Team China caps perfect weekend at Lake Placid with team win
Jan 20, 2025·Freestyle)
China enjoyed a perfect outing at the season’s first Aerials World Cup, capping the weekend at Lake Placid with a team win.
Having already swept the individual events the day before, there was little doubt about a side that boasts of two reigning Olympic champions.
With so much quality to choose from, China banked on its podium finishers, Xu Mengtao (CHN), Sun Jiaxu (CHN) and Li Xinpeng (CHN), handing the trio the task of performing in the team event.
While China were not the top side in the first round and qualified for the superfinal ranked third, that mattered little. They delivered when the stakes were highest, with three clean landings to score 328.41 points for top spot.
Canada 2, made up of Alexandra Montminy (CAN), Miha Fontaine (CAN) and Alexandre Duchaine (CAN), were second with 289.17 points. Australia’s Abbey Willcox (AUS), Laura Peel (AUS) and Reilly Flanagan (AUS) completed the podium with a 277.63 effort.
“It was quite difficult for us today,” said Xu, whose return to World Cup competition is now made even sweeter with a second win in as many days.
“I’m very happy that we’ve got one more win at Lake Placid, and that this is the first World Cup win for my teammate Xinpeng. Thanks to everyone who gave us support here.”
The Chinese trio were put under pressure on all fronts on Sunday, particularly from their Canadian and Australian counterparts. Competition was so stiff that both teams fielded by Team USA, the reigning world champions, did not make the cut for the superfinal.
One of the standout jumps of the night came from Miha Fontaine (CAN), who landed a massive back full-double full-double to score 121.68 in the first round and help his team qualify in top position for the superfinal. But the 21-year-old could not repeat that same form in the superfinal.
Also noteworthy was Australia’s two-time world champion Laura Peel (AUS). The two-time world champion suffered the disappointment of missing the women’s final yesterday, but put that behind her to deliver two stunning back full-full-full jumps in the team event.
She was the highest scoring women’s aerialist of the night, with a 118.48 result in the superfinal.
Aerials World Cup action moves swiftly next to Lac-Beauport on 25-26 January.
QUICK LINKS
Lake Placid World Cup FIS data page (start lists, results, etc)
Photos: Aerials
