Mikaela Shiffrin (Avon, Colo.) keeps stepping on the gas, and the victories just keep adding up. On Friday in Courchevel, France, she won another FIS Ski World Cup giant slalom - her first of the season and the sixth of her career - to extend her overall World Cup lead to a massive 422 points.

Shiffrin rebounded from a .08-second first-run deficit to take a narrow .14-second win over Germany’s Viktoria Rebensburg. Tessa Worley of France finished third at just .33 back. The top eight finishers were separated by just 0.93 seconds.

With heavy, wet, snow falling in the French Alps, Shiffrin had to choose when to step on the gas and when to back off Friday. The first run finish times clocked in at just past the minute mark, but with heavy snow continuing to fall, organizers pushed the start about ten gates down the mountain, effectively setting up a second-run sprint. With a pedal to the medal approach out of the start, Shiffrin separated herself from the rest of the field just three gates into the second run.

“The first run I was pushing really hard out of the start, because it’s so flat that you have to do that, but after the first couple of gates...I was skiing hard, but too much, and I could see that in the video,” Shiffrin said. “So the second run I was thinking, ‘push harder out of the start and go more direct in the first gates and then just let it go from there.’ I was trying to build up speed as quick as I could...I don’t know how fast it was, but I was pushing really hard, and farther than everybody else.”

It seems Courchevel, France has been kind to Shiffrin, as she won her third-straight victory at the venue. "I like it in France. And, it's starting to feel...more familiar for me," Shiffrin said with a giggle at the press conference, referring to her relationship with French giant slalom specialist, Mathieu Faivre. 

In the chase for her third-consecutive overall World Cup title, Shiffrin has won six races this season, including her fourth-straight start (two super-G, a parallel slalom and Friday’s giant slalom), and leads Norway’s Ragnhild Mowinckel by 422 points in the overall World Cup standings. She also leads the slalom and super-G standings, and is second in giant slalom and ninth in downhill.

Through the first six weeks of the season, Shiffrin has racked up some impressive results, in addition to a significant amount of travel and training time. Following her back-to-back victories in Saint Moritz, Switzerland, on Dec. 8-9, she took some time away from competition to rest and recharge her body, mind and soul as she heads into another solid stretch of races - seven over a 19-day stretch - which kicked off with a victory Friday. She was also able to dial in her giant slalom set-up and got a bit of slalom training in, up in Trysil, Norway. Up next, she’ll race the slalom Saturday in Courchevel ahead of a six-day holiday break before the White Circus resumes Dec. 28-29 in Semmering, Austria.

“Today was a great way to start this weekend...but I didn’t get a lot of slalom training the (past few days), so I’m just going to move my feet quick and see what happens (Saturday),” she giggled.

AJ Hurt (Squaw Valley, Calif.) and Tricia Mangan (Derby, N.Y.) joined Shiffrin in the first run and each showed promise with solid skiing, but couldn't hang on in the chatter and both DNFed. Paula Moltzan (Prior Lake, Minn.) and Nina O’Brien (San Francisco, Calif.) - who both scored points in the last World Cup slalom at Killington, Vermont - will also be starting in Saturday’s slalom.

RESULTS
Women’s giant slalom

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST.
Preliminary schedule, subject to change
*Same-day delayed broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

Friday, Dec. 21
12:00 p.m. - Women’s giant slalom, Courchevel, FRA - NBCSN-TV*

Saturday, Dec. 22
4:30 a.m. - Women’s slalom run 1, Courchevel, FRA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Women’s slalom run 2, Courchevel, FRA - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
9:45 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1, Madonna di Campiglio, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
12:30 p.m. - Men’s slalom run 2, Madonna di Campiglio, ITA - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
2:30 p.m. - Women’s slalom, Courchevel, FRA - NBCSN-TV*

Sunday, Dec. 23
2:30 p.m. - Women’s slalom and giant slalom, Courchevel, FRA - NBC**

Please note that U.S. Ski & Snowboard offices will be closed on Monday, December 24th and Tuesday, December 25th for the Christmas Holiday. Our offices will also be closed on Monday, December 31st and Tuesday, January 1st for the New Year's Holiday.

 Normal business hours will resume on Wednesday, December 26th and Wednesday, January 2nd  8:00 AM - 5:00 PM MST.  U.S. Ski & Snowboard's website will not be affected by this closure.

Season’s Greetings!

Hunter Hess (Bend, Ore.) put down two solid runs in the finals at the FIS Freeski Word Cup halfpipe at Secret Garden, China, to finish third and earn his first World Cup podium. Canadian Simon D’Artois was first and Olympic bronze medalist Nico Porteous from New Zealand finished second.

