Russ Henshaw has claimed the third World Cup medal of his career, delivering bronze at the World Cup slopestyle ski event in Seiser Alm, Italy.
 
The podium finish marks his return to better form, having recovered from four years of continuing injury. Understandably Henshaw is “stoked” to be back on the podium.
 
“I feel like I’m back to myself. This medal is a hurdle - having spent time in rehab and training”
 
“To get back on the podium is a dream. I’m stoked. The hard work was worthwhile. I did a lot of road biking which gave me time to think,” Henshaw said.  
 
Following his bronze medal run, the NSWIS skier high-tailed it to Munich to make it onto an early morning flight for the next World Cup in Mammoth, USA, but took the time to share a ‘rail by rail’ account of his event.
 
Slopestyle Skiing is a sport where rails really aren’t rails as the casual observer might know them and every World Cup course has different set features for the skier to navigate.
 
The Seiser Alm course in Italy course was set with six features. The skiers have two runs in World Cup events with the best score of the two counted. Russ’s medal came off his first run, which scored  83.40.
 
“In the first feature, the stair set had three rails. I hit the middle down rail with an ‘unnatural lip slide 270’,” Russ said. “That was my only bobble in the whole run – the rest of the run was smooth.”
 
For the uninitiated, the remaining five features went thus;
 
“The second was a ‘backside 450 off the pole jam’ which worked out fine, then another down rail I hit with a switch tails 270.”
 
“For the fourth, I did a ‘left double cork 1260 with a tail grab’ – and it was a leading tail grab.”
 
“The last two features were a ‘switch double cork 900 (with a double Japan grab) and finally a ‘right side double cork 1260 with a mute grab’.”
 
Interestingly, after a few viewings of these lengthily-named manoeuvers, a casual observer is able to see the difference.
 
“Some moves I don’t understand myself,” Russ admitted. “The sport is advancing terribly fast and there is so much that hasn’t, as yet, been done.”
 
“It’s a sport that has no boundaries, is very free and liberating.”
 
“For this World Cup, I’d say that my run was complex from top to bottom, rather than one stand-out feature, and that delivered a bronze.”     
 
“In Slopestyle there are no rules about what you can or cannot do. There are tricks I’m thinking about and want time to train for but I don’t want to risk chucking myself at one trick.”
 
“Then there’s Korea to think about,” Henshaw said about the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games.

Current World Champion and PyeongChang 2018 contender Scotty James has won SuperPipe gold at the first X Games event of the season in Aspen.
 
James threw down a spectacular 90-point effort on the first of two runs in the final to beat a star studded-field that included the calibre of halfpipe legend Shaun White and Sochi 2014 Olympic gold medallist Iouri Podladtchikov.
 
“It’s Australia day back home today and I have my boxing kangaroo gloves on,” said James.
 
“I just came out wanting to have the best time and have lots of fun and let the rest do the talking, and it’s absolutely a dream come true to come away with the gold.”
 
James competed at his first Olympic Games at Vancouver in 2010 as a 15-year-old and four years later became a dual Olympian at Sochi.
 
He became World Champion in 2015 and has now added another massive victory to his already impressive resume
“It’s really surreal I don’t have words for it right now. I am just over the moon, it was such an awesome event and there were some really tough riders.
 
“I didn’t get too comfortable, especially with competitors like that in the field, but we did it, we got it in the end, so I am stoked.”
 
James led from start to finish hitting a massive method air to kick off his gold medal winning run before landing a double cork frontside 1080 and a cab double cork 1080.
 
He finished it off with a frontside 900 and a backside 1260 double cork to ensure he would take top step on the podium ahead of defeat the USA’s Matt Ladley and Taylor Gold.
 
Following on from his World Cup silver last weekend, the result highlights his credentials as a strong medal contender for the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games, which are just over a year away.
 
James finished 21st in the halfpipe event at both the Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014 Winter Games while also claiming 16th in slopestyle in Russia.
 
The gold in Aspen came in James’ sixth X Games appearance with his previous best result being bronze in last year’s event. James is the first Australian male rider to win the X Games Superpipe event.

