With hindsight, Mikäel Kingsbury regrets having held back a little at the Beijing Olympics, where he won the silver medal. There was no question of repeating the same mistake at the World Cup finals.
Posted at 4:16 p.m.
The acrobatic skier from Deux-Montagnes let out a huge cry of joy after winning the singles event in Megève, under the spotlight on Friday evening in the Alps.
This 73and victory on the circuit, by only four hundredths of a point, allowed him to maintain his slim lead over the Japanese Ikuma Horishima in the race for the season standings.
The Quebecer thus won the 19and and 20and crystal globes in his career after having his streak cut short last season due to a back injury.
“It’s fantastic, this 73and victory, Kingsbury told the FIS microphone a few seconds after his success. But for me, [le plus important] was to secure the crystal globe in singles. It was super tight. At the Olympics, there was so much pressure in the super final that I maybe kept it a bit. So I didn’t want to leave anything on the table. I went there for the win. I am more than happy. »
Last to start in Final 2, Kingsbury had seen Horishima, bronze medalist in Beijing, achieve a masterful performance which earned him 86.23 points. The next runner-up, Olympic champion Walter Wallberg, was unable to do better despite his usual velocity (85.13).
In soft moguls of spring snow, Kingsbury made the fastest descent, racking up a maximum of 20 points, which proved crucial as the Japanese was rated higher for jumps and turns. The Canadian received 86.27 points for his performance.
If Kingsbury had not won, he would have lost the globe to his friend Horishima, who never got one.
Not only is Kingsbury crowned in singles, but his success secures him the great cumulative moguls globe. He is therefore approaching the 22 that American alpine skier Lindsey Vonn has, a mark he would like to exceed.
He could add another on Saturday after the parallel event. A globe will indeed be awarded for the first time in the discipline, where it holds a relatively comfortable priority of 80 points over Horishima (the winner receives 100 points, the next 80, etc.). To return to his height, his eternal rival will therefore have to win and he will have to finish past the 13th.and rank.
“It’s not over, half the job is done, warned Kingsbury. But I’m just super happy about today. »
Canadians Alexandre Lavoie (14and), Gabriel Dufresne (15and) and Brenden Kelly (16and) took all the risks, but brought up the rear in final 1.
Among the women, the Frenchwoman Perrine Laffont erased her Olympic disappointment (4and) by narrowly winning ahead of the Olympic gold medalist, the Australian Jakara Anthony. The Japanese Anri Kawamura, who held the yellow jersey leader until then, completed the podium.
Laffont, 2018 Olympic champion, thus won the fifth crystal globe of her career, ahead of Kawamura by a very small point (610 against 609).
Justine Dufour-Lapointe also overcame her Olympic disappointment by finishing fifth, her best result since the first race of last season, where she finished fourth. Her older sister Chloe, ninth in Beijing, had to settle for 12and square.
Their compatriots Maia Schwinghammer (13and), Sofiane Gagnon (14and) and Berkley Brown (18and) followed in that order. The final was pushed back a little over an hour due to insistent fog.