Kingsbury Wins Second Consecutive Crystal Globe
The weather wasn’t perfect, but that did not stop Mikael Kingsbury from capturing his second consecutive Crystal Globe title in moguls and the overall title for Freestyle Skiing after a fourth place-finish in Sierra Nevada, Spain.
The native of Deux-Montagnes, QC captured 11 World Cup and World Championships podiums including seven wins this season en route to the titles.
“There’s no time to take it easy,” said Kingsbury. “I’m going to train hard and focus only on my training for the Olympics and doing what I need to win there. I’m going to get stronger at the gym and take another big step forward.”
On a day in which winds reached up to 126 kilometres per hour, Alex Bilodeau (Rosèmere, QC) managed to capture a gold and Quebec City native Simon Pouliot-Cavanagh finished with a bronze for his first World Cup medal.
Alex Bilodeau. Photo: Mike Ridewood
The weather conditions limited each skier to one run and Bilodeau topped the field with a score of 25.31. Pouliot-Cavanagh scored a 23.46.
“The weather was changing a lot but we knew that if 30 men could race our one run would count,” explained Bilodeau, the defending Olympic champion, who finished second in the overall standings to Kingsbury. “So I went for it with a big jump on the top to go for the win because I knew it was only a one run competition.”
Kingsbury and Bilodeau, who have both been awarded provisional nominations to Sochi, have been battling at the top of the standings all season and that bodes well for the Canadian Freestyle Ski team with big hopes for 2014.
The Canadian Freestyle Mogul Team is back in action next weekend at the Canadian National Championships in Val St. Come, QC.
