The final event of the Aspen Park and Pipe World Cup have been completed, with Aussie skiers and snowboarders competing in the big air discipline.
 
17-year-old NSWIS skier Daisy Thomas was the best placed in 11th, just missing out on the eight-woman final after scoring 79.95 on her left double cork 1080 in the first run, falling just short of advancing by just 1.8 points..
 
In snowboard big air, Paige Jones, Ally Hickman and Jesse Parkinson all finished in the top-30, Jones 21st and Hickman 22nd in the women’s event and Parkinson placed 29th in the men’s.
 
Next weekend in Calgary, Canada, World Cup events will take place in halfpipe and slopestyle, where Olympic medallist Tess Coady is expected to return to competition for the first time this season after recovering from injury.

Daisy Thomas flying high in Aspen
© Chris Hocking

Two-time Olympic medallist and seven-time X-Games champion Scotty James has placed fifth in the World Cup event in Aspen, USA, as competitors found the flat light challenging in the halfpipe.
 
Competing in the Aspen halfpipe where the VIS snowboarder claimed a record fourth straight X-Games gold the week before, James delivered an impressive performance dominating heat number two by achieving the highest score among all competitors with an outstanding 92 points.
 
In the best of three run final, James came close to putting down a medal winning performance in his second and third runs, but a few small mistakes resulted in an 85.75 in run two and 85 in run three, giving him a final ranking of fifth.
 
Japan swept the first four positions in the men’s event, with Ruka Hirano first on 93.25, Ayumu Hirano second 89.50, Ryusei Yamada third 88.25 and Yuto Totsuka fourth 87.5.

After four World Cup events, James is ranked fourth on 275 points, trailing Japanese riders Ayumu Hirano on 290, Ruka Hirano 285, and Totsuka 280.
 
In the women’s event Amelie Haskell was 13th, Misaki Vaughan 26th and two-time Olympic champion Chloe Kim of the USA took the win.
 
Freeski & Snowboard Slopestyle
 
Australia’s best performed in the slopestyle was NSWIS freeskier Daisy Thomas who finished in 16th place and in the snowboard slopestyle Paige Jones was 25th, Allie Hickman 28th and Jesse Parkinson 32nd.  
 
World Cup big air events will take place in Aspen this week, freeski qualifying on February 4, snowboard on February 5 and the final for both disciplines on February 6.

The second straight big air event of the year has taken place in Austria, with skiers and snowboarders this time competing at Kreischberg, the Aussie highlight was teenage freeskier Daisy Thomas recording her best result of the season with an eight place finals finish.
 
Thomas placed fifth in qualifying to advance to her second career World Cup final. In the final, Thomas had a great first jump, with her left spinning double 1080 with grab scoring 82.75 points from the judges. Unfortunately the NSWIS skier wasn’t able to put down her second and third jumps, ending with a final two-jump score of 101.25.
 
It feels great to make finals” said the 17-year-old Youth Olympic big air silver medallist from Sydney.
 
“I’m just trying to be patient, gain some more competition experience and then let some results come in time.
 
“It was amazing, great crowd under the lights and everyone was happy and excited for each other.
 
“I was really happy with my skiing in qualifications and my first run in finals. Bit frustrated about the right double 1080, but after some more reps and practice I should be sweet.
 
“Next up is the Laax Open which I am super stoked for! It’s my first one and the course looks amazing.”
 
Also in action for Australia in the freeski event was Olympian Abi Harrigan in 19th and Joey Ellis in 28th.

Snowboard Big Air – PBs for Robertson-Hahn and Parkinson
 
In the snowboard big air, Joshua Robertson-Hahn and Jesse Parkinson both had personal best big air World Cup results, finishing in 15th and 20th places respectively.
 
Paige Jones made her World Cup debut in the women’s event, finishing in 21st place, and Meila Stalker was 27th.
 
Next weekend the prestigious Laax Open takes place in Switzerland, skiers and snowboarders are scheduled to compete in slopestyle and halfpipe from January 14-18.