"I’m beyond stoked to be up on the podium at a World Cup," said Hess. "I’ve been working towards this for a while now. It was nice to get a taste. This definitely fuels the fire for me to work for more. I was honored to be standing up there with Nico and Simon. They killed it and were riding well all week. Hope to keep this momentum moving forward."

American Cassidy Jarrell (Aspen, Colo.) finished in seventh, while U.S Freeski Rookie Team member Jaxin Hoerter (Breckenridge, Colo.) finished in ninth, landing all three of his runs top to bottom. 

Hess has been slowly climbing the freeski competition ladder over the past few seasons. Over the 2015 and 2016 seasons, Hess earned a handful of FIS level podiums. In 2017, Hess continued the progression claiming three Nor Am podiums. Finally, Hess will close out 2018 with two Nor Am podiums and his first ever World Cup podium. Safe to say Hess is on an upward trajectory.

For the women, U.S. Freeski Rookie Team member Abigale Hansen (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) finished fourth. Kexin Zhang of China finished first, Canadian Rachael Karker finished second earning her second and Fanghui Li from China finished third.

The FIS Freeski World Cup circuit continues Jan. 10-12 in Font Romeu, France with men and women's slopestyle.

RESULTS
Men's halfpipe
Women's halfpipe
 

Tommy Ford (Bend, Ore.) likes to keep things simple. But Wednesday’s FIS World Cup giant slalom in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austra, was anything but simple as Ford had to fight for his 14th-place finish on a long and challenging track. Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah) was right behind in 15th.

“I felt like I was skiing well, moving well,” Ford said following his second run. “But halfway down, I really just ran out of gas and had to scrap it together.”

Ford’s simple approach to the start of the season has resulted in consistent results lately, including career-best back-to-back results coming into Wednesday’s race - fifth Sunday in Alta Badia, Italy, and sixth in Val d’Isere, France, on Dec. 12. In fact, Ford has finished in the top 16 in every World Cup giant slalom contested so far this season. But the training and racing load caught up with him Wednesday.

“I’ve been psyched with my consistency the past couple weeks...and these races packed together, I wasn’t quite recovered and fast enough on this long course,” he said.

Wednesday’s course was arguably the most difficult course the athletes have faced on the World Cup circuit so far this season. Overall World Cup leader Marcel Hirscher of Austria struggled on the Schneekristall-Zwölfer Course and finished sixth, his worst giant slalom result in more than two years. However, Slovenia’s Zan Kranjec aggressive style certainly suited him well as he took his first World Cup victory. Switzerland’s Loic Meillard posted his first career World Cup podium in second; followed by Mathieu Faivre of France in third.

There’s no rest for the weary as the World Cup circuit continues with a pair of slalom events before the Christmas break. The men will compete in slalom Thursday in Saalbach, then travel to Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, for slalom Saturday.

In the meantime, it’s back to “trusting what we have been doing in training and not over-complicating things on race days,” Ford said. “Just trusting that the skiing is good and what we have been doing in training works.”

RESULTS
Men’s giant slalom

STANDINGS
Men’s overall World Cup

Merryweather, Ross Struggle in Val Gardena Super-G

Alice Merryweather (Hingham, Mass.) and Laurenne Ross (Bend, Ore.) struggled in Wednesday’s FIS Ski World Cup super-G in Val Gardena, Italy, which was a rescheduled event from Val d’Isere, France.

Slovenia’s Ilka Stuhec won for the second-straight day, proving she is fully recovered from a knee injury that sidelined her all of the 2017-18 season. Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein was second, followed by Austria’s Nicole Schmidhofer in third. Merryweather was 37th and Ross was 39th.

Mikaela Shiffrin (Avon, Colo.), who did not compete Wednesday, still holds the lead in the World Cup super-G standings by 25 points over Norway’s Ragnhild Mowinckel, who finished fifth Wednesday. Shiffrin also leads the World Cup slalom standings and has a massive 330 point lead in her quest for a third-straight overall World Cup title.

Shiffrin will be back in action when the women’s World Cup circuit continues Friday and Saturday with giant slalom and slalom events in Courchevel, France. Last year she swept the Courchevel series, with wins in both giant slalom and parallel slalom.