OWIA/NSWIS slopestyle skier Russ Henshaw has made an impressive start to the World Cup event in Seiser Alm, Italy, qualifying through to the final in second place overnight.
 
Competing in heat number two, Henshaw produced two well executed, consistent runs, with his first scoring 88.66 points and then improved in the second run with a score of 90.
 
The format for the event saw the top four ranked athletes from three heats progress straight through to the final, with scores from the best of two runs counting. Henshaw’s highest scoring second run (90 points), saw him advance with the second best score in his heat.
 
After qualifying, Henshaw was pleased with his performance.
 
“Pretty stoked on my skiing, glad I scored so high with my safety run.”
 
“I am looking forward to finals on Saturday.”
 
Also in action for Australia was NSWIS athlete Ryley Lucas in 51st place.
 
The final is scheduled to take place Saturday night at 9:43pm AEST.

IMAGE: Russ Henshaw giving us a unique point of view flying high above Seiser Alm © Russ Henshaw Instagram

It’s been a gradual improvement, but improvement nonetheless for Jessica Rich this season.

Her 21st place in the opening Austrian WC was followed up in Laax, Switzerland last week with a performance that garnered 20th spot and valuable Olympic qualification points.

But as the road to PyeongChang nears, the OWIA/NSWIS athlete will be keen to ensure that improvement is consistent, continuing with the tour’s third event in Sieser Alm, Italy starting tonight (AEDT).

It’s been a great start to Rich’s first European tour, just a year after securing her professional contract and a place in the OWIA program.

Now with the focus on putting down complete runs to try and break into that first final, Rich has a clear understanding on what she needs to make that cut.

"I think the most important thing when competing is mental clarity," Rich said.

"This has always been an area I needed work on, and over the past year I have really tried to put in the time for mental training as well as physical training and I think it is paying off."

"There were a few undesirable things that happened in Laax but I was really happy with how I was able to process them and move on without letting them affect me."

Rich knows she has the skills and tricks to match it at the level, but now the 26-year-old must also deal with the pressure and expectations that come at the World Cup level.

"I feel I am a technically strong snowboarder but trying to execute everything well when you are in a high pressure situation with many changing variables, that is the next big challenge for me.
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Qualification starts at 6:45pm tonight (AEDT) and all eyes will be on Jess to see how big and exciting her next step will be.

Nail-biting is the best description for the Laax Open World Cup in Switzerland this weekend when two-time Olympian and current World Champion Scotty James laid down the top score going into the third and final Snowboard Half Pipe run.

Going into the final as fourth-best qualifier, James nailed his first run with a backside double cork 1260 as the ‘last hit’, scoring 93.25 and leaving him at the top of a high calibre twelve-man final.  

In front of an amped up full house in perfect blue-sky conditions the standard in the second run climbed as riders brought bigger tricks onto an immaculate-looking pipe.

James delivered an even better rendition of his first run, elevating the score to 96.50 with American Chase Josey showing what he is capable of by scoring 90.25, having recovered from a botched first run.  

The World Cup winner would boil down to the third and final run for the ‘best of three’ and all eyes were on Scotty James’ 96.50 top score, as Josey produced a remarkable ride, which included three back side hits in a row that drew a new leader score of 97.75 with James still to go.  

The gold slipped from the Australian’s grasp early in the final run when he dropped the backside 1260 and he had to settle for silver in an event that was crammed with top riders, including Olympic Champion Iouri Poladtchikov, who placed third and FIS rankings leader Patrick Burgener (8th).

Competing in the second World Cup of the Olympic qualification period, OWIA/NSWIS Snowboard Slopestyle athlete Jessica Rich has recorded an improved 20th place finishing in Laax, Switzerland.
 
Rich again gained valuable Olympic Quota Allocation List points for the second week in a row, following her 21st place performance last week in Kreischberg, Austria.
 
Two heats with 25 athletes in each group competed with the aim of placing in the top six to advance to the 12 woman final. Riders had two runs, with the highest scoring counting towards their final ranking.
 
