Yaroslavl ready for its aerials World Cup debut
Jan 16, 2021·Freestyle
The FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup is set to return to action after the holiday break with a pair of aerials World Cup competitions scheduled to go down at the brand new World Cup venue in Yaroslavl (RUS) this weekend, January 16-17.
Located just 250 km northeast of Moscow, Yaroslavl will host the season’s second and third competition with the individual event scheduled to go down on Saturday and the aerials mixed team competition following on Sunday. Also the competition in Yaroslavl will be the first of two events scheduled to go down in Russia in January, with the iconic city event in Moscow following up next week on January 23.
While heading into just the second competitions of the season on Saturday it’s hard to predict who will contend for a spot on the podium here in Russia, however, there’s a couple athletes who should be on everyone’s radar when looking for favourites for the win in Yaroslavl.
When discussing the women’s side of the event it’s hard not to begin with Australia’s Laura Peel as the reigning World Cup champion is coming off a hot start into 2020/21 season in Ruka, where she dominated the competition and took a well-deserved victory.
Going further down the starting list let’s not forget about Emma Weiss (GER) and Anastasia Prytkova (RUS), who kicked off the season on a high by claiming the respective second and third place in Ruka back in December. Both Weiss and Prytkova claimed their careers’ first World Cup podium in Finland, and obviously will be trying to repeat their phenomenal performances also this weekend.
With the powerhouse Chinese team also not present in Russia, the biggest competition to last year’s World Cup winner Peel will be most likely coming from the U.S. Team, led by 2017 World Champion Ashley Caldwell and a big group of up-and-comers of Megan Nick, Winter Vinecki and Keila Kuhn, with the latest leading the US squad in Ruka and finishing just outside of the podium in fourth place.
Then also watch a highly decorated duo of Alla Tsuper and Hanna Huskova of Belarus, the respective 2014 and 2018 Olympic Winter Champions, who will be entering their first competition in 2020/21 season.
The field is also stacked on the men’s side of the event. Starting with the host nation count on Maxim Burov, Pavel Krotov and Ilia Burov, who went for a 1-2-3 punch for the Russian squad at the first competition of the season in Finland, scoring the first ever aerials podium sweep for Russia and their first podium sweep in any FIS Freestyle event in 20 years.
When looking for more favourites for the victory in Russia also take into account the Swiss Aerials Team led by 2019/20 World Cup winner Noe Roth, who will have a strong support in his teammate and the 2020 Rookie of the Year Pirmin Werner, as well as Nicolas Gygax.
Then moving to North America watch out for the U.S. Aerials Team with Justin Schoenfeld and Christopher Lillis in squad, while Canada’s Lewis Irving will also be looking to make some noise in Yroslavl this weekend.
Last, but not least keep an eye on the reigning Olympic champion and 2015/16 crystal globe winner Oleksandr Abramenko of Ukraine, as well as the 2015 World Championships bronze medallist Maxim Gustik of Belarus, with both athletes aiming for a spot in top-3 this upcoming weekend.
With so many top-notch athletes on hand in Yaroslavl, and one of the world best jumping site, everything is shaping up for an exciting weekend of highly anticipated aerials World Cup action. Saturday’s competition will begin at 14:30 local time (12:30 CET) with qualification rounds and finals following up in the evening at 19:00 (17:00 CET). On Sunday the event will begin at 14:00 (12:00 CET) with individual single round event with the team event under the lights set for 19:00 (17:00 CET).
WATCH LIVE:
Saturday
Eurosport player, Belarus 5 (Belarus), CBC Sports Streaming (Canada), Sport 1 (Lithuania), SRF Zwei (Switzerland), streaming on Olympic Channel (USA)
Sunday
Eurosport player, Belarus 5 (Belarus), CBC Sports Streaming (Canada), Sport 1 (Lithuania), SRF Zwei (Switzerland), streaming on Olympic Channel (USA)
Live streaming will also be available on our Youtube channel - SATURDAY / SUNDAY. Please note that due to broadcasting rights restrictions, live streaming may not be available in your region. Full list of countries with the live streaming available can be found HERE.
QUICK LINKS:
Yaroslavl World Cup data page (startlists, live timing, results)
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