RESULTS
Women’s super-G

STANDINGS
Women’s overall World Cup

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST.
*Same-day delayed broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

Thursday, Dec. 20
4:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1 - Saalbach-Hinterglemm, AUT - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 2 - Saalbach-Hinterglemm, AUT - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Friday, Dec. 21
4:30 a.m. - Women’s giant slalom run 1, Courchevel, FRA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Women’s giant slalom run 2, Courchevel, FRA - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
12:00 p.m. - Women’s giant slalom run 2, Courchevel, FRA - NBCSN-TV*

Saturday, Dec. 22
4:30 a.m. - Women’s slalom run 1, Courchevel, FRA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Women’s slalom run 2, Courchevel, FRA - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
9:45 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1, Madonna di Campiglio, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
12:30 p.m. - Men’s slalom run 2, Madonna di Campiglio, ITA - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
2:30 p.m. - Women’s slalom run 2, Courchevel, FRA - NBCSN-TV*

Sunday, Dec. 23
2:30 p.m. - Women’s slalom and giant slalom, Courchevel, FRA - NBC**

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (Dec. 18, 2018) – U.S. Ski & Snowboard and PROBAR announced their global partnership today, making PROBAR the official Protein Bar, Nutrition Bar, Energy Bars, Energy Chews and Nut Butters of U.S. Ski & Snowboard. As the creator of delicious, convenient, organic plant-based foods that power active lifestyles, PROBAR’s robust lineup of blended nutrition bars and energy chews will fuel some of the world’s top athletes.

As part of a long-term partnership, U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes will be energized on the mountain, during race day and throughout their training with PROBAR’s portfolio of nutritionally dense bars, including Meal, Base, Bite, live and Bolt energy chews. The Utah based brand will also provide sampling on and off the slopes for fans during the 2018-19 season and beyond.

“We originally created PROBAR to deliver convenient whole-food nutrition to athletes who need fuel for peak performance,” said Jeff Coleman, co-founder and CEO of PROBAR. “With Park City and the Wasatch Range in our backyard, we are proud to partner with U.S. Ski and Snowboard to fuel our country’s most elite skiers and snowboarders on and off the slopes.”

PROBAR will debut its partnership with U.S. Ski & Snowboard during the 2019 International Ski Federation (FIS) Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships, presented by Toyota, taking place in both organizations’ own backyards at Solitude Mountain Resort, Park City Mountain Resort, and Deer Valley, Utah, February 1-10, 2019.

“We always seek partnerships where our brand values align to help us reach our vision of being ‘Best in the World’ in ski and snowboard sports,” said Dan Barnett, U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Chief Marketing Officer. “Our athletes need quick and convenient nutrition when training and competing, and PROBAR’s line will provide them with easy access to organic, whole-food products. This partnership is perfect, as both U.S. Ski & Snowboard and PROBAR share a vision of helping to fuel athletes to perform at their best.”

The 2018-19 Toyota U.S. Revolution Tour kicked off at Copper Mountain, Colorado Dec. 10, but things have changed since last season. A core focus of U.S. Ski & Snowboard has always been the athlete development pipeline for all disciplines. Through U.S. Ski & Snowboard events, programs and partnerships with organizations like the United States of America Snowboard and Freeski Association (USASA), the opportunities for young freeski and snowboard athletes have dramatically increased over the years. Recently, U.S. Ski & Snowboard made an important decision to improve the pipeline once again by dividing the Revolution Tour into two different levels, a FIS sanctioned Rev Tour, and a FIS NorAm Sanctioned Rev Tour Elite.

“As the Revolution Tour has grown in popularity over the last several years we recognized a demand to split the tour in order to provide appropriate competitive opportunities for athletes looking to progress through the development pipeline,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard  Halfpipe, Slopestyle, and Big Air Sport Development Manager Ashley Deibold. “With this new split in the Revolution Tour, the development pipeline for athletes starts with regional USASA events, moving to the Revolution Tour, then the Revolution Tour Elite, from which athletes can qualify into World Cups and other Major competitions.”

The change was a result of an ongoing conversation between the community as whole including U.S. Ski and Snowboard Congress, coaches, event officials, industry constituents as well internally by the U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletics and events departments. The division of the Revolution Tour was a result of the breadth of talent that was competing at the Revolution Tour throughout the years. The goal was to create a step between the Rev Tour and Toyota U.S. Grand Prix events at the World Cup level.

“Young athletes were getting to the Rev Tour and getting stuck there for four, five and even six years,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard Event Manager Sarah Welliver. “We are now creating more stepping stones and ongoing opportunity for athletes.”

U.S. Ski and Snowboard set forth an initiative and received funding to add another Rev Tour series. U.S. Ski & Snowboard was the driver but leans on their partnership with USASA with the goal of developing athletes. Athletes can participate in a USASA competition days before the Rev Tour event to qualify on the same course the Rev will be held on. This provides more opportunity as an in-season qualifier and will ensure the best athletes enter the Rev Tour event. Rev Tour qualifiers are open to the Breaker, Youth, Junior and Open class for both freeski and snowboard. At age 12 you can compete in the qualifier but are ineligible to compete in the Rev Tour due to the minimum FIS age is 13 (this is an age change for freeski bringing the minimum age down from 14 to 13).

