Freestyle: Bilodeau and Uemura take moguls wins in Voss

Mogul skiers Canadian Alexandre Bilodeau and Japanese Aiko Uemura grabbed World Cup victories today in Voss, Norway. Bilodeau leads the World Cup rankings with four wins on the season, while Uemura stands in third with two wins.

On the men’s side, it was Finland’s Taipo Luusua taking the second-place honors while American Michael Morse stepped up to his first career World Cup podium in third. He was happy to brake his trend of finishing the last four World Cups in seventh place.

“It feels great, it feels really good. The year has been pretty good so far, I’ve been pretty close. It finally happened today,” Morse said. ” I stuck to my original plan, I finally had the speed I was looking for. I just tried to go for it.”

“He’s been picking it up every week, pushing the speed and it’s been a long time coming. I’m really happy for him,” said U.S. moguls head coach Scott Rawles.

Teammates Sho Kashima (14th), Patrick Deenan (17th) and David Babic (20th) also claimed top-20 World Cup points.

The women’s event saw the Czech Republic’s Nikola Sudova take the sliver and Japan’s Miki Ito the bronze. The top American was World Cup leader Hannah Kearney in sixth. It was only the second time Kearney missed a World Cup podium all season, though she retains her lead in the overall standings. Canadian heavy hitter Jennifer Heil also missed the podium in fifth, she holds the second place spot in the standings.

“She’s trying to increase her degree of difficulty in her runs. Last week she got the grab, but this week she didn’t. She was going for the win, though,” Rawles said.

The moguls skiers will be back at it tomorrow with a dual moguls competition in Voss then head home for a much needed rest prior to the World Championships in Japan starting March 1.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
2009 FREESTYLE FIS WORLD CUP
Voss, Norway – Feb. 20, 2009
Moguls

Men
1. Alexandre Bilodeau, Canada, 26.63
2. Taipo Luusua, Finland, 25.99
3. Michael Morse, Duxbury, MA, 25.86
4. Guilbaut Colas, France , 25.53
5. Jesper Bjoernlund, Sweden, 25.37
–
14. Sho Kashima, South Lake Tahoe, CA, 24.05
17. Patrick Deenan, Cle Elum, WA, 23.84
20. David Babic, Washington, VT, 23.30
–
DNS: Jeremy Bloom

Women
1. Aiko Uemura, Japan, 27.12
2. Nikola Sudova, Czech Republic, 25.37
3. Miki Ito, Japan, 24.78
4. Ekaterina Stolyarova, Russia, 24.36    
5. Jennifer Heil, Canada, 24.31 
–
6. Hannah Kearney, Norwich, VT, 24.18
7. Shelly Robertson, Reno, NV, 24.17
10. Shannon Bahrke, Tahoe City, CA, 22.61
14. Eliza Outrim, Steamboat Springs, CO, 23.43
17. Emiko Torito, Denver, 22.69
21. Michelle Roark, Denver, CO, 21.55

For complete results click here.

Mogul skiers Canadian Alexandre Bilodeau and Japanese Aiko Uemura grabbed World Cup victories today in Voss, Norway. Bilodeau leads the World Cup rankings with four wins on the season, while Uemura stands in third with two wins.

On the men’s side, it was Finland’s Taipo Luusua taking the second-place honors while American Michael Morse stepped up to his first career World Cup podium in third. He was happy to brake his trend of finishing the last four World Cups in seventh place.

“It feels great, it feels really good. The year has been pretty good so far, I’ve been pretty close. It finally happened today,” Morse said. ” I stuck to my original plan, I finally had the speed I was looking for. I just tried to go for it.”

“He’s been picking it up every week, pushing the speed and it’s been a long time coming. I’m really happy for him,” said U.S. moguls head coach Scott Rawles.

Teammates Sho Kashima (14th), Patrick Deenan (17th) and David Babic (20th) also claimed top-20 World Cup points.

The women’s event saw the Czech Republic’s Nikola Sudova take the sliver and Japan’s Miki Ito the bronze. The top American was World Cup leader Hannah Kearney in sixth. It was only the second time Kearney missed a World Cup podium all season, though she retains her lead in the overall standings. Canadian heavy hitter Jennifer Heil also missed the podium in fifth, she holds the second place spot in the standings.

“She’s trying to increase her degree of difficulty in her runs. Last week she got the grab, but this week she didn’t. She was going for the win, though,” Rawles said.

The moguls skiers will be back at it tomorrow with a dual moguls competition in Voss then head home for a much needed rest prior to the World Championships in Japan starting March 1.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
2009 FREESTYLE FIS WORLD CUP
Voss, Norway – Feb. 20, 2009
Moguls

Men
1. Alexandre Bilodeau, Canada, 26.63
2. Taipo Luusua, Finland, 25.99
3. Michael Morse, Duxbury, MA, 25.86
4. Guilbaut Colas, France , 25.53
5. Jesper Bjoernlund, Sweden, 25.37
–
14. Sho Kashima, South Lake Tahoe, CA, 24.05
17. Patrick Deenan, Cle Elum, WA, 23.84
20. David Babic, Washington, VT, 23.30
–
DNS: Jeremy Bloom

Women
1. Aiko Uemura, Japan, 27.12
2. Nikola Sudova, Czech Republic, 25.37
3. Miki Ito, Japan, 24.78
4. Ekaterina Stolyarova, Russia, 24.36    
5. Jennifer Heil, Canada, 24.31 
–
6. Hannah Kearney, Norwich, VT, 24.18
7. Shelly Robertson, Reno, NV, 24.17
10. Shannon Bahrke, Tahoe City, CA, 22.61
14. Eliza Outrim, Steamboat Springs, CO, 23.43
17. Emiko Torito, Denver, 22.69
21. Michelle Roark, Denver, CO, 21.55

For complete results click here.