Results: Visa Big Air qualifying concludes, finals set for Thursday

Qualifying for the Visa Big Air went down Tuesday and Wednesday at Aspen’s Buttermilk Ski Area.

Finals for all four contests of the World Cup stop will take place throughout the day on Thursday, with men’s and women’s ski finals scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., while men’s and women’s snowboard finals will begin at 1 p.m.

Spectating is free in person, and the event will be livestreamed for free by Outside TV.

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Here’s a quick rundown of who made it through to finals:

Women’s skiing

The women’s freeski qualifier on Tuesday featured 18 starters battling it out over two runs to be one of eight to advance.

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France’s Tess Ledeux — arguably the biggest name in women’s freeskiing at the moment who isn’t Eileen Gu (She remains sidelined following a crash at X Games) — took the top spot, with scores of 95.25 and 93.

Canada’s Megan Oldham made Ledeux work for it with runs of 93.75 and 92 to qualify in second, and Italy’s Flora Tabanelli was third with 91.

Utah’s Rell Harwood led the Americans, qualifying fourth with 89.75. Killington’s Ella Andrews was the only other U.S. skier to advance, qualifying seventh with 84.50.

Also making finals were Switzerland’s Anouk Andraska (fifth, 87.75), Finland’s Anni Karava (sixth, 86.75), and Germany’s Muriel Mohr (eighth, 81.75).

Men’s skiing

The men’s freeski qualifier on Tuesday featured two heats and more than 50 athletes. The top five skiers per heat advanced to finals. Each athlete received three runs, and scores were a combination of the top two.

In Heat 1, American Mac Forehand continued his recent run of success, qualifying first with scores of 84.50 and 92 (176.50 total). He narrowly edged Canada’s Noah Porter MacLennan (second, 175.25) and Norway’s Birk Ruud (third, 174.50). Also qualifying were France’s Timothe Sivignon (172) and Switzerland’s Andri Ragettli (169.25).

In Heat 2, New Zealand’s Luca Harrington led the way with 184.50. He had the best single trick in qualifying, scoring 94.75 on his first run. Canada’s Dylan Deschamps was second (180.25) and Austria’s Matej Svancer was third (178.25). Konnor Ralph (fourth, 175) will join Forehand as the two Americans in finals. Austria’s Julius Forer was fifth (165) and the last to qualify.

Women’s snowboarding

In women’s snowboard qualifying on Wednesday, 24 starters vied for eight finals spots over two runs. The Japanese ruled the day, with Mari Fukada qualifying first (93.75) and Momo Suzuki in second (87.75). Kokomo Murase (fifth, 84) and Miyabi Onitsuka (seventh, 76) will give Japan half of the finals field.

Austria’s Hanna Karrer was third (85.50) and New Zealand superstar Zoi Sadowski-Synnott was fourth (84.75). The final two spots went to Americans in California’s Hahna Norman (sixth, 79.25) and Colorado’s Lily Dhawornvej (eighth, 72.25).

Veteran Canadian rider Laurie Blouin was the first on the outside, finishing ninth with 68. Great Britain’s Mia Brookes, one of the rising stars in the sport, was a late scratch and did not start.

Men’s snowboarding

Qualifying for men’s snowboarding on Wednesday again featured more than 50 athletes over two heats, with the top five per heat moving onto finals. Scores were best two of three runs.

In Heat 1, Japan’s Taiga Hasegawa, a rising big air star, was first with 175. In second was Colorado’s own Chris Corning, who once trained in Aspen, behind his 171.50.

Japan’s Kira Kimura (169.25), Norway’s Oyvind Kirkhus (168.50), and Canada’s Liam Brearley (168.25) also made the qualifying cut.

China’s Yiming Su (sixth, 168) and Norway’s Mons Roisland (seventh, 166.25) were the first two on the outside. Numerous other Americans came up short, including Judd Henkes, Fynn Bullock-Womble, and Dusty Henricksen.

In Heat 2, Canada’s Eli Bouchard took top honors with 180.50, best among either heat. Vail’s Oliver Martin was second (172.25); Japan’s Yuto Miyamura was third (169.75); Silverthorne’s Red Gerard was fourth (166.75); and Canadian legend Mark McMorris was fifth (164.75).

acolbert@aspentimes.com