As previously mentioned, there are clear stepping stones from USASA Rev Tour qualifiers through the Rev Tour Elite and to the Grand Prix. .The Rev tour looks at overall Rev Tour standings. Therefore, if an athlete performs well at Rev Tour, they get invited back. In addition, the FIS level Rev Tour takes top performers from the USASA Nationals Junior, Youth, and Breaker division. These events are designed for athletes looking to take the next step after USASA. They will assist athletes as they continue to push their skills, learn to compete on a national scale, and within a slightly different format. This process will make for a better transition from regionally-based to nationally-based events for upcoming athletes.

The Revolution Tour Elite events are sanctioned as NorAm events, making them part of a larger North American tour, which includes events in Canada. As the next step in the pipeline, these events will feature larger slope courses and 22-foot halfpipes. Athletes attending these events will be competing to secure start positions for the 2019/2020 FIS World Cup and Grand Prix events.

The goal is to provide a competitive development pipeline that encourages participation, creates opportunity, and helps athletes progress in a less intimidating, but competitive and fun environment. Organizers invite the top tier athletes from the FIS Rev Tour standings, the NorAm Cup standings, and the Open division at USASA Nationals. Lastly, the Rev Tour Elite also invites the winner at each FIS level event in season. From the Rev Tour Elite, the overall tour winners for men and women are invited to participate in the U.S. Grand Prix the following season.

This year there will be two FIS-level events. These are events are called the Rev Tour and held in conjunction with USASA Rev Tour qualifiers. Moving forward, the qualifier events will be held prior to the Rev Tour event and will qualify athletes directly into the Rev Tour event taking place the following weekend. This adds more competition opportunities for athletes as well as creates an added convenience for families traveling with young athletes.

The first FIS-level event will be the Toyota U.S. Revolution Tour at Copper Mountain, Colorado Feb.10-14, and will consist of a freeski and snowboard slopestyle and halfpipe competition. The second event will be at Seven Springs, Pennsylvania, Feb 25-Mar. 1 and will also serve as a freeski and snowboard slopestyle and halfpipe competition.

The upcoming NorAM Revolution Tour Elite competition will continue with the second event of the Elite series at Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, Jan. 13-18 with two slopestyle competitions for both freeski and snowboard. The third and final Rev Tour Elite event will be held at Mammoth Mountain, California, Mar.12-17 with a snowboard and freeski slopestyle, halfpipe and big air competition.

The first Rev Tour Elite event of the season at Copper Mountain, Colorado hosted two halfpipe competitions for both freeski and snowboard. An incredibly diverse international field kicked things off in the same superpipe that the world’s best skiers and riders were competing in only a week prior at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix FIS World Cup. Athlete’s arriving early have the chance to witness the World Cup level competition and then follow it up a week later with their own competition in the same venue.

U.S. Snowboard Pro Team member Chase Blackwell (Longmont, Colo.) kicked things off with a third-place finish in the first of two competitions. Following suit was U.S. Snowboard Rookie Team member Tessa Maud (Carlsbad, Calif.) with a second-place finish in the final competition for the women. On the freeski side, it was America’s Cassidy Jarrell (Aspen, Colo.) and Cameron Brodrick (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) claiming first and third respectively in the first competition. Also, Jeanee Crane-Mauzy (Park City, Utah) earned second for the women. Moving into the final competition for freeskiers, it was U.S. Freeski Rookie Team member Dylan Ladd (Lakewood, Colo.) finishing third as well as teammate and fellow rookie team member Svea Irving (Winter Park, Colo.) earning second for the women.

Designed to serve as a stepping stone for athletes to make the transition from competing at a grassroots level to the elite level, the Rev Tour has already proven to be a progressive venue for today’s top junior skiers and riders to take the competitive stage in multiple disciplines. The 2018-19 Rev Tour series will continue to be another step in the right direction for the freeski snowboard athlete pipeline.

Click here for more information on the Revolution Tour schedule, locations, and qualification criteria.

