Ledeux and Stevenson in command ahead of slopestyle World Cup finals in Silvaplana
Mar 25, 2021·Freeski Park & Pipe
The FIS Freeski World Cup returns to one of the longest-running and most popular stops on tour this weekend, as the slopestyle World Cup finals are set to go down in Silvaplana’s Corvatsch Park from the 26-27th of March, with qualifications on the 26th and finals scheduled to start at 11:30 CET on the Saturday the 27th.
Silvaplana has played host to FIS Freeski World Cup action for nearly a decade now, with seven competitions going down in that time - many of them World Cup finals events. While last season’s Silvaplana World Cup was cancelled due to the developing covid-19 situation, we’re excited to be back in the Egadin region once again this season to finish off what has been an interesting - and oftentimes amazing - 2020/21 season with a bang.
By the end of Saturday’s competition here in Silvaplana we’ll be ready to hand out the crystal globes for slopestyle and Freeski overall, as well as the FIS Freestyle Nations Cup trophy for the best country across all the seven Freestyle and Freeski events for the 2020/21 season.
Leading the way in the slopestyle and the Freeski overall crystal globe races for the women and men are Tess Ledeux (FRA) and Colby Stevenson (USA), respectively, and while both are in good position to take both trophies home at the end of the day on Saturday, both will be looking for strong performances so as to not open the door for one of their competitors to come in and swipe the glory.
Ledeux all but assured of two-trophy weekend
Actually, to be clear when it comes to Ledeux, the 19 year-old has in fact already locked up the Freeski overall globe, with her slopestyle victories in Stubai (AUT) and Aspen (USA), as well as her big air second-place finish in Kreischberg (AUT) giving her 280 points - 134 points ahead of Aspen 2021 slopestyle World Champion Eileen Gu’s (CHN) total of 146.
Ledeux also has 200 points just in slopestyle competition, 90 points ahead of Gu’s 110. With that in mind then, Ledeux really only needs a finish of 20th or better to give her the 11 points she needs to be free and clear of a challenge by Gu on the slopestyle side of things. However, seeing as how Ledeux hasn’t finished below 20th in a competition since the start of the 2017/18 season, it seems all but assured that she’ll become the first French skier to claim the slopestyle globe as well as the first to claim the Freeski globe.
Of course, Ledeux would like to take home that hardware on the strength of a victory, but she’s going to be in tough with the majority of the field that was on hand for the World Championships and World Cups in Aspen making their way across the pond to Silvaplana for the season-ender.
Aside from Gu, Great Britain’s Kirsty Muir is the only other skier with a mathematical chance of catching Ledeux in the slopestyle battle, as the 16 year-old has 106 points on the season and is coming off her first World Cup podium with a second place at the Aspen slopestyle World Cup. Though it seems pretty unlikely that all the pieces will fall into place for her to catch Ledeux, she could become the first British woman ever to finish up the season in the slopestyle and Freeski overall top-3.
Sarah Hoefflin and Mathilde Gremaud of the host Swiss Freeski Team will be especially motivated to finish the season strong on home soil. No Swiss woman has ever won in Silvaplana - Gremaud’s best result here is a third from from the 2016/17 season, while Hoefflin has never finished better than fourth.
Other to watch out for on the women’s side include Aspen 2021 big air World Champion Anastasia Tatalina (RUS), Maggie Voisin (USA), Silvia Bertagna (ITA), Jennie-Lee Burmansson (SWE), and Marin Hamill (USA).
Stevenson in the driver’s seat for the men
Last week’s Aspen slopestyle World Cup winner, as well as the silver medallist from the Aspen 2021 slopestyle World Championships, Colby Stevenson rolls into Silvaplana looking to do one better than the 2019/20 season when he finished second on the slopestyle rankings behind Andri Ragettli (SUI).
While Stevenson and Ragettli are currently tied atop the Freeski overall standings with 145 points apiece, the Swiss skier will not be participating at the venue in Silvaplana where he as won twice before, as he injured his knee on his final hit while competing in the Aspen 2021 big air World Championships competition.
So with Ragettli not in the picture, it’s going to be up to Stevenson to hold off the Norwegian army in his quest for the globes, as the likes of Christian Nummedal, Ferdinand Dahl and Sebastian Schjerve represent his closest competition.
Nummedal and Dahl were both on the podium at the season-opener in Stubai, finishing in second and third respectively, while Schjerve was just off the podium in fourth last weekend at the Aspen slopestyle World Cup. Both Nummedal and Dahl have podium finishes at Silvaplana in the past, so there is precedent there for either to rise to the occasion once again this season.
Mathematically speaking, the USA’s Mac Forehand, Sweden’s Henrik Harlaut, and a couple other skiers still have the opportunity to catch Stevenson in the globe battle this weekend, and while both Forehand and Harlaut are looking strong, finishing in second and third respectively behind Stevenson in the Aspen World Cup, with the way that Stevenson has been performing throughout 2020/21, that their chances are looking pretty slim to achieve that goal.
Others without a real shot at the globes but who could step onto the men’s podium in Silvaplana include another Norwegian in Birk Ruud, who was forced to miss most of the competitions in Aspen due to personal reasons, but who will be looking to finish off a tough and chaotic 2020/21 season on a high, as well as James Woods (GBR), Aspen 2021 slopestyle bronze medallist Alex Hall (USA), Evan McEachran and Teal Harle of Canada, Jesper Tjader (SWE), Antoine Adellise (FRA) and Switzerland’s own Kim Gubser, who claimed Aspen 2021 big air bronze just over a week ago.
Lots to watch out for this weekend and we can’t wait to see how it all pans out in the perfectly-prepared Corvatsch Park!
WATCH LIVE
Olympic Channel, TV 2 Sport 2, Eurosport 2, SRF, Blue Zoom and livestream at corvatsch.ch
QUICK LINKS
Silvaplana World Cup data page (startlists, programme, livescoring, results and more)
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