Noah Bowman and Simon d’Artois Shine in Colorado!

Freestyle Canada – Veteran Mike Riddle takes fourth place and the Canadians finish 2, 3 and 4!

Copper Mountain, USA, December 8, 2017 – The Canadian ski halfpipe athletes were back in action this week in Copper Mountain, Colorado. Today’s event comes a few months after the 2017/18 World Cup season began in Cardrona, New Zealand, where Cassie Sharpe took the honours for the ladies and Simon d’Artois placed third for the men. The outcomes were a bit different this time around, with Sharpe narrowly missing the points to qualify for the finals, but there was rejoicing nonetheless as Noah Bowman, Simon d’Artois and Mike Riddle finished second, third and fourth respectively for the Canadian men’s team.
 
The bronze medallist at the 2017 X Games and always-creative Noah Bowman gave the judges an eyeful with his three runs in the final round, but it was his score of 91.00 on his second go on the pipe that hoisted him into the lead, just edging out his teammate d’Artois.  “It’s really exciting! It was a last-minute decision to go with that run and I changed up the order of my tricks. I did the switch double twelve sixty and it worked out really well,” said Bowman, who is thrilled to be back on the podium.  “I worked really hard this summer and I am feeling strong physically and mentally. This is exactly how I wanted to kick off the season; I have my mind set on the Olympics for sure so it’s a great start.”
 
Whistler native Simon d’Artois, meanwhile, sustained the momentum he set at the start of the season by making the podium for a second time in as many competitions with a score of 89.20 for his first finals run. The one they affectionately call “Dart” for his skiing style was delighted with his performance this week in Copper Mountain. “I was really excited to put down my first run and come out strong, it’s unfortunate that I wasn’t able to put down my second and third runs like I would have hoped but I’m excited. I managed to land my new right double 108,0 which I had previously competed but hadn’t put it down,” said d’Artois.
 
The team veteran, Mike Riddle, showed no sign of slowing down. With a total of 88.20 on his last run in the finals, the silver medalist at the last FIS Freestyle World Championships in Sierra Nevada finished fourth, a single point behind teammate Simon d’Artois.
 
The season continues next week with the Dew Tour, always a hotly anticipated event for skiers of all stripes. Click here to see the list of invited athletes.
 
Canadian athletes’ results:
 
Men: Noah Bowman (2), Simon d’Artois (3), Mike Riddle (4), Brendan Mackay (11), Evan Marineau (33)
 
Ladies: Cassie Sharpe (9), Keltie Hansen (15), Rachael Karker (16), Rachael Anderson (23), Megan Warrener (31), Roz Groenewoud (DNS)
 
 
Upcoming events (December)

• FIS World Cup – December 9 – Ruka – Moguls
• Dew Tour – December 14-17 – Breckenridge – Slopestyle and Halfpipe
• FIS World Cup – December 16-17 – Beijing –Aerials
• FIS World Cup – December 21-22 – Thaiwoo – Moguls
• FIS World Cup – December 23 – Font Romeu – Slopestyle

More information:

Dominique Ladouceur
Manager, Athlete Relations
+1.514.576.2379