Moguls World Cup takes to Thaiwoo

Dec 13, 2018·Freestyle

Jaelin Kauf ripping through the course in Thaiwoo back in 2017

After an exciting start to the 2018/2019 moguls season in Ruka last weekend, the FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup will be back in action again this upcoming weekend with back-to-back single and dual moguls competition slated to go down at Thaiwoo Ski Resort on December 15-16.

With World Cup competitions already having been held in Thaiwoo dating back to 2017 when the resort hosted the first moguls World Cup competition, the venue has at all turns proven to be primed, keen, and up to the task of delivering a world-class show. This year it will be the third consecutive time that the FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup tour will visit the Chinese resort.

In the ladies’ competition the one to watch is no doubt PyeongChang 2018 Olympic gold medallist Perrine Laffont (FRA) who is coming off a hot start to the new season with a first-place finish in Ruka (FIN). The 20-year-old skier looked especially sharp the past weekend, setting the fastest time in the big final as well as impressing on the jumps with her brand new d-spin at the bottom air.

Apart from Laffont also watch out for Yulia Galysheva (KAZ) and Jaelin Kauf (USA) who both claimed a victory last year in Thaiwoo, as well as Tess Johnson (USA), Jakara Anthony (AUS) and Justine Dufour-Lapointe, who all made it into the top-6 at the season’s opener in Ruka.

Over on the men’s side Mikael Kingsbury will be looking to continue his dominance, after claiming his 50th World Cup victory in Finland and being named the Canadian sportsperson of the year earlier this week. Kingsbury has been unbeaten on Chinese soil, winning all past four competitions in Thaiwoo in 2016 and 2017.

To stay on top also in 2018, Kingsbury will have to battle against his biggest rivals Dmitriy Reikherd (KAZ), Ben Cavet (FRA), Ikuma Horishima (JPN) and Matt Graham (AUS).

Also count on the Scandinavian duo of Walter Wallberg (SWE) and Jimi Salonen (FIN) to put in strong performances, as both skiers showed an impressive start to the new season in Ruka and will be looking for another positive result in Thaiwoo.

The single moguls competition will take place on Saturday, December 15 with the final round slated to go down at 13:30 LOC. The dual moguls competition will follow up on Sunday, December 16 also starting at 13:30 LOC.

TV SCHEDULE (Saturday & Sunday)