FREESTYLE NATIONALS:
Chloe Dufour-Lapointe leads sisters’ sweep of podium at freestyle nationals
CALGARY, Alberta — Olympians Chloé Dufour-Lapointe of Montreal and Maxime Gingras of St-Hippolyte, Que., emerged victorious at the Canada Post Freestyle National Championships Sunday.
Dufour-Lapointe, 18, captured her first national seniors title while leading her sisters to a medal sweep in women’s dual moguls. Maxime, 21, and Justine, 16, took second and third, respectively.
“It’s really nice. It’s a first in a competition at this level, and we’re happy to be together,” said Chloé. “After the qualifications, we said we can do it.”
To make the sister sweep possible, Justine defeated Andi Naude, 14, of Penticton, B.C., in the bronze-medal dual.
Chloé defeated Maxime in the gold-medal dual to finish her best season ever. It included a fifth at the Olympics and eighth in the final World Cup moguls standings.
“I’ve had the best season I’ve ever had, and it was just a 
wonderful experience at the Olympics,” said Chloé.
It was also a wonderful Olympics for Olympic moguls champion Alex Bilodeau of Rosemère, Que., who finished third in Sunday’s dual moguls. He says this was not his best season ever, but one in which he won the most important race.
“I had one great race,” said Bilodeau, 22, who went on to finish fourth in the final World Cup standings. His final placing was hampered by circumstance and injury. He was winning one race that ended up being cancelled by bad weather. He then suffered a late-season ankle sprain.
Five times Bilodeau has finished fourth or better in the final World Cup standings, including first in 2008-09.
Competing with a sprained left ankle and painkillers at these national championships, Bilodeau won the single moguls Saturday and placed third in dual moguls Sunday.
In dual moguls, his ski caught on the starting ramp, leaving him to play catch-up in the semifinals against Gingras.
Gingras, who won that dual, then defeated Eddie Hicks of Whistler, B.C., in the gold-medal dual.
“It’s really satisfying, especially because I’m really tired at the end of this season,” said Gingras, who was 11th at the Olympics and still doesn’t know if he’ll retire.
“If it was my last ski in dual moguls, it was a good one,” said Gingras, 24.
Hicks’ first-ever medal at the senior nationals came after beating Olympian Vincent Marquis in one of his earlier duals.
“I really wasn’t counting on that dual,” admitted Hicks, 21, of the national development squad.
“I’m pretty thrilled (to win silver). It’s a really nice way to finish the season.”
FIS Rookie of the Year Mikael Kingsbury of Deux Montagnes, Que., was favoured to reach the podium. But he was eliminated by Marc-Antoine Gagnon of Terrebonne, Que., after both skiers lost a ski in their head-to-head dual. Gagnon finished the course on one ski to advance, then later lost the bronze-medal dual to Bilodeau. SRC
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