Halfpipe Rodeo World Cup ready to get buck in Calgary
Feb 13, 2019·Snowboard Park & Pipe
Calgary (CAN) - The FIS Snowboard halfpipe World Cup will return to action this week for the first competition since the Utah 2019 world championships in Park City, for the first World Cup event since an epic showdown in Laax (SUI) back in January, and for the first time in Calgary (CAN) in almost eight years, with the Halfpipe Rodeo World Cup set to hit Canada Olympic Park with qualifications on Feb 13th and finals on the 15th.
Canada Olympic Park was the site of several competitions for the Calgary 1988 Olympic Winter Games, and has since become one of, if not the premier training facility in the country for top-level Canadian athletes. And, as the venue boasts what is considered to be one of the best halfpipes in North America, FIS Snowboard is excited to be back at COP for World Cup action after an extended absence.
Despite the nearly eight years that have passed since the last Calgary halfpipe World Cup competition, the name at the top of the ladies’ halfpipe World Cup leaderboard is the same one that was at the top of the results list last time Calgary hosted competition, as Cai Xuetong continues to be one of the strongest forces in ladies’ snowboarding.
Fresh off a silver-medal performance at the Utah 2019 worlds, Cai has a win, a third-place, and a fourth-place result in three World Cup competitions this season to lead the standings with 2100 points - just ahead of Utah 2019 world champion Chloe Kim’s (USA) 2000.
With Kim not on the start list for the Calgary competition, Cai’s top competitors will be the likes of Kurumi Imai and Hikaru Oe of Japan, Verena Rohrer of Switzerland, and Spain’s Queralt Castellet.
While Utah 2019 men’s world champion Scotty James (AUS) is celebrating his third-straight world champs gold medal with a powder trip to Japan this week, a strong selection of riders from around the world will be on hand to duke it out in men’s competition at Calgary.
Leading the way will be the silver and bronze medallists from last week’s world champs competition in Park City, with Yuto Totsuka (JPN) and Patrick Burgener (SUI) both on hand and looking to make up some ground on current World Cup leader James while he sits out this week’s event.
If he continues riding the way that he has been throughout the 2018/19 World Cup season, the explosive Totsuka seems a lock to overtake James on the leaderboard in Calgary, as his 1760 points puts him just a 10th-place finish (or better) away from catching the Australian James.
Also to watch out for will be Toby Miller (USA), who finished just off the podium in fourth at the Utah 2019 worlds competition, and who claimed his first World Cup podium earlier this season at Copper Mountain.
And, finally, the host Canadians will be represented by the likes of Derek Livingston, Braeden Adams, and Jack Collins, who will all be on hand and looking to make some noise for the Canadians on home soil this week.
Competition in Calgary gets underway with qualifications on Wednesday, Feb 13, beginning at 11:00 MST for the ladies and 12:45 for the first heat of the men. Finals are slated to go down on Friday, Feb 15, under the lights at Canada Olympic Park beginning at 19:00.
WATCH LIVE:
Live on Eurosport player (Europe), Eurosport 1 (Asia/Pacific), Olympic Channel & NBC Sport (USA)
QUICK LINKS:
Calgary Halfpipe Rodeo World Cup data page (start lists, live scoring, results)
TV Broadcast info
