After the historic best German result in more than 10 years in China in the Freeski Men's Halfpipe World Cup, the World Cup circus moved on to Mammoth Mountain in California on the 30th of January 2024.
Moritz landed in Los Angeles on 28th of January to meet up with his team, who has already been in the USA for the legendary X-Games.
With the unstable weather situation in Mammoth, the second training on the 30th of January got canceled and replaced by the qualification, to avoid an incoming storm. Therefore, the riders were left with only one instead of 2 trainings and Moritz - one of only a few European - was still pretty jetlagged.
Isabelle Hanssen (coach): "Moritz landed both his qualifying runs, but due to the short practice time and the jetlag, he was not able to show his best skiing, leaving him in a respectable 25th place. The pipe has just been finished in time before the World Cup and has given many athletes some problems in this competition. Overall a very good experience to deal with difficult conditions and less training time than usual."
Photo: FIS Freestyle - Chad Buchholz
The 1.5 weeks after the World Cup a massive snow storm arrived in Mammoth, leaving us with some downdays and different activities.
Next up was the Calgary World Cup, a double World Cup event from the 15th - 17th of February. Calgary is a special place, with the venue being only a 15min drive from downtown. The metropole with more than 1 million habitants and a beautiful skyline is not new on the World Cup schedule, and due to the cold temperatures and challenging halfpipe definetly worth the travel.
Unfortunately, Moritz took a heavy crash on the deck to his back in the first training under the lights. He could recover fast, thanks to the help of Teri :), but unfortunately it was quick enough to be able to start in the first of the two World Cups that week. He had to pull out of the first one, but delivered a solid and safe run in the second World Cup just a day after. "A very good mindset, pain tolerance level, and working ethic." as Isabelle Hanssen states. "We have hoped to aim for a stronger run and different skiing this week, but the crash cut our plans. I am very happy he is fine and his injury is just a bruise, and we will keep our eyes out for European Cup season from now on."
Photo: FIS Freestyle
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