RESULTS
SNOWBOARD
Tuesday, Dec. 11
Men
1. Yuto Totsuka (Japan)
2. IkkoAnnai (Japan)
3. Chase Blackwell (Longmont, Colo.; U.S Pro Snowboard Team Member; USASA Rocky Mountain Series)

Women
1. Kurumi, Imai (Japan)
2. Hikaru Oe (Japan)
3. Elizabeth Hosking (Canada)

Men’s snowboard halfpipe day one
Women’s snowboard halfpipe day one

Wednesday, Dec. 12
Men
1. Yuto, Totsuka (Japan)
2. Jan Scherrer (Switzerland)
3. Ikko Anai (Japan)

Women
1. Hikaru Oe (Japan)
2. Tessa Maud (Carlsbad, Calif.; U.S. Snowboard Rookie Team; USASA The Unbound Series)
3. Kurumi Imai (Japan)

Men’s snowboard halfpipe day two
Women’s snowboard halfpipe day two

FREESKI
Friday, Dec. 14.
Men
1. Cassidy Jarrell (Aspen, Colo.; USASA Aspen Snowmass Series)
2. Evan Marineau (Canada)
3. Cameron Brodrick (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.; USASA The Unbound Series)

Women
1. Zoe Atkin (Great Britain)
2. Jeanee Crane-Mauzy (Park City, Utah; USASA Big Mountain West Series)
3. Yujin Jang (Korea)

Men’s freeski halfpipe day one
Women’s freeski halfpipe day one

Saturday, Dec. 15.
Men
1. Sam Mckeown (Canada)
2. Sascha Pedenko (Canada)
3. Dylan Ladd (Lakewood, Colo.; U.S. Freeski Rookie Team; USASA Rocky Mountain Series)

Women
1. Zoe Atkin (Great Britain)
2. Svea Irving (Winter Park, Colo.; U.S. Freeski Rookie Team; USASA Rocky Mountain Series)
3. Yujin Jang (Korea)

Men’s freeski halfpipe day two
Women’s freeski halfpipe day two

Twelve U.S. Snowboardcross Team athletes are set to compete at the first FIS Snowboardcross World Cup of the season in Cervinia, Italy Dec. 20-22. U.S. athletes include defending snowboardcross FIS World Champion Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton Mountain, Vt.) along with defending team snowboardcross FIS World Champions Hagen Kearney (Norwood, Colo.) and Nick Baumgartner (Iron River, Mich.).

Other U.S. Snowboarcross A Team members competing include Sochi Olympic bronze medalist Alex Deibold (Manchester, Vt.), Jonathan Cheever (Saugus, Mass.), Mick Dierdorff (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) and seven-time world cup winner Nate Holland (Sandpoint, Idaho).

After the cancelation of the season-opener World Cup in Montafon, Austria due to insufficient snow to build a course suitable for snowboardcross competition, Italian organizers picked up the slack and added a second competition to the program on Dec. 22 along with the originally scheduled Dec. 21 competition.

“Excited to finally get the season started,” said Deibold. “It’s going to be an important week as Cervinia is the only chance we have to earn a spot to World Champs at Solitude.”

2018 Junior World Champion Jake Vedder (Pinckney, Mich.) will also compete with U.S. Development group athletes Cole Johnson (Reno, Nev.), Senna Leith (Vail, Colo.), Stacy Gaskill (Golden, Colo.) and Meghan Tierney (Edwards, Colo.)

With the FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships in Park City, Utah just around the corner, this double-up competition will offer a chance for athletes to get in prime form as well as earn valuable points and establish their position on the World Championships Team. All early season competitions are very important to the decision-making process making the Cervinia, Italy World Cup crucial for competitors from all nations.

FIS Snowboard Race Director Uwe Beier commented on the significance of the competition. "We are very pleased that the organizer in Cervinia, together with the Italian Federation was able to add another race. It's just a few weeks to go before the World Championships in Park City/Solitude, and the teams need these competitions to get prepared. The organizers in Cervinia worked hard to successfully host their premiere World Cup race last season with challenging snow conditions, and with much more snow there this season we expect to see an excellent course and an excellent competition."

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST

Thursday, Dec. 20
5:00 a.m. - Men’s snowboardcross qualification, Cervinia, ITA - OlympicChannel.com
8:30 a.m. - Women’s snowboardcross qualification, Cervinia, ITA - OlympicChannel.com

Friday, Dec. 21
5:30 a.m. - Men and women's Snowboardcross, Cervinia, Italy - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Dec. 22
5:40 a.m. - Men and women’s snowboardcross, Cervinia, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Constructed in 2011 and home of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, Secret Garden, China will host 14 U.S. athletes for a FIS Snowboard and Freeski World Cup halfpipe and slopestyle competition Dec. 19 - 22. It’s too early to call this a test event, but with a young group of athletes heading to this relatively new venue, there will definitely be some chatter in the air as potential future Olympians get their eyes on the terrain and atmosphere for the first time. Freeskiers will compete in halfpipe Dec. 20-22, while snowboarders will compete in both halfpipe and slopestyle Dec. 19-21.

“When I was first invited to the contest in China I didn’t immediately know that it was going to be the venue for the 2022 Olympics,” said U.S. Snowboard Rookie Team Member Jason Wolle (Winter Park, Colo.). “When I did find out it made me even more excited to go. The Olympics have always been a major goal of mine and to be able to go and check out the venue is a real treat. It is an almost surreal feeling going to Secret Garden now because my main goal for the next couple of years is to go there again and represent the United States at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games.”