Rich narrowly missed out on the top six, finishing in tenth place, with her highest score coming in her first run, where the judges awarded her a total score of 52.50 points.
 
After combining the places of both heats, Rich had a final overall placing of 20th.
 
The event was won by Enni Rukajarvi of Finland, with Anna Gasser of Austria in second and American Jamie Anderson third

NSWIS rider Matthew Cox also competed in Laax, finishing in 58th place.

A semi-final masterclass by Scotty James in the Halfpipe World Cup Semi-Final in Laax has secured the Australian a spot in Saturday night's final. 

Unfazed by some strong competition, James put together two cracking runs to finish in 4th place overall as he keeps up the pressure on the leaders in the world standings.

After a tidy score of 78.75 in his first run, the Victorian Institute of Sport athlete ramped it up in his 2nd run with a score of 86.00 points, even though he was already confirmed of a finals spot.

He'll have to overcome first placed qualifier and Sochi gold medallist Iouri Podladtchikov to top the podium, but it's repeat efforts like tonight's that rubber stamp the credentials surrounding 22 year-old James.

The other Aussie in the semi-final, Nate Johnstone, was unlucky to just miss out on the Top 12.

His 65.00 point run in the 2nd attempt was a massive improvement on his opening 20.50 run, but just found him outside the finals spots.

You can watch the final live on Saturday night at the official website livestream below.

http://www.open.laax.com/en/welcome/  

Where there's a halfpipe World Cup anywhere in the world, you can bet there's a few Aussies looking to tear it up.

And that's just what happened last night in qualification for the Halfpipe World Cup in Laax, Switzerland, as Scotty James and Nate Johnstone both advanced to the semi-finals on Thursday.

Some unfavourable weather conditions interrupted some training sessions to the lead up to the event, both Aussies had clean runs in the 2nd qualification heat to make the Top 12 cut.

After missing out in Copper Mountain last month, Johnstone opened the heat with a strong score of 72.25.

He was followed immediately by James who with a barnstorming run, set a great score of 87.00 points, more than any of the top scores from heat 1.

It was a competitive heat however, with American's Ben Ferguson and Gregory Bretz topping the group, as James put up a near perfect qualifying set with a score of 86.50 in his 2nd run to hold onto 3rd spot.

Johnstone took his foot off the pedal slightly in his 2nd run, only managing 38.25 points, but his opening score remained enough to see him qualify in 7th place from the heat.

Kent Callister did not compete after deciding to stay in Colorado for further training.

It's a few days wait now for the boys until the Semi-Finals on Thursday before the Finals Saturday night, which can be watched worldwide on the livestream at www.open.laax.com 

OWIA/NSWIS Slopestyle Snowboarder Jessica Rich has commenced her 2018 Olympic qualification campaign with a 21st place at the World Cup event Kreischberg, Austria.

With all World Cup slopestyle and big air events from July 1 2016 to mid January 2018 counting towards Olympic quota spots, Rich gained valuable Olympic Quota Allocation List points.

Competing in a strong field with only the top-6 women advancing to the final, Rich posted her highest scoring run in the first round with a score of 33.75, giving her a final ranking of 21st.

After the event Rich found a number of positives with her opening World Cup of the season.

“On paper it might not look like I did well in Kreischberg, but fun was had and lessons learned, so how can that be a bad result”.

Winning the event was Anna Gasser of Austria with a score of 81.25, with Swiss rider Sina Candrian in second with 69.95 and Silje Norendal of Norway in third with 62.90 points.

The next stop of the Slopestyle World Cup tour is in Laax, Switzerland, with qualification taking place January 17 and finals on January 20.

IMAGE: Jess Rich sending it huge off a jump in Kreichberg Credit - Jess Rich Instagram

He may have missed qualifying for the final, but tonight's opening World Cup of the Slopestyle Skiing season was about far much more than that for Russ Henshaw. 

Proud and relieved at completing his first competition in over a year, Henshaw scored 80.20 points in his second run at Font Romeu, France,  to sit in 18th spot overall out of a massive field of nearly 80 riders.

