Freestyle World Cup season set to kick off in Ruka
Dec 02, 2022·Freestyle
Long months of anticipation are over as the FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup season is finally slated to get into high gear with the opening moguls and aerials competitions this upcoming weekend in Ruka.
This year marks the 13th consecutive time the FIS Freestyle season has began in the far north of Finland, and based on the consistent success of the Freestyle Opening Ruka World Cup event it’s fair to expect another set of excellent competitions under the lights in Ruka to kick of the 2022/23 campaign.
In addition to the annual moguls season opener, back in 2019 the Freestyle Opening Ruka also saw the aerials field competing in World Cup action at the Finnish resort. Fast forward to 2022 and it’s now the third consecutive year in which the world’s best aerials and moguls athletes will be competing in a thrilling World Cup opener.
The venue in Ruka is well known among the World Cup elite, as it’s one of the most popular training grounds during the pre-season period. The organisers in Ruka have delivered a five-star course year after year, and again this season the “Battery Run” moguls venue and the Ruka aerials venue are primed and ready to welcome the world’s best freestyle skiers as they look to start another World Cup season on a high note.
Saturday’s moguls event is slated to begin with women’s qualifications at 11:30 LOC, which will be followed by men’s qualifications at 13:45 and the finals under the lights at 16:30.
Sunday’s aerials competition are set to kick off at 10:40 LOC with women’s qualifications. Men will follow at 13:25 with finals coming in the afternoon at 16:00.
WHO TO WATCH - MOGULS
When we’re talking women’s moguls it’s hard to start anywhere else than with the big three of Perrine Laffont (FRA), Jakara Anthony (AUS) and Anri Kawamura (JPN) as the super star trio provided tons of excitement during last World Cup campaign in what was one of the most hotly contested rivalries on the women’s side in recent history.
Laffont won three consecutive moguls opening in Ruka from 2018 to 2020, and Anthony and Kawamura also know how to perform well on Battery Run as they have both scored a top-3 finishes here in 2021 and 2019, respectively.
Last year’s winner from Ruka Olivia Giaccio is leading a star-studded US team with the veterans Jaelin Kauf and Tess Johnson also on side and hoping to jump back on the podium in Ruka.
Staying with the US squad, also look out for Alli Macuga, who is definitely going to make some noise in 2022/23. Based on her recent form in the FIS Open competition in Idre, Macuga is likely to compete for this season’s moguls Rookie of the Year award, and she certainly has the ambitions and skills to snag a handful of big final appearances along the way.
Finally let’s not forget about the Junior World Champion in moguls Elizabeth Lemley (USA), Hannah Soar (USA) and the Japanese duo of Rino Yanagimoto and Hinako Tomitaka, all well capable of upsetting the favourites on a good day.
Moving over to the men’s event all eyes will be once again on the “King of Moguls” Mikael Kingsbury (CAN), who’s entering his 13th World Cup campaign. With his victory record in Ruka, it’s hard not to expect Kingsbury to shine once again at his favourite venue of the entire World Cup tour.
It’s truly remarkable what Kingsbury has achieved on the “Battery Run” course over the years, winning his first ever World Cup competition here back in 2011, taking his 50th World Cup win here, earning his 100th World Cup start, and passing Edgar Grospiron's World Cup wins record to claim sole possession of top spot on the all-time men's victories ranking.
This year Kingsbury will be looking for his 10th win on the venue in Ruka, but in order to do so he will first have to overcome a strong competition from more than 50 skiers that came to Finland to try their chances in the season’s opening event.
As has been the case for for many seasons now, it’s fair to expect the likes of Ikuma Horishima (JPN), Ben Cavet (CAN), Matt Graham (AUS) and Pavel Kolmakov (KAZ) to push Kingsbury to his limits and fight for top spots.
With Walter Wallberg still recovering from his hand injury he sustained during training in Idre a couple of weeks back, it will be the veteran Ludvig Fjallstrom, who will try to open the season on a high for the Swedish team, with Albin Holmgren also hoping for a good start.
Following last season’s performance, also look to Kosuke Sugimoto (JPN) to be among the athletes fighting for a spot on the podium in Ruka, along with the likes of young US duo of Nick Page and Cole McDonald.
Last, but not least, Jimi Salonen will be looking for his first podium on home soil at Ruka, after he felt short and finished in fourth place twice in 2018 and 2021. The last time we saw a Finnish rider in top-3 in Ruka was back in 2003, when Janne Lehtala won the competition, so now 20 years later it would be a dream come true for the enthusiastic local fans to see their compatriot on the podium on Saturday.
WHO TO WATCH - AERIALS
Moving to Sunday’s aerials competition there is also a lot of reasons to get excited for the second competition day in Ruka.
Post-Olympic seasons are always interesting as we start a fresh four-year cycle building towards the Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games with numerous new athletes joining the tour and obviously looking for an opportunity to make a name for themselves.
When discussing the women’s side of the event it’s hard not to begin with Australia’s Laura Peel, the 2020 and 2021 World Cup champion, who will be looking to reassert her dominance and return to the top of the podium after she finished the Olympic season behind the Chinese duo of Xu Mengtao and Kong Fanyu.
Peel looked very impressive during the official trainings here in Ruka, stomping her trademark triple flips and giving the impression that she’s motivated to fight for the win in Ruka and start the season off wearing the World Cup leader yellow bib.
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 her teammate Danielle Scott, one of a very few in the women’s field with a triple flip in her trick repertoire. Scott won one of the two competitions last season in Ruka, so don’t be surprised to find her back on top here again this weekend.
Going further down the list also keep an eye on the US team led by the Olympic bronze medallists Megan Nick, as well as the 2021 Rookie of the Year Megan Thenault (CAN) and Anastasiya Novosad (UKR), who will be hoping to repeat her outstanding performance from last year where she snagged an unexpected win in the second competition week of Ruka’s double aerials event.
Things will be also very interesting over on the men’s side of thing, with a handful of athletes capable of start the season with a W.
To start we have Noe Roth, the 2020 World Cup winner and 2021 runner-up, who will front a strong Swiss team that also features Pirmin Werner and Nicolas Gygax.
Then moving to North America watch out for the U.S. Aerials Team with Justin Schoenfeld and Christopher Lillis in squad, as well as the Canadians with Lewis Irving and Miha Fontaine looking to make some noise in Ruka this weekend.
When looking for favourites in Finland, let’s also not forget about the Ukrainian Aerials Team with the 2018 Olympic silver medallist Oleksandr Abramenko, as well as the up-and-comer Dmytro Kotovskyi, who will be hoping to stomp his back Full-triple-Full aka the “Hurricane” for his first World Cup victory this weekend.
WATCH LIVE
Live streaming will also be available on our Youtube channel - MOGULS & AERIALS. Please note that due to broadcasting rights restrictions, live streaming may not be available in your region.
QUICK LINKS
Ruka World Cup FIS data page (start lists, results, etc.)
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