Sports Breaking News

The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION

Alex Bilodeau beats fellow Canadian Mikael Kingsbury in dual moguls

By: The Canadian Press

Saturday, Mar. 16, 2013 at 2:45 PM | Comments: 0

Winner Alex Bilodeau, left, from Canada and 2nd placed Mikael Kingsbury from Canada in action during the FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup Moguls in Are, Sweden, Saturday, March 16, 2013. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Scanpix Sweden, Janerik Henriksson

ARE, Sweden - Three-time dual moguls champion Alex Bilodeau went outside the box to win Saturday's freestyle World Cup event.

The skier from Rosemere, Que., used a double twisting back flip to defeat Canadian teammate Mikael Kingsbury in the final for his second gold medal in as many days.

"Every time it's super tight between us and could go either way," said Bilodeau, who also beat Kingsbury in the moguls final on Friday. "It's a trick that's never done in duals, and I didn't even train it because I wanted to keep it a secret, but I'm pretty confident with that jump so it was a gamble to do it, but it paid off."

Despite finishing second, Kingsbury — the moguls world champ from Deux-Montagne, Que. — only needs three points from the season-ending dual moguls event in Sierra Nevada, Spain, next week to win the overall crown.

"Against (Bilodeau) it's never easy, so I pushed to the max," he said. "Alex for sure did a bigger air on the top, but I got him by half a second in speed."

Bilodeau says both he and Kingsbury benefit from training with each, but it's all business once they're in competition.

"When we're on the hill ... I don't feel like he's a teammate," Bilodeau said. "He's an opponent — whether he's from Zimbabwe or Canada — and that's how he feels also."

Bradley Wilson of the United States beat Per Spett of Sweden for third.

Hannah Kearney of the U.S. defeated Yulia Galysheva of Kazakstan to win the women's dual moguls final.

Montreal's Chloe Dufour-Lapointe took third ahead of American Heather McPhie, the moguls winner the previous day.

With one event left, Kearney leads the women's standings by 60 points from Dufour-Lapointe, and 64 over McPhie.

Meanwhile, Alex Fiva of Switzerland held off home favourite Viktor Oehling Norberg to win the first of the weekend's two skicross races.

Jean Frederic Chapuis of France, who won the world championship last weekend in Voss, Norway, was third. Montreal's Chris Del Bosco finished eighth.

Fiva extended his lead in skicross World Cup to 574 points, 140 points better than second-placed teammate Armin Niederer, with two events left.

Anna Woerner of Germany won the women's race. Marielle Thompson of Whistler, B.C., finished fifth after her ski popped off in the semifinals, while Georgia Simmerling of West Vancouver, B.C., was seventh.

World champion Fanny Smith of Switzerland didn't compete, but still leads the season standings by 34 points from Ophelie David of France.

Rate this
This article has not yet been rated.

We want you to tell us what you think of our articles. If the story moves you, compels you to act or tells you something you didn’t know, mark it high. If you thought it was well written, do the same. If it doesn’t meet your standards, mark it accordingly.

You can also register and/or login to the site and join the conversation by leaving a comment.

Rate it yourself by rolling over the stars and clicking when you reach your desired rating. We want you to tell us what you think of our articles. If the story moves you, compels you to act or tells you something you didn’t know, mark it high.

Sort by: Newest to Oldest | Oldest to Newest | Most Popular 0 Comments

You can comment on most stories on brandonsun.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

There are no comments at the moment. Be the first to post a comment below.

Post Your Comment

The Brandon Sun does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. Comments are moderated before publication. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.