After a difficult run of injuries and rehabilitation, Renshaw was philosophical about his performance, regardless of missing a finals place by a mere two spots.
​
“I am just so stoked to be fit, healthy and back on the snow,” he said.

“Being the first event I’ve done in a year, it’s given me good momentum going into the next one and a lot of confidence on the snow which is important.”

“I was really happy with my second run and thought I was a little under rewarded but at the end of the day that’s what happens in a judged sport and I’m just wrapped with how I skied.”

It’s a brilliant return for the Russ, who will now focus on his preparation for a busy schedule with another six World Cup events before the end of March.

Skiing: It may be a dangerous sport, but nothing will stop slopestyle skier Russ Henshaw from competing at the first major event of the new year.

With the Northern Hemisphere World Cup season kicking off this weekend in Font Romeu, France, Henshaw is eager to get back into international competition. This World Cup marks the Sochi 2014 Olympian’s first competition in almost a year, after a difficult run of injuries and rehabilitation.

However, despite a less than optimal lead up to the occasion due to weather conditions at a training camp in Austria, the Sydney-born skier isn’t fazed about his returning event.

“I haven’t competed in almost a year now which has been pretty crazy and unfortunate because of the injuries that I’ve had,” Henshaw said.
“But I feel refreshed and ready to go. “It will be interesting to see how I go with the jumps in Font Romeu, but saying that I have done a few jumps here [in Austria] and it doesn’t feel like I’ve had a day off snow.

“I feel fit; I’ve been doing a lot of road biking so my legs feel really strong.”

Growing up in Jindabyne in southern New South Wales, Henshaw was raised on the ski slopes and begun competing at just six years-old. Starting out as a race skier, Henshaw then made the switch to freestyle skiing when he started “having more fun jumping off things.”

“I found myself, on the way down to the [race] course, taking all the side carts and detours for the jumps and cliffs. My mind wasn’t in racing anymore,” said the 26-year-old.

By the time Henshaw was 14, he was solely focused on slope and big air. However, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the dual World Championship medallist, who is no stranger to injury. He tore his ACL in 2011, and in order to speed up his recovery, his father donated part of his hamstring.

Less than two year later, fresh off a silver medal at the Copper Mountain World Cup, Henshaw tore the same ACL but opted for rehabilitation instead of surgery with the Olympics just 12 months away.

This gamble ultimately paid off as Henshaw made his Olympic debut at Sochi in Russia, entering the history books as Australia's sole male competitor in the debut event of Ski Slopestyle.

Despite his rocky run into the Games, Henshaw bounced back, easily qualifying for the final. Knowing he needed to pull off a triple cork to be in medal contention, Henshaw gave it everything he had but ran out of room on the landing to score 28.80, finishing eighth behind American Trio Joss Christensen (95.80), Gus Kenworthy (93.60), and Nick Goepper (92.40).

​Despite countless injuries, Henshaw has never thought twice about his sporting career choice.

“At the end of the day, what we do is a dangerous sport. “You can try and be as careful as you can and take the most precautions that you can… If you crash, sometimes you get away with it and sometimes you don’t.”

“But this is what I love doing, so I just want to keep doing it.”

The 2015 FIS World Championship silver medallist is now working towards qualifying for his second Olympic Games, he says staying relaxed and cool is the way to get there.

“I just need to keep calm and collected and not get too wound up in all the media hype. “I need to make sure I’m having fun; that’s the biggest thing. When I ride well I’m usually having a good time, so just make sure I’m having fun with it.”

Traveling through America and Europe with his fiancé Laura helps keep Henshaw’s head in the game.
​
“I am lucky enough that I have my fiancé with me and she handles all the bookings, flights, accommodation and the logistics side of things so I can just focus on skiing."

“It is hard being away from my family, but at the end of the day this is what I love doing and I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Following this weekend’s competition, Henshaw is down to compete at another six World Cup events before the end of March, before returning to Australia for a small break.

Georgia Thompson
olympics.com.au