Freestyle skiing | Kingsbury steals the show (again)

(Mont-Tremblant) The sun had just set on another cold day at the Tremblant Mogul World Cup on Saturday afternoon.

Simon drouin
Press

“Are you doing your double twist?”

– You will see. “

At the top of the track before the final, Mikaël Kingsbury refrained from revealing his strategy to his rival and friend Ikuma Horishima. First at the end of the first final, the Japanese was curious to know the intentions of the Canadian, who started just before him.

In Kingsbury’s mind, the case was decided. He was not very happy with the way the judges assessed him in qualifying, where he also took second. The Japanese judge was particularly severe. It was not the first time.

Above all, he had a great opportunity to put pressure on Horishima, who doesn’t always respond well when challenged.

Kingsbury therefore performed his somersault with a double twist, before descending the Flying Mile slope with his usual mastery. He crossed the line with a kind of rage in his heart. One eye on the stopwatch as he braked, he was aware that he had just placed a direct to the Japanese man’s sternum.

Horishima took the start, contented himself with a simple spin at the top of the course, before getting caught up a bit on the landing of the last jump.

He hadn’t crossed the thread Kingsbury was clapping his hands. He didn’t have to wait for the score to know he was winning the 70^e World Cup of his career, his second in a row after his success the day before at the same place.

Kingsbury in yellow

The Deux-Montagnes skier had a double blow: he also took back the yellow leader’s jersey in the standings at Horishima, relegated to third place behind the impassive Swede Walter Wallberg, the same podium as the day before.

” That’s it ! Kingbury smiled as he walked into reporters, dressed in his brand new yellow tunic. “It was one of my goals before going to the Games, to have bib 1. It’s not over, our… without saying war, because it’s not a war, I get along great well with Ikuma – our rivalry. I know it’s going to be tight all season. We saw it [vendredi], we see it today [samedi]. It’s been quite like that since the start of the season. It was just cool to take back the yellow jersey. ”

Kingsbury received 85.99 points for his performance, compared to 82.66 points for Wallberg and 78.78 for Horishima. Cautious the day before, the Olympic champion this time had to put almost all the rubber on his final descent.

“Without saying I had to put everything on the table, I had to do something to get past Ikuma. And maybe force him to make mistakes. This is sport. Starting last, strategically, is the best position, because he knew everything that had happened. At the same time, it is the one that is the hardest between the two ears. I am happy with the job I have done. To have made this decision, I think it was beneficial to go for a victory. ”

Coach Michel Hamelin welcomed the attitude of his protégé. On the other hand, he admitted that Horishima had reacted relatively well.

“It’s still new for him,” he noted. Ikuma, I feel he is more consistent, smarter in his affairs. If we had done this three years ago, he would have hit a double twist. The chain might have farted. ”

“Lack of consistency” among judges

Kingsbury would have liked to grab a few more points from Horishima. In his eyes, the Japanese did not deserve his third place.

“I have a lot of respect for Ikuma, but I don’t think I would have put him third. But sometimes it’s like that, being the favorite and having the yellow jersey. I may have had such gifts before, too, in my career. It’s okay, I’m not mad at him. It’s more the judges. I don’t want to take anything away from all the skiing he did because today Ikuma was really strong. At the end of the day, the mistake he made at the end of the day is a bit flat, it puts a little shadow on his almost perfect day. ”

Without wanting to make a big deal out of it, the 29-year-old Quebecer, invited to clarify his thoughts on the work of judges, did not slip away.

Two victories in two days and the yellow jersey: Kingsbury could not have dreamed of better for this World Cup in Tremblant, just before the last two events, next week in Utah, before the Olympic Games in Beijing.

“It’s sick. It’s really cool at home. I would have liked to do that with the fans, but we understand the situation. Normally, I would go to Le P’tit Caribou with my friends. Tremblant is perhaps one of the best places in the world for après-ski. ”

Otherwise, he planned to mark his victory alone with a glass of red wine or a beer… before remembering that he didn’t have one in his room. “It might just be water. I feel a little dehydrated. We are also close to the Games. One more beer, one less beer, it doesn’t change my life! ”

The good vibrations of Chloé Dufour-Lapointe

After Justine Dufour-Lapointe, ninth the day before, it was Chloé’s turn to distinguish herself in the second round of the Tremblant World Cup. The older of the two sisters was eighth, her best result in over two years and a Canadian top in women’s singles this season. She finished with the same score as American Tess Johnson, but the 30-year-old Quebecer had the advantage in the tiebreaker thanks to her performance in the corners. It is not a detail: by succeeding in another top 8 at one of two Deer Valley events next week, she would virtually guarantee her spot at what would be her fourth Olympics in Beijing. Somehow, she got back in the saddle with her two competitions in the Laurentians (14^e Friday). “Results like that give me extra confidence,” said the 2014 Games silver medalist. I feel even better. This is performance: it is to vibrate. Sometimes the judges see it, sometimes they don’t. There, I shone at the end of the week. ”

Justine, 11^e, wants to “free himself”

Without making any notable errors in Final 1, Justine Dufour-Lapointe nevertheless failed to reach the same speed as in training. She took the 11^e rank, which allows him to improve (a little) his lot in the qualification process. “The only thing that I maybe missed is once again to let myself go, to trust myself,” noted the two-time Olympic medalist. I want to do a perfect descent so badly, that the judges like it, that sometimes I hold back a bit. There, I must let myself go. I have to be completely free in the course, that the speed is even higher than everyone else and that I integrate the top 6. Sofiane Gagnon, the other Canadian well placed in the Olympic selection, missed the two stages of Tremblant, infected by COVID-19. His period of confinement ended on Saturday. The Whistler athlete should therefore be able to take the collar back to Deer Valley next week.

Laffont bounces back

Defeated the day before by the Japanese Anri Kawamura, the French Perrine Laffont dominated the day from start to finish to sign the 23^e victory of his career in the World Cup, his third at Tremblant. Australia’s Jakara Anthony took second, while Kawamura, still in the yellow jersey, completed the podium.

Three-way fight

After Gabriel Dufresne the day before, Brenden Kelly managed to finish 10^e, tying the best ranking of his career in singles. Laurent Dumais followed in 14^e place, one rank better than Friday. “I made a small mistake on the top jump, but in general, it was better than the day before, assessed the one who returned from a herniated disc. The others were also better, so it did not seem too much [au classement]. I am really happy with the progress compared to yesterday. Wishing to improve his position in qualifying, Dufresne put in too much and had to settle for the 28^e echelon. With the injury of Kerrian Chunlaud, who suffered a torn ligament in his knee in training Thursday, Kelly, Dumais and Dufresne are for the moment best positioned for the places still at stake for the Beijing Games. Note also the beautiful 17^e place Alexandre Lavoie, who missed a first final 1 by 23 hundredths.