Other U.S. Snowboard Team athletes competing include pro team members Chase Blackwell (Longmont, Colo.), Ryan Stassel (Anchorage, Alaska), Ryan Wachendorfer (Edwards, Colo.) and Lyon Farrell (Haiku, Hawaii). In addition, U.S. Rookie Team athlete Sean Fitzsimons (Hood River, Ore.) will participate, along with American Joshua Bowman (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.).

The U.S. Freeski Team athletes competing include new rookie team member Eileen Gu (San Francisco, Calif.), and Abigale Hansen (June Lake, Calif.) for the ladies. For the men, Hunter Hess (Bend, Ore.), Jaxin Hoerter (Breckenridge, Colo.), Sammy Schuiling (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) as well as Americans Cassidy Jarrell (Aspen, Colo.) and Lennon Vaughan (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) will all be battling it out in the halfpipe.

“I’m super excited to be going to China,” said Hess. “It will be fun to see how skiing is over there, the mountains, terrain, and the people. I’m blown away with how far skiing has been able to take me. It will be amazing to get an idea of how the next Winter Olympic venue will look and be able to start the process of trying to go back.”

The athletes will travel across the globe to China for the first FIS Snowboard World Cup slopestyle, and the second FIS World Cup halfpipe for snowboard and freeski slopestyle of the 2018-19 season. Be sure to tune in as U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes give us a glimpse of the future 2022 Olympic Winter Games only 144 miles from Beijing.

HOW TO WATCH
*All times EST

FREESKI
Wednesday, Dec.19
10:00 p.m. - Men and women’s halfpipe, Secret Garden, CHN - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
10:30 p.m. - Men and women’s halfpipe, Secret Garden, CHN - Olympic Channel-TV

Thursday, Dec. 20
7:30 a.m. - Men skicross qualification, Innichen, AUT  - OlympicChannel.com
8:45 a.m. - Women skicross qualification, Innichen, AUT  - OlympicChannel.com

Friday, Dec. 21
7:30 a.m. - Men and women’s skicross, Innichen, AUT  - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Dec. 22
5:15 a.m. - Men and women’s ski cross, Innichen, AUT  - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

SNOWBOARD
Thursday, Dec. 20
5:00 a.m. - Men’s snowboardcross qualification, Cervinia, ITA - OlympicChannel.com
8:30 a.m. - Women’s snowboardcross qualification, Cervinia, ITA - OlympicChannel.com
8:30 p.m. - Men and women’s halfpipe, Secret Garden, CHN - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Friday, Dec. 21
12:00 a.m.  - Men and women’s slopestyle, Secret Garden, CHN - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
5:30 a.m. - Men and women’s snowboardcross, Cervinia, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Dec. 22
5:40 a.m. - Men and women’s snowboardcross, Cervinia, ITA - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

It was an incredibly strong finish for U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes with 19 podiums over four days of competition, including Team Challenge and Streetstyle events, at the 2018 Dew Tour in Breckenridge, Colorado.

Sunday started with a U.S. Freeski Team sweep of the men’s modified superpipe podium. Alex Ferreira (Aspen, Colo.) defended his title in the Dew Tour halfpipe competition, while teammates Aaron Blunck (Crested Butte, Colo.) and David Wise (Reno, Nev.) were second and third respectively. The podiums did not stop there as Chloe Kim (Torrance, Calif.) also defended her Dew Tour halfpipe title alongside Maddie Mastro (Wrightwood, Calif.) in second-place. The day concluded with a second-place finish from Olympian Chris Corning (Silverthorne, Colo.) in his first slopestyle competition of the season.

The freeski modified halfpipe competition did not come without its challenges. There were big crashes early in the competition, which seemed to prevent the overall momentum from building as it usually does at a high-level halfpipe competition. That being said, these athletes are professionals and pushed through to put on a great show. Although there were some difficult moments throughout the competition, overall the course was well received.

“I was super excited to come to Dew Tour,” said Ferreira. “It’s creative, very unique and never been done before. To be able to ride this course, take advantage and really enjoy myself was a pleasure. It was an excellent contest and David and Aaron crushed it and I’m happy to be sharing the podium with them.”

Blunck, who fell hard on run two, claimed redemption on his final run to move into second place. As Chase Josey (Sun Valley, Idaho) and Toby Miller (Mammoth, Calif.) referenced after Saturday’s snowboard modified superpipe final, carrying energy from last week’s Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Copper Mountain was crucial.

