On the final weekend of World Cup competition before the athletes selected for PyeongChang are announced, it was the non-Olympic discipline of Telemark which produced Britain’s top result.
Jasmin Taylor has been knocking on the door of World Cup glory since earning her first podium in 2013, and it finally opened for her on Saturday in the USA.
Meanwhile, Dave Ryding produced the fastest second run at Kitzbühel to earn his fourth top 10 result of the 2017/18 season.
British skiers and snowboarders selected for Team GB will be announced on Thursday 25 January.
FIS Telemark World Cup, Suicide Six Ski Resort USA – Saturday 20 to Monday 22 January
Jasmin Taylor became the first British Telemark skier to claim a Telemark World Cup victory after winning the sprint on Saturday at Suicide Six Ski Resort in the United States.
Taylor already had four podium finishes from five races this year, but this time she took the elusive step to the top of the dais, defeating Johanna Holzman (GER) by 1.6 seconds with Argeline tan Bouquet (FRA) in third.
On Sunday, Taylor was beaten in the semi-finals of the parallel sprint but went on to win the race for third to take her tally to 14 World Cup podiums. She has more chances to add to her total with another sprint race today, followed by three more World Cup events at Sugarbush Resort later this week.
Taylor claimed her first World Cup podium in December 2013 at Hintertux, Austria, but had to wait more than four years for her first victory. She is now just one of 12 British skiers or snowboarders to have won a World Cup event (post-war).
In the men’s events, Louis Hatchwell finished 18th in the sprint but failed to qualify for the quarter-finals of the parallel sprint.
FIS Alpine World Cup, Kitzbühel AUT – Sunday 21 January
Delancey British Alpine skier Dave Ryding scored his fourth top 10 of the season after producing one of the most eye-catching performances of the day at Kitzbühel.
Returning to the scene of his historic podium in 2017, Ryding could only manage 25th in the first run to sit almost three seconds off the lead.
With nothing to lose, Ryding tore down the famed Hahnenkamm in what proved to be the fastest second run of the competition, launching himself into equal ninth overall.
Competing at just his fourth World Cup, 21-year-old Laurie Taylor was just 1.15 seconds off qualifying for the second run.
The next World Cup slalom event takes place tomorrow night at Schladming where Ryding finished in 2017.
FIS Snowboard World Cup, Laax SUI – Wednesday 17 to Saturday 20 January
FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup, Mammoth Mountain USA – Wednesday 17 to Sunday 21 January
Six British snowboarders were left watching the weather last week after their slopestyle World Cup in Laax was repeatedly postponed before finally being cancelled. It was to be their final competition before the Olympic Games.
Extreme conditions also caused problems for organisers at Mammoth Mountain, however the ski slopestyle World Cup qualifying was finally held on Saturday following its postponement on Friday. Tyler Harding was seventh in his heat and missed a spot in the final, finishing 30th overall.
Earlier in the week ski halfpipe qualifying was held; Rowan Cheshire was the best-placed British skier in the ladies’ competition (11th) while Murray Buchan led the men (15th).
** Later this week, skiers Izzy Atkin and James Woods will be competing at the X-Games in Aspen. Atkin made her X-Games debut last year while Woods is a seasoned campaigner. This will be Woods’ sixth straight year competing at the X-Games in Aspen, with his best results coming last year when he won the Big Air, and in 2013 when he finished third in slopestyle.
FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cups
Aerials – Lake Placid USA – Friday 19 & Saturday 20 January
Ski Cross – Nakiska CAN – Friday 19 & Saturday 20 January
Moguls – Tremblant CAN – Saturday 20 January
In addition to ski halfpipe and slopestyle, three more freestyle skiing World Cups were held across North America over the weekend.
In Lake Placid, Lloyd Wallace competed in a pair of Aerials World Cups on Friday and Saturday. On Friday he scored over 90pts on the way to 25th, then in Saturday’s event Wallace improved to 20th, his second-best result of the season.
Qualifying for the Ski Cross World Cup took place in Nakiska, Canada on Friday, however no British skiers were able to qualify for the final. Ollie Davies was two seconds away from the top 32 in the men’s event while Emma Peters was 29th in the ladies’ event, missing out on the top 16. Liz Stevenson has joined the team in Canada for a pair of Nor-Am Cup races over the coming days.
Also in Canada, the British Moguls Team were in action at Tremblant. Max Willis scored the best result, and while he finished 44th overall, he was less than five points away from the 16-man final. Thomas Gerken Schofield was 56th while in the ladies’ competition, sister Makayla was 38th.
