On February 26, 2015, the Swiss ski resort of Zermatt hosted another edition of the Skiers Cup between teams from Europe and America under powder snow and blue skies. The 5th Skiers Cup offered good conditions for the freeski team competition between Europe and America. The European team managed to win back the Skiers Cup trophy in the form of a ski boot. This means that the overall score is now 3:2 in favor of the Europeans. The Skiers Cup consists of two competition parts: The big mountain contest, which was held far outside the ski area, and a backcountry slopestyle contest in which skiers virtually duel man against man. The respective winner received a point for their team. Two rounds were held, i.e. a total of 18 heats as in the backcountry slopestyle, so that a maximum of 36 points could be awarded in both parts of the competition. The strong Europeans secured 20 of these points and thus victory in the 2015 Skiers' Cup...
After the backcountry slopestyle, Team Europe went into the second part of the competition, the freeride contest, with a 10-to-8 lead. The big mountain competition produced the same result, meaning that the Europeans had a clear lead in the end with a score of 20:16.
Freeride, 1st round: Anthamatten and Bushfield set the highlights
Due to difficult snow conditions, the riders had to pay close attention to where they could go full throttle and where they had to be more careful. However, there were also exceptions: Local Samuel Anthamatten (SUI), for example, showed his colleagues a hidden gem in the slope: a gap that no one had thought was skiable. With his playful line, the Swiss skier gave his opponent no chance and not only scored a point for his team, but also received extra applause from both teams. Frenchman Loïc Collomb-Patton also produced an outstanding run in his run against Sage Cattabriga-Alosa from the USA. As Loïc is known for, the Frenchman skied a very fluid line, full throttle, without the slightest mistake. However, the fastest and most impressive run of the day went to Rory Bushfield from Canada. His run looked to the judges and spectators as if the slope had been made especially for the Canadian. The first round ended 5:4 for the Europeans, leaving the Americans a further point behind - in total, the score was already 15:12 in favor of the European team.
Round 2
The deficit seemed to motivate the Americans all the more: Their team captain Seth Morrison made a statement in the first heat with his typical backflip and won against European team captain Julien Regnier from France. In the next two heats, however, the riders standing in for the injured Europeans Sven Kueenle (GER) and Richard Permin (FRA) took the points: First the co-founder of the event, Kaj Zackrisson from Sweden, shone and then Nicolas Salencon (ARG/FRA) showed an unbeatable freestyle run. In rounds 4 and 5, the Americans struck back once again with Sage Cattabriga-Alosa and Logan Pehota. With irresistible lines, they beat the strong Europeans Sam Anthamatten (SUI) and Sam Favret (FRA). Tanner Rainville from the USA brought Team Americas even closer by beating Nicolas Vuignier from Switzerland. Suddenly it was only 17:16 for Europe. Andy Mahre (USA) and Fabien Maierhofer (FRA) kept up the tension and stepped up their game in what was probably the most balanced duel of the day. The point went to the Frenchman. It was therefore all or nothing for Rory Bushfield in the next heat. But Loïc Collomb-Patton (FRA) also showed all his skills in his second run and made it clear why he is the reigning FWT World Champion. Bushfield, on the other hand, crashed after a backflip. The decision was thus made in favor of the Europeans. Dana Flahr (USA) and Sverre Liliequist (SWE) therefore decided to hold their run together. Liliequist made sure he crowned the event with a beautiful frontflip shortly before the finish.
