Freestyle Canada – Ruka, December 7, 2016 – Freestyle Canada’s national moguls team will begin its 2016-2017 season on December 10, 2016, with the single moguls event at the FIS World Cup held in Ruka, Finland. Athletes have been training in Finland for two weeks now, and are ready to start the season off on the right foot.
 
The team fared well in Ruka last year as six athletes had made it in the top 10 at the first World Cup of the season. Mikaël Kingsbury had won the event and consequently, became the most successful moguls skier in history with 29 World Cup wins. Chloé Dufour-Lapointe had also performed well, finishing 3rd.
 
Only a few days away from the first World Cup of the season, Mikaël Kingsbury seems to be in complete control of his skills: “I worked on a few things this summer. If I do the runs I am capable of doing, and if I am at my best, I will put myself in a good position to win every day,” explains Mikaël who finished the 2015-2016 season at the top of the FIS standings for the fifth time in his career.
 
After a 2015-2016 season that was abruptly shortened due to a herniated disc, Simon Pouliot-Cavanagh is back on the slopes and says he’s in great shape: “I am extremely happy to have taken the last season off, and waited to recover 100 %. I gave my body the time it needed to heal, and have returned even stronger. I am ready for this season which is highly important to us,” asserts Simon, referring to the impending onset of the qualification process for the next Olympic Games.
 
The defending women’s champion of the FIS World Cup moguls circuit, Chloé Dufour-Lapointe, aims for consistency in order to repeat last year’s results: “I’m going to focus on the details I worked on at each training camp, and I will continue to perfect my jumps throughout the winter”, explains the skier, who celebrated her 25th birthday in Ruka.  
 
The Ruka World Cup will begin with the qualifications at 2 p.m. local time or 7 a.m. ET/4 a.m. PT. The finals are scheduled at 7:40 p.m. local time or 12:40 p.m. ET/8:40 a.m. PT. The complete schedule is available here.
 

Requests involving the athletes before the event must be made to Dominique Ladouceur at dominique@freestylecanada.ski. The athletes will also be available after the competition.   NOTE ON STREAMING: The event will be streamed in real time at cbcsports.ca starting from 12:40 p.m. to 2:10 p.m. ET/9:40 a.m. to 11:10 a.m. PT, on Saturday, December 10, and will be broadcast on CBC Sports television starting at 5 p.m.   The following Canadian athletes will participate in the Ruka competition in Finland.   Men: Mikaël Kingsbury (Deux-Montagnes, QC), Philippe Marquis (Quebec City, QC), Marc-Antoine Gagnon (Terrebonne, QC), Simon Pouliot-Cavanagh (Quebec City, QC), Laurent Dumais (Quebec City, QC), Simon Lemieux (Repentigny, QC), Gabriel Dufresne (Repentigny, QC), Luke Ulsifer (Calgary, AB)   Women: Chloé Dufour-Lapointe (Montreal, QC), Justine Dufour-Lapointe (Montreal, QC), Maxime Dufour-Lapointe (Montreal, QC), Audrey Robichaud (Quebec City, QC), Andi Naude (Penticton, B.C.), Alex-Anne Gagnon (Terrebonne, QC)

Upcoming Events (December) Dew Tour – December 8 to 11 – Breckenridge – Slopestyle  FIS World Cup – December 10 – Ruka – Single Moguls FIS World Cup – December 15 to 17 – Copper Mountain – Halfpipe FIS World Cup – December 17 to 18 – Beida Lake – Aerials

For more information and media inquiries please contact:  Jenn Johnson, Director, Communications & Partnership Cell: 403.797.3248 Email: jenn@freestylecanada.ski Dominique Ladouceur, Manager, Athlete Relations Cell: 514.576.2379 Email: dominique@freestylecanada.ski