Canadians hit slopes at Sochi
Runs a Games warm- up
A lack of snow at Cypress and then sleet and wind on competition day made the freestyle ski events at the 2010 Olympics extremely challenging.
The conditions in 2014 at Krasnaya Polyana, the builditfrom- scratch resort outside of the Black Sea town of Sochi, Russia, could be just as difficult, so the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association is taking every opportunity to get its top moguls and aerials skiers and support staff familiar with the site and the climate.
Several freestylers spent the last week at the resort, training and competing in a secondtier Europa Cup event that concluded Monday with young Quebec star Mikael Kingsbury winning the men’s moguls event ahead of a couple of Russians.
“This was a very difficult week weather- wise, which was excellent for us,” Peter Judge, the CFSA’S chief executive officer said in a release. “It was the worst of Nagano [ Japan, 1998] and Cypress all rolled into one. There was sun, fog and pounding wet snow.
“In this sense it was a crucial learning experience for our team. Just to have it in their heads what this place is all about makes the experience far less onerous for anyone who might be tripped up easily by changing conditions.”
Kingsbury, who has dominated on the World Cup circuit this season, scored 25.68 points to finish ahead of brothers Sergey and Andrey Volkov, who were second and third with 24.91 and 24.22 points, respectively.
“It’s hard here with the changing snow conditions every day,” said Kingsbury.
“Every single training day had completely different conditions.
“I’m happy we competed, even if it was a push because of our busy schedule. And winning today is for sure good for my confidence. Now I know the course and I know that I can win on it and I know it will be hard with the weather. That is good for the Olympics.”
Marc- Antoine Gagnon of Terrebonne, Que., was fourth with 23.31 points on a very snowy day, while Philippe Marquis of Quebec City was 15th after falling on the landing of his second jump in the finals.
Alexandre Bilodeau, the 2010 Olympic gold medallist from Rosemere, Que., was sick and did not compete.
None of the Canadian women competed on Monday, choosing to rest up for the final three stops on this year’s World Cup circuit, starting this weekend in Are, Sweden.
However, they did all train on the mogul course, which at 240 metres and a 28- per- cent grade is shorter and flatter than many World Cup courses.