“The momentum coming off last week was awesome,” said Blunck. ‘It gave me a lot of confidence coming into this week. I have been hyped-up for this event since I heard it was going to be modified pipe. It adds creativity and changes things up quite a bit.”

Blunck and Wise certainly did not come out of the blue, linking together two podiums in two weeks adding to their success from the first halfpipe event of the year. Wise also felt there was something more than momentum at play when referring to the all American sweep.

“I get asked often why the American halfpipe team is so strong and I believe that’s because we have that rebel spirit,” said Wise. “We are here to do things differently than everyone else. I think that's why we had such a strong showing in the modified pipe. I don’t think anyone was excited for this format as the American skiers and riders coming into this event.”

The modified superpipe stayed hot as the women’s snowboard competition immediately followed. Although Kim was still a favorite, some skeptical fans thought the slopestyle inspired features being incorporated into the Dew Tour modified superipe would be the great equalizer. These individuals were quickly be proved wrong as Kim’s well-rounded skill set was very apparent after only one run when she soared more than 10 points ahead of the rest of the field.

“I love it, I had so much fun,” said Kim referring to the modified features of the halfpipe. “It’s like a playground and it’s great to be able to mix it up and try different things. The first couple days were tougher for all of us as we tried to figure out our lines and speed, but it was a cool process. It was fun to push ourselves as we’ve never really done anything like this.”

Although Kim’s early success was very clear as she was yet again in a position to take a victory lap. But she’s always one to push the sport to the next level, so she put down a more difficult run, incorporating her first 1080 in a competition of the season to close out the day. Still, she has no desire to compete in slopestyle.

“Have you seen the slopestyle girls,” she said. “I do not want to do that. They are so gnarly and amazing, so I’m going to just stick to the pipe. (Austria’s) Anna Gasser has a triple and almost all the girls have doubles. I think I’m going to stay in the halfpipe and watch the slope girls from the other side of the fence.”

Mastro, with a throwaway crash score on her first run, needed something big. Coming into her second run she started with a stylish and difficult backside 180 seatbelt grab and finished her run with a beautiful crowd-pleasing method. The run would put her in third place behind veteran Queralt Castellet of Spain. On Mastro’s third run she added technicality to increase her score and jumped into second-place ahead of Castellet.

“For a while, I kind of felt like I had the Dew Tour curse,” said Mastro. “Where just every Dew Tour would not go the way I wanted, so it was very nice to break that streak this year.”

Mastro was also a big fan of the modified superpipe. “I think the modified pipe is an amazing thing for women’s snowboarding,” she said. “We get to be creative and hit spines out of the pipe and really challenge ourselves. I would love to see more contests like this.”

Referring to watching Mastro and Kim progress, third-place finisher Castellet said: “It’s been really amazing. For me it's like a movie. It starts with them young and full of energy, then you get to see the evolution of their riding. It’s a pleasure to be able to share this time with them and also get inspired by what they are able to do.”

To close out the week at Dew Tour, the snowboard slopestyle competition began with a very impressive jumps competition riddled with 1440s, 1620’s and triple corks. Summit County locals Red Gerard (Silverthorne, Colo.) and Chris Corning (Silverthorne, Colo.) came out of the gate with strong first runs, but would quickly find out this competition was no walk in the park. Corning would finish fourth on the jumps section with Japanese riders Takeru Otsuka and Yuki Kadono in first and second, and Norwegian Stale Sandbeck in third.

Corning’s solid rail line put him in second in the rails portion and second overall in the slopestyle competition. Corning also finished second in the 2017 Dew Tour Olympic qualifying slopestyle competition where he secured his nomination to the 2018 U.S. Olympic Team. Norwegians Stale Sandbech won the event and Mons Roisland finished third.

TRICK LIST

Men’s freeski modified superpipe

1. Alex Ferreira: switch right 5 Japan, left dub 12 mute, right double 12 mute, left 9 tail, right flat 3 Japan to shifty, right 3 safety.

2. Aaron Blunck: switch left 7 mute, switch 3 in, switch left double 9 Japan, switch right 7 Japan, left double 9 safety, right 7 tail, right 270 safety

3. David wise: switch left misty 9 tindy, switch right 7 Japan, left double 12 mute, right 9 tail, right alley oop 7, left cork 7 tail

Women’s snowboard modified superpipe

1. Chloe Kim: back 540 indy, switch front 900 melon, switch back 360 indy, indy McTwist, frontside 360 indy, massive frontside air

2. Maddie Mastro: back 180 seatbelt, Haakon flip stale, front 900 tucknee, back air, back alley-oop 270 stale, backside air

3. Queralt Castellet: front 360 indy, back 540 mute, front 900 melon, method, backside 720 reverting at the bottom

Men’s snowboard slopestyle

Jumps

1. Takeru Otsuka: frontside 1440 tail, backside triple 1620 melon, cab triple frontside 1440 mute

2. Yuki Kadono: cab 1440 mute, switch backside 1260 stale, backside triple cork 1440 mute

3. Stale Sandbech: frontside 1440 tail, backside 1260 mute, cab 1440 stale

Rails

1. Mons Roisland: cab 180 tail tap switchup to noseslide pretzel 270, switch backside 270 on to 270 out, cab hardway backside lipslide, boardslide 630 Rippey underflip

2. Chris Corning: switch boardslide to 50-50 frontside 360, backside 360 on frontside 180 out, gap frontside 270 to down, 50-50 backside rodeo melon.

