Chiesa in Valmalenco set for dual moguls World Cup action

Feb 10, 2023·Freestyle

After three exciting weeks in North America the FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup is back in Europe as we’re gearing up for the penultimate stop of the 2022/23 moguls season this Saturday, February 11 in Chiesa in Valmalenco (ITA).

Valmalenco has a deep history of hosting FIS competitions on all levels, from Europa Cup to World Cup events in both freestyle skiing and snowboarding.

Last season Chiesa in Valmalenco hosted the dual moguls World Cup competition for the first time since 2008 and once again this year we’re back at “Dosso” course at Alpe Palù this upcoming weekend for another explosive dual moguls showdown.

Valmalenco is clearly a special place for most of the current moguls top guns, who used to battle for medals in numerous Junior World Championships events staged here over the years, including some of the past champions such as Perrine Laffont (FRA), Benjamin Cavet (FRA), Ludvig Fjallstrom (SWE), Olivia Giaccio (USA) and Elliot Vaillancourt (CAN).

Now the past, the present and the future of mogul skiing is on hand here in Valmalenco ready to compete on the biggest stage and with only three more competitions left in 2022/23 and the battle for dual moguls as well as overall moguls World Cup titles still wide open for a handful of athletes, Saturday’s event shapes up to be a truly exciting one.

Heading into Saturday’s competition it’s Anri Kawamura (JPN) and Perrine Laffont (FRA) who lead the way in the dual moguls World Cup standing with 320 points each. The Japanese freestyle prodigy will be wearing the yellow World Cup leader bib on account to her two wins so far in 2022/23, but it’s the 2018 Olympic Champion Laffont who is coming straight off a huge win in Deer Valley last weekend. With over 100 points advantage over third in the dual moguls ranking Elizabeth Lemley (USA), it’s more than certain that it will be either Kawamura or Laffont sitting atop the standing once the competition wrap up here in Chiesa in Valmalenco.

One name to keep an eye on this weekend is without a doubt Jakara Anthony (AUS), as she will be looking to redeem herself after somehow a disappointing performance in the dual moguls campaign, with only one top-3 so far in 2022/23. After clinching the single moguls World Cup title last week in Deer Valley, Anthony also sits atop the overall moguls World Cup standing and she’ll be certainly hoping for a good performance here in Italy in order to keep her top spot and fight for the big crystal globe.

Of course let’s also not forget about always strong US squad led by the Olympic silver medallist Jealin Kauf, who will have a strong support from the likes of Olivia Giaccio, Tess Johnson, Hannah Soar and aforementioned Elizabeth Lemley.

Rina Yanagimoto (JPN), Avital Carrol (AUT) and Maia Schwinghammer (CAN) should also be in the mix and hoping to upset the favourites on Saturday.

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Moving over to the men’s event, obviously all eyes will be on Mikael Kingsbury (CAN), who also clinched the single moguls title in Deer Valley and is leading the way in dual moguls as well as overall moguls standings.

After winning the last dual moguls event and reclaiming the dual moguls yellow bib, Kingsbury will be certainly looking to assert his dominance on tour in 2022/23. In fact he only needs a top-3 finish on Saturday to secure the overall moguls crystal globe and his career’s 23 World Cup title. And with just one more title to his name Kingsbury would set yet another outstanding milestone, overtaking the great Conny Kissling for the most FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup titles in history.

When looking for other favourites in Valmalenco there is the Swedish duo of Walter Wallberg and Filip Gravenfors, who sits in respective second and third place in the dual moguls ranking.

Then keep an eye on Matt Graham, who had a tremendous weekend in Deer Valley, winning the moguls competition and then backing it up with a runner-up spot in dual moguls.

Going down the starting list we also have Ikuma Horishima (JPN), Ben Cavet (FRA) and Pavel Kolmakov (KAZ), as well as the up-and-coming US squad led by Nick Page and Cole McDonald, who should also see some support from the veteran Dylan Walczyk.

The competition in Chiesa in Valmalenco is set to start with women’s and men’s preliminary rounds at 11:00 CET with finals following right after at 13:30.

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