FREESTYLE:

Belanger, Lee savor strong aerials day at Placid World Cup

Jan. 21, 2011 — CFSA    

♦ Photos: Remi Belanger trains at Lake Placid; Crystal Lee smiles after her ninth-place effort Friday (Mike Ridewood, CFSA); Video by Infront Sports & Media/FIS

LAKE PLACID, N.Y — Under shifting winds and falling snow, Canadian aerialists Rémi Bélanger and Crystal Lee jumped their way to the finals of a FIS World Cup aerials event Friday.

For both athletes it was their first time making the finals of a World Cup event, and both Bélanger and Lee finished the day in ninth position. Sabrina Guérin also made finals, finishing 12th.

In the men’s division, China’s Qui Ganugpu was first at 250.70, Ryan St. Onge of the U.S. was second at 246.21 and last year’s World Cup overall title holder, Anton Kushnir of Belarus, took the bronze medal at 241.42.

Bélanger, who finished the day with a score of 205.19, was very happy with his first World Cup finals performance. He started the day off with a rough training session, where he lost a ski mid-air and had to land on his back to save himself. Nevertheless, he managed to rally with a new pair of skis and a high-scoring full, full, full for his first jump of the competition.

Unfortunately, Bélanger said, “I misjudged the end of my second jump and pulled my feet in a little and ended up touching my hand. That cost me some points, but it’s all experience and I’ll learn from it for next time.”

Travis Gerrits of Milton, Ont. finished the day in 20th position, and Jean-Christophe André of Saint-Laurent, Que. was 34th.

Ashley Caldwell of the U.S. took her first World Cup victory in the women’s division. She scored 187.65. Alla Tsuper of Belarus was second at 186.42 and Mengtao Xu of China was third at 183.82.

Lee, a former trampolinist who had never skied before she tried aerials, and who typically has great form in the air but often struggles with her landings, called Friday “a perfect day” because she landed both of her jumps. “Actually, I had to fight for my landing on my second jump, but I saved it,” she said, adding “I am getting more comfortable with my skiing and it’s paying off.”

Laval, Quebec’s Guérin followed a strong fifth-place showing last week at Ski Mont Gabriel with another trip to the finals. She finished the day in 12th spot.

In Austria, Calgary’s Rosalind Groenewoud took the gold medal at the first FIS halfpipe World Cup of the season in Krieschberg, with a score of 43.50. She narrowly edged Switzerland’s Virginie Faivre who was second at 43.30. Katrien Aerts of Belgium was third at 41.80.

In the men’s division of the halfpipe event, Canada’s lone entry, Kris Atkinson, was 14th with a best-of-two run score of 28.3. Xavier Bertoni and Benoit Valentin, both of France, took the gold and silver medals with respective scores of 43.8 and 42.7. Switzerland’s Nils Lauper was third at 39.0.

World Cup action continues here with single moguls events on Saturday and Sunday.  S-Magazine

Lake Placid women's World Cup aerials results

Lake Placid men's World Cup aerials results