Career first World Cup podium for Luca Harrington

Wānaka Freeskier Luca Harrington has claimed the first World Cup podium of his career in Switzerland, with a third-place finish at the Silvaplana FIS Freeski Slopestyle World Cup.
 
"To get my first World Cup podium means the world to me, it feels amazing," the 20-year-old says. "It has been a goal of mine since I was a little kid and it was one of my biggest goals of this season, so I am absolutely over the moon!” 
 
After numerous delays due to gusty winds on Sunday morning (CET), the decision was made to cancel the World Cup finals, meaning the results from qualification earlier in the week stood as the final results. 
 
Harrington put down an incredible second qualification run, which was the top scoring run in his heat. His run included impressive tricks on the jumps and a clean and technical rail section. Harrington laced together a double cork 1440 safety grab into a right double cork 1620 tail grab into a switch right double 1440 on the jumps, before impressing the judges with a huge switch 720 on the quarter pipe.
 
Switzerland’s very own Andri Ragettli took the win on home snow, with Lukas Muellauer of Austria completing the podium in second place.

This moment is even sweeter for Harrington due to the fact that at this very event 12 months ago he was tantalisingly close to the podium with a strong fourth place finish. 
 
"I have been waiting for my time to come and today was the right day, the right moment and I am so grateful. I am comfortable on this course and had such a great time last time so I was feeling really good coming into this competition."
 
Snow Sports NZ coach Hamish McDougall gave some insight into what it has taken to get here. 
"The amount of work can only be described as complete dedication. We’ve made lots of sacrifices to get here today and the work won’t stop. We’ll certainly celebrate this incredible result but we are more motivated than ever to keep showing up."
 
Queenstown's Ruby Star Andrews, 19, and Auckland's Ben Barclay, 22, were both set to compete in their respective finals having qualified through earlier in the week. With the cancellation, Andrews finished in fourth place in the women's competition and Barclay finished in eleventh in the men's competition. 
 
McDougall says: "I’m so proud of all three of the athletes I lead [Harrington, Andrews and Barclay] for their efforts this season and I am especially proud of how persistent Luca was in getting to the podium today."
 
This marks the end of the FIS Freeski World Cup circuit for the 2024 season. The athletes now look forward to getting some quality spring training under their skis over the next couple of months.
 

 

Fourth place finish for Queenstown’s Tiarn Collins at Snowboard Slopestyle World Cup

Queenstown's Tiarn Collins, 24, finished just off the podium in fourth place at the Silvaplana Snowboard Slopestyle World Cup on Saturday.
 
Collins laced together an absolute heater of a first run, landing every trick cleanly. His run included a backside 1620 melon grab on the second jump into a frontside 1440 stale fish grab on the third jump. To round out his run he stomped a huge cab cork 720 on the quarter pipe and finished off with a cab 270 on, 450 out of the final rail.

 

After the first run, Collins was sitting in podium position and was looking to step up the difficulty for his second run. Unfortunately, he took a heavy crash on the third jump, meaning he had a nervous wait to see if his first run score would hold up against the remaining 13 riders yet to drop to see him finish on the podium. 
 
With just two riders left to go, Valentino Guseli of Australia put down an impressive run that pushed Collins out of podium position into fourth place. Liam Brearley of Canada took the win, with Taiga Hasegawa of Japan in second place. Guseli rounded out the podium in third place. 
 
18-year-old Kiwi snowboarder Dane Menzies competed alongside Collins in the slopestyle finals, marking his career first world cup finals. Menzies had qualified through to the heavy finals in the top spot, a remarkable achievement. Unfortunately he was unable to land a clean run today and had to settle for a fifteenth place finish. 
 
The competition marks the end of the 2024 FIS Snowboard Slopestyle World Cup circuit.

 

Adam Hall finishes Para Alpine World Cup season with a fifth place in Italy, fourth overall
 

Wānaka's Adam Hall finished in fifth place at the men’s standing FIS Para Alpine Slalom World Cup finals held in Italy over the weekend.
 
"I am really happy to have been able to pick up some consistency and keep that going through the 2nd half of my competition season, and finish fourth in the Slalom World Cup standings for 2024," he says.
 
Hall put down two solid runs through the technical course, showing his talent and experience. The spring temperatures resulted in challenging snow conditions and ruts in the course, with almost half of the athletes unable to complete their first run. 
 
It was a tightly fought race, with second and seventh position separated by less than two seconds. Arthur Bauchet of France took the win, rounding out an impressive season. Robin Cuche of Switzerland finished in second place with Christophe Gloetzner of Germany rounding out the podium in third.

 

 
Snow Sports NZ head Para Alpine coach Daniel Bogue says: "It was great skiing from Adam today, especially his second run. The condition were really tough and it was good to see that what we have been working on is coming through, even in the tougher conditions. That second run, he really laid it down, a good, flawless run from Adam."
 
Hall has had a consistent season, with five top five finishes at World Cup Slalom races, including a podium secured in Japan earlier in the season. 
 
"A big shout must go to my amazing family, friends, supporters and of course my team around me in my environment, including the incredible Snow Sports NZ and High Performance Sport NZ cohort who have helped keep me in tip top shape as I finish my 20th season on the World Cup circuit,” he says.
 
Hall will finish up his Northern Hemisphere season with a two week training block, with his eyes firmly set on the Milano Cortina Paralympic Winter Games that are just two years away.
 

 
 
Third place finish for Finn Bilous at final stop of the 2024 Freeride World Tour

Wānaka's Finn Bilous, 24, finished in third place at the final stop of the 2024 Freeride World Tour, held on the formidable Bec des Rosses in Verbier over the weekend. 
 
Bilous put down an incredible run, including a gnarly 360 over the Hollywood cliff and a huge cross-court 360 on the super exposed face, impressing the judges and delighting the huge crowd gathered at the bottom.
 
When asked about throwing the 360 off the Hollywood cliff, Bilous says: "We came here last year, looked at this face for a whole week and never got to ski it, so it has been percolating away in the back of my brain.

"Conditions lined up this year and I had to do it. I am glad it worked out, it was pretty scary with the flat light in there and punchy snow but I am stoked with how it turned out."
 

The men’s categories dropped in from the very top of the Bec des Rosses for the first time since 2018, providing some of the most technical and exposed terrain in any freeride competition on the planet. 
 
The conditions on the face over the last five years have been challenging, rendering the top of the mountain unsafe for freeride competition so lower start positions have been used instead. On Saturday the snow and weather conditions aligned, making for an incredible display of riding from all the athletes.
 
"The Bec des Rosses is scary, straight up. I had the opportunity to ski it a few years ago but skied it four or five times slower than I did just then. I am really glad to be at the bottom and to see the whole field get down safe and sound is a big win today!"
 
Bilous was joined on the podium by Marcus Goguen of Canada, who took the win and Germany’s Max Hitzig who finished in second place. 
 
Fellow Kiwi and winner of last week’s Freeride World Tour stop in Fieberbrunn Ben Richards (Wānaka, 24) finished in fifth place with a trademark high speed run. 
 
The competition was the final event of the 2024 Freeride World Tour the overall champions were crowned with Hitzig taking the title in the Men’s Ski category.  Richards finished in third overall, with Bilous just behind him in fourth.