Gu and Ferreira all-but locked in for globes at halfpipe season finale in Mammoth

First up is the globe.

Gu has gone three-for-three in halfpipe World Cup competition so far this season to sit well atop the women’s standings with a perfect 300 points. Only Rachael Karker (CAN), currently sitting in second with 220 points, theoretically had a chance to catch Gu; however, Karker, along with much of the Canadian A-team, have elected to sit out this week’s action in Mammoth, meaning that this whole week is basically one long victory lap for Gu before she collects her trophy on Friday evening.

While all eyes will be on Gu over the next couple days, not to be forgotten is the host U.S. team, who are still very much in the midst of their team selection process ahead of the upcoming Olympics.

17-year-old Hanna Faulhaber has been leading the charge for the USA thus far this season, having just racked up back-to-back podiums in Calgary – the first two World Cup podiums of her career. Along with veterans Brita Sigourney and Devin Logan, the U.S. women are looking like a lock for at least one podium this week.

Also dropping in at Mammoth is Estonia’s Kelly Sildaru – a true triple threat like Gu, albeit one we haven’t seen as much of on the World Cup tour in the past couple of years. Sildaru finished just behind Gu in second at the Dew Tour a few weeks ago, and the friendly rivalry between the two should be one of the great storylines to watch through Beijing 2022 and beyond.

Also watch out for the Chinese duo of Zhang Kevin and Li Fanghui and lone Canadian women’s representative Amy Fraser.

FERREIRA ESSENTIALLY LOCKED IN FOR SECOND CAREER CRYSTAL GLOBE

While the men’s World Cup standings are currently lead jointly by Canada’s Brendan Mackay and Alex Ferreira of the USA, with Mackay not travelling to Mammoth this week we’re not going to be able to witness the dramatic finish to the season that could have been.

Since no other skier on the men’s list can catch Ferreira in any scenario, the 27-year-old is all-but guaranteed the second globe of his career. And, as the last time he won the World Cup title was back in 2017/18 when he also claimed PyeongChang 2018 Olympic silver, his performance this season is looking like a good omen as we speed towards the Beijing Games in February.

Alongside Ferreira the U.S. is rolling heavy this week, with Aaron Blunck, Lyman Currier, David Wise, Birk Irving, Cassidy Jarrell and a handful of others all set to drop and make some noise on home soil.