Ruka set for moguls & aerials season opener
Dec 03, 2020·Freestyle
After eight long months of anticipation, the wait is finally over and the FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup is about to get the ball rolling into the 2020/21 season this Friday and Saturday in Ruka (FIN).
This winter’s World Cup campaign will be subject to a variety of new safety measures and restrictions, meaning we won’t be seeing much in the way of spectators on site. Nevertheless, we’re confident that the world’s best moguls and aerials athletes will put up an extraordinary show this upcoming weekend and all the action brought through TV broadcasts, livestream, and social media will be just as thrilling as in any FIS Freestyle campaign in past years.
For the 11th time in a row the season is set to start in the far north of Finland, and based on the consistent success of previous editions of the Ruka World Cup it’s fair to expect nothing less than excellent competition once under the lights to kick of the 2020/21 campaign.
Additionally to the annual moguls season opener, this year’s edition of the Freestyle Opening Ruka event will also see the aerialists compete for the World Cup points. And while most of athletes know the venue in Ruka very well, as it’s one of the most popular training grounds during the pre- season period, it will be the first time since 2003 that the Finnish resort will actually host the aerials World Cup competition.
That being said, the organisers in Ruka have delivered a five-star course year after year, and again this season the “Battery Run” mogul course as well as the aerials venue are ready to welcome the world’s best skiers as they’ll look to start another World Cup season on a high note.
Aerials
When discussing the women’s side of the event it’s hard not to begin with Australia’s Laura Peel, who closed out the 2019/20 World Cup campaign in truly cinematic fashion, claiming victory in the final competition of the season and thus winning the aerials World Cup crystal globe.
Peel looked very impressive during the official trainings here in Ruka, stomping her trademark triple flips and giving an impression that she’s motivated to fight for the win in Finland in order to stick to her number one bib she will be wearing in Friday’s competition.
With the powerhouse Chinese team not present in Ruka, the biggest competition to last year’s World Cup winner Peel will be most likely coming from the U.S. Team, led by 2017 World Champion Ashley Caldwell and a big group of up-and-comers with Megan Nick and Winter Vinecki, who showed some impressive performances last season and without a doubt they will be looking to kick off the brand new season in style.
Things will be also very interesting over on the men’s side of the competition, where the field of favourites for the win is probably even bigger.
Starting with the number one bib we have last season’s World Cup winner Noe Roth of Switzerland, who will have a strong support in his teammate and the 2020 Rookie of the Year Pirmin Werner.
Then moving to North America watch out for the U.S. Aerials Team with Justin Schoenfeld and Christopher Lillis in squad, while Canada’s Lewis Irving will also be looking to make some noise in Ruka this weekend.
Russia will be represented by 2019/20 World Cup runner-up Pavel Krotov as well as last season’s third-overall Maxim Burov, while 2015 World Championships bronze medallist Maxim Gustik will be leading the way for the Belarusian team.
Last, but not least keep an eye on the reigning Olympic champion and 2015/16 crystal globe winner Oleksandr Abramenko of Ukraine, who is set to make his return to the World Cup and could be a major factor this season as he gears up to defend his gold medal 14.5 months from now.
The aerials competition in Ruka are scheduled to get down on Friday, with the qualification rounds starting at 13:30 local time and the finals following up in the evening at 19:00.
Moguls
Switching over to the moguls competition, the biggest news here is that the reigning World Cup champion Mikael Kingsbury won’t be able to extend his winning streak in Ruka (5 wins since 2015), as the Canadian athlete fractured his T4 and T5 vertebrae and will miss the World Cup competition for the first time in over a decade. The good news here is that Kingsbury is expected to be fully recovered in no more than six weeks from now, meaning we should see him back in the starting gate in Calgary at the end of January 2021.
With Kingsbury out of the competition in Ruka there’s a handful of athletes that we would recommend to take into account when putting down your bets this weekend. When looking for candidates to battle for a spot on a podium count on Ikuma Horishima of Japan, Benjamin Cavet of France, Matt Graham of Australia, Elofsson brothers Oskar and Felix out of Sweden, or the local fans favourite Jimi Salonen, just to name a few of those able to set the fastest times and stomp the most difficult tricks on Saturday, all for our viewing pleasure.
While looking on the women’s side of things, let’s start with Perrine Laffont of France, as the 22- year-old skier is not only the favourite here in Ruka, but also in the longer-term as a candidate to take the 2020/21 World Cup title. Laffont is coming off another great season, in which she claimed her third consecutive moguls World Cup title, while celebrating one of the most dominant campaigns in the recent history. In 2019/20 Laffont scored eight victories and one third place finish while missing the podium only once. In fact, Laffont secured her World Cup title hat-trick in Almaty (KAZ), while there were fully three more competitions left in the season.
But Laffont will face some strong competition in Ruka, with Jaelin Kauf of USA, Jakara Anthony of Australia and Justine Dufour-Lapointe of Canada, all well-capable of upsetting the French champion. Then add to the mix the likes of Tess Johnson (USA), Justine’s sister Chloe Dufour- Lapointe (CAN), the Japanese duo of Anri Kawamura and Kisara Sumiyoshi, as well as Hannah Soar (USA), Tess Johnsons (USA) or Anastasiia Smirnova (RUS) and it suddenly looks like it might be anyone’s game once the competition goes down on Saturday afternoon.
The qualifications are set to take place on Ruka’s “Battery Run” starting at 9:40 local time and the finals will be going down under the lights at 16:00.
COMPETITION PROGRAMME (local time)
Friday - Aerials
13:30 - women’s qualifications
16:00 - men’s qualifications
19:00 - FINALS
Saturday - Moguls
9:40 - women’s qualifications
12:40 - men’s qualifications
16:00 - FINALS
WATCH LIVE
Friday - Aerials
Eurosport 2 (Europe/Asia) + Eurosport player, Belarus 5 (Belarus), CBC Sports Streaming (Canada), TV2 SPXRT (Denmark), YLE 2 (Finland), TV 4 Arena (Hungary), Sport 1 (Lithuania), Polsat Sport News (Poland), Zwei 2 (Switzerland).
Saturday - Moguls
Eurosport player, CBC Sports Streaming (Canada), YLE 2 (Finland), J Sports 2 (Japan), Sport 1 (Lithuania), SVT Play (Sweden).
Live streaming will also be available on our Youtube channel - AERIALS & DUAL MOGULS. Please note that due to broadcasting rights restrictions, live streaming may not be available in your region. Full list of countries with the live streaming available can be found HERE.
QUICK LINKS
Ruka World Cup data page (startlists, live timing, results)
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