Canada’s Kingsbury begins moguls season with World Cup gold; Robichaud silver

RUKA, Finland — Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury can seemingly put the competition behind him at will. It’s a skill that will come in handy with the 2018 Winter Olympics on the horizon.

Kingsbury began his moguls season with a World Cup gold medal on Saturday and Audrey Robichaud took silver in the women’s competition.

The 25-year-old Kingsbury, from Deux-Montagnes, Que., was trailing Kazakhstan’s Dmitriy Reikherd by two points with one run to go. But Kingsbury dug into his bag of tricks to pull out the win with 87.45 points. Reikherd (85.11) took silver and Kazakhstan’s Pavel Kolmakov (84.44) was third.

“I knew if I did the same moves (as the first run) I would probably score the same and end up not winning,” said Kingsbury. “So I did a back double from the top jump and skied more than half a second faster in the super final. I just wanted to put all the pressure on Dmitriy, who was going after me.

“I was able to put two points ahead of him, so that was awesome.”

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Already pre-nominated for the Pyeongchang Games by Freestyle Canada, Kingsbury is now officially going to the 2018 Winter Olympics in February.

“It’s important to me to arrive at the Olympics as the favourite, if it’s possible,” said Kingsbury. “Just to start the season that way I’m creating momentum and building my confidence high.

“I’m going to do everything I can to keep it with me and arrive at my best in Pyeongchang.”

Marc-Antoine Gagnon (80.45) of Terrebonne, Que., placed fifth, Quebec City’s Philippe Marquis (74.05) was 16th, Kerrian Chunland (73.45) of Ste-Foy, Que., came 20th.

Quebec City’s Laurent Dumais (73.13) was 22nd and Simon Lemieux (68.51) of Repentigny, Que., finished 30th.

On the women’s side, Robichaud, from Quebec City, finished behind Australia’s Britteny Cox (80.32) and ahead of Russia’s Marika Pertakhiya (74.59).

“It was awesome, I don’t know, I don’t think I’m realizing yet what’s going on,” said Robichaud. “I feel really good right now. I’m really stoked. I’m just really excited for the rest of the season.

Andi Naude of Penticton, B.C., finished just off the podium with 73.04 points and Montreal’s Justine Dufour-Lapointe (77.73) came seventh.

Alex-Anne Gagnon (72.74) of Terrebonne was 13th, Chloe Dufour-Lapointe (69.00) placed 18th, and Maxime Dufour-Lapointe (36.44) finished 44th.

Robichaud was pleased with her result, saying that like Kingsbury, it helps her build her confidence moving forward.

“I’ve been lacking confidence in the last few years and this has definitely given me a boost,” said Robichaud. “Of course the Olympics are in the back of my mind but I don’t try to focus on the end result. I’m just trying to trust the process, follow my plan and hopefully it all falls into place.”

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By John Chidley-Hill in Toronto

The Canadian Press