The opening event of a huge Deer Valley Visa Freestyle International World Cup week took place on Thursday morning, with Yu Yang and Qi Guangpu making an impressive start for the Chinese team by taking top honours in their respective ladies’ and men’s aerials competitions.
A replacement for the Lake Placid World Cup that was cancelled in early January, Thursday's event was the first of two aerials competitions scheduled for Deer Valley. With moguls competition scheduled for Thursday evening and a celebration of the life for recently-passed ski legend Stein Eriksen - the “Father of Freestyle” - taking place before that, Thursday’s aerials competition started early in the morning, with men’s competition beginning at 9:00am.
Despite the early start time, the men came out ready to rip, and top athletes like Qi, Olivier Rochon (CAN), and Oleksandr Abremenko (UKR) were joined in the final by some impressive youngsters such as Lloyd Wallace (GBR), Lewis Irving (CAN), and 17-year-old Christopher Lillis (USA).
Qi, Rochon, and Abremenko qualified in that order, with the unforgiving single-jump qualification format leading straight into an equally unforgiving single-jump final.
Some impressive efforts by some lower-ranked jumpers had it looking like there could be some first-timers on the podium as both Irving and Wallace had the best showings of their careers, finishing in fourth and seventh, respectively.
However, it would be the top three qualifiers who would save the best of the morning for last, as Abremenko, Rochon, and Qi went one after the other, with each athlete’s jump better than the last until Qi stomped a near-perfect double-full, full, full, to score a 127.15 and bump Rochon down to second and Abremenko to third.
It was the second win of the season for Qi, who also took the season-opening event on home soil in Beijing and now leads the aerials World Cup standings. For Rochon, it was his first World Cup podium in over three years, and he looked to be back on the form that earned him the aerials crustal globe back in 2012/13.
Ladies’ competition followed the men, and their qualification round saw World Cup leader Ashley Caldwell (USA) as the only athlete stepping up to the triple jump, landing a solid full, full, full, to lead the way into finals, followed by Danielle Scott (AUS) and Yu.
Like the men’s competition, the ladies’ finals saw some relatively unheralded aerialists landing some impressive jumps to put the heat on the top qualifiers, with Samantha Wells (AUS) nailing a double full, full, and Alexandra Orlova (RUS) a stomping a clean full, full, to put themselves in contention and put the heat on the leaders.
Yu, the fourth-overall qualifier, landed her own full, full in near-perfect fashion, vaulting herself ahead of Wells and Orlova with the top two ladies still yet to jump.
Unlike the men’s competition, the young performers in the ladies’ competition would not be denied their glory, as neither Scott nor Caldwell - again attempting a triple - would be able able to stick their landings, handing Yu her first win in over three years, and giving both Wells in second and Orlova in third earning their first career World Cup podiums.
Despite her 11th-place finish, Caldwell was able to hold on to the yellow World Cup leader’s bib, while Yu moved into second place, with 150 points to Caldwell’s 204.
Following aerials competition, Deer Valley hosted a celebration of life for the late, great Stein Eriksen, featuring a video tribute, guest speakers, and spot-on live-action tribute in the form of a laid-out front flip - the signature Stein Eriksen move that may have singularly birthed freestyle - performed by former US aerialist Dylan Ferguson.
It was a celebratory ending to what was at times an emotional celebration of life, and as the snow fell lightly down over the finish area of Deer Valley’s famed freestyle stadium there were smiles on the faces of the hundreds of people who had gathered to honour Stein Eriksen.
With the mogulists warming up on the Champion Run above, Stein’s family, friends, and fans began to make their way to the VIP tent to share stories and drinks and get ready for a night full of World Cup Freestyle skiing.
Hi-res photos (for editorial use)
Source: fis-ski.com
