Australian snowboard star Valentino Guseli has marked a successful return to halfpipe competition, claiming bronze at Copper Mountain in his first World Cup start since suffering a knee injury 12 months ago.
Guseli showed his intent early, finishing second in qualification heat two with a score of 77.83 to comfortably progress through to the final.
Competing in the best-of-two-run final, Guseli delivered two strong performances, opening with a 79.95 before lifting again on his second run with an 84.75. The score secured the bronze medal and the tenth World Cup podium of his career.
Both runs featured a stylish backside alley-oop 360, cab double cork 1080, frontside 1260, backside double cork 1260 and frontside 1440, with all tricks completed with grabs.
The event was won by Ryusei of Japan with a top score of 94.50, while teammate Yuto Totsuka claimed silver with 90.50.
“It’s really nice to be back up there, I definitely did what I wanted to do which was basically just put down some runs and stamp my authority back in the halfpipe,” said the 20-year-old from Dalmeny on the NSW South Coast.
“The biggest factor today was how sick I felt in the morning during training, I was happy I was able to get through that and then the main thing was just really focusing on my runs and putting them down and I was able to get that done.”
“This wasn’t the most technical run I’ve ever done, but I have a new addition to it, the backside alley-oop 360, which in my opinion is a pretty cool trick, it brings something fresh and exciting back into halfpipe.”
“It’s my first halfpipe comp of the season, I’m going to have some time to train now and put some time into getting these bigger tricks, so by the time the Olympic Games come around I’m ready to take it.”
In the women’s snowboard halfpipe event, Australians Amelie Haskell finished 19th, Emily Arthur 27th, and Misaki Vaughan 28th.
Looking ahead, 15-year-old Indra Brown will compete tomorrow in the women’s freeski halfpipe event, fresh off becoming Australia’s youngest-ever World Cup medallist last week in China.
The next snowboard halfpipe World Cup will take place in the new year in Calgary, Canada, on January 2, followed by the freeski halfpipe on January 3.
