MAGIC MOMENT

Bilodeau magnificent as Canadians finish 1-2 in moguls

It was a great Canadian moment, not only of these Winter Olympics, but also of something bigger and more precious.

Alex Bilodeau had just done several magnificent things all at once: Defended his Olympic gold medal in moguls; with his great rival, Mikael Kingsbury, who earned silver, taking Canada to first place in the medals table at Sochi; and he became the first freestyle skier in any of the sport’s five disciplines to win two gold.

Born in Montreal, Bilodeau is the superstar of the mighty Quebec freestyle powerhouse team. And there he was, this gorgeous French-Canadian, using a great Anglo-Canadian expletive because sometimes, as in rock ’n’ roll, only English will do.

For all the apparent frailty of the country, this ropy toughness is the common bedrock.

It had been a brutal night of competition, with the hot breath of “that kid” — as he most often refers to Kingsbury — on Bilodeau’s neck the whole time.

Twice already, the field had come down the big, bump-stud-

ded hill — there are about 60-70 moguls, the definition of which should be, When knees and teeth

almost meet, though no one really knows because they go too fast to count them — each time being winnowed down until there were just six men left ... that kid, of course, among them.

The 26-year-old started fourth, meaning Kingsbury and another Canadian, Marc-Antoine Gagnon, were coming after him, in the best places, because they had beaten him in the race just before.

“I need to put the pressure on these guys,” Bilodeau thought to himself.

“I’m going for first, or sixth, and there’s nothing in my mind, so I just left and went for it. It could have went for the other side (gone the other way) very quickly, could have went the other side …

“Like maybe a minute before I went down, I said, ‘F--k it’ — sorry for my language — but ‘F--k it, just have fun, it’s your last run. I’ve worked hard for it — just enjoy.’”

He laid down the best run of his life, of his storied career; he had that kid to thank for it and he knew it.

“And I need to retire now,” he said with a grin, “because (Kingsbury is) pushing me too hard. Best I can do.”

Much has been speculated of the tension between them, the old man of the bumps and the brilliant rising star, just 21, particularly after a race in Calgary last month, when Kingsbury finished first, a noticeably agitated Bilodeau in second.

But if that was real, and it surely was, it was fleeting.

“I mean, that kid?” he said at one point, and it was undeniable ... he was figuratively shaking his head in awe at Kingsbury’s ridiculous talent and drive.

“At Calgary,” he said, “I mean it’s so close, all the time, I could have won, he could have finished second.

“Next one, I could have finished second, he could have won.”

Bilodeau had one advantage: He had been there before. He is the old man of the bumps.

“I know (Kingsbury) can deliver a better run than me,” Bilodeau said. “I know he’s got more talent.

“But I’ve put the pressure on him and that’s the best seat in the world, to be at the bottom (of the run), know that you’ve done the best. If he would have won today, there’s nothing I could have done. That was it, that was the best I could do. So I’ve put on the pressure. That was my only way.”

The entire time he was speaking, every time he mentioned Kingsbury, who was about 10 feet away conducting his own interviews, Bilodeau would nod in his direction.

“The Olympics,” he said, “it plays in your mind.

“I know I’ve played in his mind today and that’s the only way I could have won.

“He’s going to learn about that experience. And he’s going to get ready for the next (Olympics) and the following, because he’s very young.”

Now he will finish out the season, then pack it in. “It’s one day,” he said. “It doesn’t mean I’m going to be world champion tomorrow. I mean, I’m the best in the world today, that’s it.

“But tomorrow? I need to prove myself again.” Bilodeau was beyond gracious. He thanked the rest of the Canadian team — including Phil Marquis, who finished ninth — the coaches and all the support staff “who work in the dark,” as he put it, in anonymity.

He thanked, of course, his brother Frederic, who has cerebral palsy and was brought to the bottom of the line to whisper what he always says, “that he loves me and is proud” and their parents.

He thanked Jean-Luc Brassard, now the assistant chef de mission for the Canadian team, who won moguls gold in 1994 and inspired a generation.

But he reserved his most generous praise for the kid.

“That’s the best I can do,” Bilodeau said.

“I’m going to leave that guy because he’s pushing the sport and next year, he’s going to be crazy. I’m not following that.”