Gu and Hoerter on top in ANC halfpipe qualifiers
Aug 27, 2019·Freeski Park & Pipe
Following yesterday’s postponement due to weather, the qualifying rounds for the FIS Australia New Zealand Cup freeski and snowboard halfpipe presented by Cardrona Alpine Resort were back on the schedule at the QRC Winter Games NZ, fuelled by Forsyth Barr today.
127 competitors dropped in to the 22ft high, 160m long superpipe with two chances to qualify through to the finals. In the freeski category, eight women and 10 men would make the cut and advance into the finals.
The women’s freeski field saw a close battle between Russia’s Valeriya Demidova and China’s Eileen Gu. Eileen set the bar with a score of 93.00 on her first run, getting good amplitude out of the pipe and showcasing a variety of tricks. Valeriya pushed hard on her second run, upping her score from 89.33 to 93.66 and just edging into the top spot but Eileen was quick to answer, upping her trick difficulty and landing the biggest switch hit of the morning, a switch left 720, for a score of 95.00 and the lead.
USA competitor Jaxin Hoerter’s first run score of 91.00 booked him a spot to finals at the top of the men’s freeski field. Robin Briguet (SUI) and Bingqiang Mao (CHN) were hot on his heals on 89.66 and 88.66 respectively, with all three standing out with huge amplitude and strong trick execution.
Top Runs
Women
1. Eileen Gu CHN - Right 540 lead tail, left 540 Japan, right 720, switch left 720 Japan, straight air safety.
2. Valeriya Demidova RUS - Left alley oop seatbelt, straight air Japan, right 540 mute, left 540 mute, right 720, switch right alley oop 540 mute.
3.Sabrina Cakmakli GER - Switch right 360 safety, left 540 safety, right 540 safety, straight air Japan, right 720, switch right alley oop 180.
Men
1. Jaxin Hoerter USA - Left flair, right 7 safety, switch left 7 mute, right 9 Japan, left 9 truck driver.
2. Robin Briguet SUI - Left 9 lead tail, right 7, switch left 7 mute, alley oop flat 5 japan, left flair nose grab.
3. Bingqiang Mao CHN - Left 9, right 10, switch left 7 Japan, right 9, left flat 5 Japan.
Finals are slated to go down on Wednesday, August 28 starting from 9:00 LOC. The event will be LIVE STREAMED and you can watch it HERE.
Source: Winter Games NZ
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