A World Cup gold medal already in the bag before his last run, Canadian snowboarder Darcy Sharpe soaked up the moment Sunday in Calgary.
The 27-year-old from Comox, B.C., earned his first career World Cup victory in slopestyle with a top score of 88.85 points in the second of his three runs.
B次元官网网址淩un two, huge cheers, and that was the first time in my career being able to do a victory lap, coming down, throwing my hands up and getting a huge roar back was really, really sick,B次元官网网址� Sharpe said.
The host Canadian team claimed four of six medals Sunday as SharpeB次元官网网址檚 teammate Cameron Spalding of Moonstone, Ont., took third.
Laurie Blouin of Quebec City was second in the womenB次元官网网址檚 final behind winner Julia Marino of the United States.
Jasmine Baird of Georgetown, Ont., was third.
Sharpe won a big air World Cup in Stoneham, Que., seven years ago, but slopestyle has a special place in his heart.
He was the 2020 Winter X Games winner in the discipline in Aspen, Colo.
B次元官网网址淚 won a big air in 2015 and itB次元官网网址檚 been a long time since then,B次元官网网址� Sharpe said. B次元官网网址淭o come back and win a slopestyle, the event I really care about and admire more, it feels really good to get that done.B次元官网网址�
CalgaryB次元官网网址檚 course featured three rails, two jumps and a final rail.
Sharpe messing up the first rail on his opening pass threw his whole run off. He ranked last after one round.
B次元官网网址淚 had a run planned where my rails were all pretty high level,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 only landed once in practice my rail run, which is not really that normal. Usually the rails are pretty stock and landable, but here, thereB次元官网网址檚 four rails and two jumps so I knew (rails) would weigh a lot on the results.
B次元官网网址淕oing into run two, I was a little nervous, but itB次元官网网址檚 nice having three runs so I didnB次元官网网址檛 have all the nerves on me yet. Flowed into it and did my first rail super-good.
B次元官网网址淎s these features happen, you kind of get more and more stoked. Your flow states get more and more kicked in.B次元官网网址�
Sharpe capped his winning run with a flourish B次元官网网址� a backside rodeo 720 off the last rail.
B次元官网网址淚 didnB次元官网网址檛 pick that especially because I was in Canada in Calgary, but it suits pretty well that I finished my run off with a rodeo 720,B次元官网网址� Sharpe said.
The snowboarders competed under sunny skies and temperatures above zero, but contended with a crosswind out of the west.
B次元官网网址淭his course kind of rides through the wind not bad,B次元官网网址� Sharpe said. B次元官网网址淚t definitely affects the rails a little bit, but when there is wind like this and you know the event is happening anyways, for me at least trying to be smart competitor, I just turn it off in my head.
B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e going to do it no matter what so whatB次元官网网址檚 the point of thinking about it, unless you need to think about it for the speed aspect side of things, but it was sideways across us and not affecting speed.B次元官网网址�
Sharpe is the younger brother of 2018 Olympic freestyle ski halfpipe womenB次元官网网址檚 champion Cassie Sharpe.
Dusty Henricksen of the United States was second Sunday behind Sharpe with a score of 82.66 also in the second round.
Spalding scored 77.33 for the first World Cup medal of his career.
Marino, a silver medallist in the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing, took womenB次元官网网址檚 gold with 78.36 points and tops the womenB次元官网网址檚 season overall standings.
Blouin scored 76.41 just ahead of Baird with 76.21.
Only 10 women entered the field in Calgary.
Some international boarders skipped it to prepare for the world championship Feb. 19 to March 5 in Bakuriani, Georgia.
ReginaB次元官网网址檚 Mark Morris, who won X Games gold last month in Aspen, Colo., also didnB次元官网网址檛 compete in Calgary because of a scheduling conflict with a Red Bull backcountry event.
Sharpe isnB次元官网网址檛 on CanadaB次元官网网址檚 team for the world championship because he wants instead to ride Feb. 24-26 in the Dew Tour in Copper Mountain, Colo.
B次元官网网址淕etting this win actually makes me feel so much better about that decision,B次元官网网址� Sharpe said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not traditional slopestyle happening in Colorado, but it is a fun contest with rails and itB次元官网网址檚 still going to be hard, good prize money and all that.
B次元官网网址淎ll the boxes are ticked for it being a reasonable reason to skip world championships.
B次元官网网址淭hese industry events kind of struggle and itB次元官网网址檚 the riders that help bring in the views and all that stuff. I didnB次元官网网址檛 want to let them down by not showing up and going to world champs.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e got such a good team in Canada that I trust the rest of the four or five guys that are going to have a spot there to go do what theyB次元官网网址檝e got to do to get us some results.B次元官网网址�
Calgary hosted the fourth of five snowboard World Cups in Canada this season.
EdmontonB次元官网网址檚 big air and para snowboard in Kelowna, B.C., in December, JanuaryB次元官网网址檚 alpine parallel giant slalom in Collingwood, Ont., and a snowboard cross in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Que., in March are the others.
Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press
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