3. Stale Sandbech: cab 180 frontside cab 270, backside 180 switch 180, cab hardway 270 on, 50-50 transfer boardslide pretzel 270 off

Overall
Stale Sandbech - 181.33
Chris Corning - 180.00
Mons Roisland - 179.33

RESULTS
Men’s freeski modified superpipe
Women’s snowboard modified superpipe
Men’s snowboard slopestyle

HOW TO WATCH
*Subject to change
All times in EST

Saturday, Dec. 29
4:00 p.m. - Dew Tour Show, Breckenridge, Colo. - NBC

Sunday, Dec. 30
5:00 p.m. - Dew Tour Show, Breckenridge, Colo. - NBC

Thursday, Jan. 3
11:00 p.m. -  Dew Tour Show, Breckenridge, Colo. - NBCSN

Tuesday, Jan. 8
11:30 p.m. - Dew Tour Show, Breckenridge, Colo. - NBCSN

Jaelin Kauf (Alta, Wyo.) is on fire after winning back-to-back FIS Freestyle World Cup moguls and dual moguls events in Thaiwoo, China, Sunday. Kauf, currently ranked as the number one female moguls skier in the world, now leads the World Cup tour, which comes back to North America on January 12, 2019, in Calgary, Canada.

“My strategy was to just ski my run the best I could," Kauf said. "I was able to put down some solid runs during the moguls competition (on Saturday) and wanted to build on those. I knew I was the fastest yesterday and just played on that strength today. I’ve won back-to-back before so I’m really happy to have done that again! The competition was tough out there but I’m really happy I was able to ski my runs and land on the podium again!” 

It was another beautiful day in Thaiwoo, and Kauf, after a win from the previous day’s moguls event, could not be beaten as France’s Perrine Laffont was second, and Kazakhstan's Yulia Galysheva, was third.

“The women’s field on the World Cup circuit is very deep, so it is hard enough to win one event, let alone two in a row," said Head Moguls Coach Matt Gnoza. "Today was a little extra special though as Jaelin knocked off number-one in the world - Perrine Laffont, to not only take the victory but also the number-one ranking. It will be great to return to North America in the new year with the yellow leader’s bib. Now that Jaelin has the leaders bib I think it is going to be pretty hard to take it away from her.

“Jaelin’s success can be attributed to her top air exit and speed through the middle section of the course, none of the other competitors could even come close to matching Jaelin’s speed. Jaelin skied with great body position in all five runs which allowed her to ski mistake free fast runs,” Gnoza continued.

Other notable achievements from the American women was Tess Johnson (Vail, Colo.) who finished eighth. Johnson bounced back from the previous day’s singles competition before losing to Laffont a couple of runs before Kauf beat her. Ness Dziemian (East Hampstead, N.H.) had back-to-back top-10 finishes, seemingly on a roll heading into the new year. Olivia Giaccio (Redding, Conn.) put up a good fight against Laffont, finishing 11th.

On the men’s side, Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury claimed first, Sweden’s Oskar Elofsson took second and France’s Benjamin Cavet came in third. Bradley Wilson (Park City, Utah) came in sixth, skiing fast but just short versus Kingsbury. Casey Andringa (Bouder, Colo.) put up the biggest airs of the day and finished ninth, while brother Jesse Andringa (Boulder, Colo.) had his first World Cup Top-20 finish, earning him his first World Cup points.

Kauf leaves China and leads the U.S. Freestyle Team as the world’s number-one ranked moguls skier. “The U.S. Moguls Team currently leads the race for the Mogul Nation’s Cup by two points over Canada. Jaelin’s success has lead the way; however, what makes this special is that the entire team has contributed to the current point tally.  We are happy to be leading the Nation’s Cup race. We know that this is far from over and we still have plenty of work to do, but I know this group is definitely up to the challenge,” says Gnoza.

The U.S. Moguls Team takes a break for the holidays before revving up again for a World Cup event in Canada on January 12, 2019.

RESULTS
Women’s dual moguls
Men’s dual moguls finals