid, USA - The first event of a big weekend in Lake Placid (USA) took place on the famed Whiteface Mountain moguls pitch in frigid conditions on Friday with Britteny Cox (AUS) and Dmitriy Reiherd (KAZ) both scoring their second career victories, though under drastically different circumstances.
Cox came into the day as the World Cup leader after taking a win - the first of her career - at the season-opening competition in Ruka (FIN) in December, and throughout the day she skied the icy Whiteface course like she very much deserved her place at the top of the standings.
Coming out of qualifications in top spot, Cox never looked back, once again topping the field in final one before laying down a near-perfect run in the big final, linking clean turns on the slick moguls course and stomping her 360 and laid-out backflip airs. Combined with her top time in the big finals it was enough to give her a score of 75.27 and her second win in as many contests this season.
“I’m super stoked to get back-to-back wins,” said a beaming Cox from the finish area, “After my win in Ruka it was my goal to come here and do it again. The course got more challenging as the day progressed and I’m happy I was able to adapt and finish the day on top.
“It’s a really nice feeling to hold on to the yellow bib. I know Perrine (Laffont) is hot on my heels and I just need to keep skiing strong from week to week.”
As Cox mentioned, young French phenom Laffont is indeed hot on her heels, as the 18-year-old has now finished runner-up to Cox in both this seasons events. While Laffont held the slight edge in turning scores over Cox, she finished with a score of 74.20, and she’ll need to up her jumps and speed if she hopes to topple the Aussie in the next competition.
Third on the day went to the USA’s Morgan Schild, who made an impressive return to competition after sitting out of competition for 22 months with a serious knee injury. Heralded by some as the USA’s heir-apparent to the great Hannah Kearney before her injury, 19-year-old Schild skied with increasing confidence throughout the day, and her inverted 720 on the bottom air bump was one of the most impressive jumps of the competition for any of the ladies.
Reiherd earns first win in nearly 9 years
While Cox went two-in-a-row to get her second career win, top man Dmitriy Reiherd had to wait nearly nine years between his first and second victories, with his last one coming back in March of 2008 in Are, Sweden.
Rieherd skied perhaps the most aggressive runs of any man on the day on Friday, throwing an off-axis 1080 off the first jump that could easily have spelled disaster with the steep, dark, and icy pitch he faced upon landing. However, the burly Reiherd was unfazed and his risk payed off, as he earned the highest jumping and turning scores of the big final.
Finishing with a score of 82.20 for a decisive victory, Reiherd also overtook Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury atop the World Cup leaderboard, and leaves Lake Placid wearing the yellow bib.
“My first win was in 2008,” Rieherd smiled, “Nine years ago. I felt like this was a strong course, and I had to ski strong on it. My first jump went well, my second jump was good, and I had a fast time. Conditions were difficult but I didn’t make any mistakes and it was good for me.”
Second place went to Ben Cavet (FRA), for his second podium of the season after he scored third in Ruka. Cavet skied smoothly and quickly on his was to a score of 80.73, and he now sits tied with Kingsbury for second on the moguls World Cup leaderboard with 140 points.
Third on the day went to another US athlete, as Bradley Wilson consistently laid down the most blistering times and biggest airs of the day to earn a score of 78.08 and cap off a strong day for the host squad.
Surely pushed by Reiherd’s performance just ahead of him, Kingsbury had an uncharacteristic blowout in his big final run, and as a result the typically unbeatable Canadian found himself sitting in sixth place at the end of the day and stripped of the yellow bib for the first time since the 2013/14 season.
From Lake Placid the moguls World Cup now moves up to Canada’s Val Saint Come for competition on Saturday, January 21, where the typically-strong Canadian squad will be looking to get back on track on home soil after being shutout of the podium in Lake Placid.
Hi-res photos (for editorial use, credit FIS/Buchholz or @FISFreestyle)
