Sami Mustonen wins after long dry spell in World Cup freestyle moguls

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Of late, mogul freestyle skier Sami Mustonen has been able to take part in the Freestyle Skiing World Cup in relative peace - all the way up until yesterday. In La Plagne, France, it all changed as the native of Rovaniemi took an overwhelming World Cup event victory. After his first World Cup win in all of five years, Mustonen was inundated with SMS-messages from well-wishers.
      "All of a sudden I have friends again", Mustonen laughed.
     
In La Plagne, Mustonen rustled up 27.11 points, against the 26.75 gained by the Canadian runner-up, Alexandre Bilodeau. The Olympic Champion Dale Begg-Smith (26.69) of Australia had to settle for third place.
      Mustonen excelled already in the qualifying round, but managed to improve his technique and jumps even further in the final. For his first jump Mustonen produced a commanding backflip, followed by an off-axis 720 further down the hill.
      "Both landings were good. I performed the same jumps already in the qualifying round, but in the final I managed to add more lift to them and my technique in the second jump was better", the 29-year-old veteran explained over the phone from France.
     
Mustonen never saw his fellow contestants' performances, but according to coach Pekka Lehtikallio his protégé was "a flat-out number one".
      The La Plagne run is not one of the steepest on the World Cup circuit, but according to Mustonen its iciness and cramped moguls added to the difficulty.
      "But when I am fit I am comfortable on all runs", Mustonen added.
      In the Mogul World Cup standings, Mustonen currently holds seventh place.
     
The timing could not have been better for a World Cup victory. Mustonen's win came perfectly a month before the Freestyle Skiing World Championships in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy.
      "I would say my self-confidence has been alright, but of course this adds to it, now that I know I have the capacity to be among the best", Mustonen mused.
      In the previous World Championships in Ruka, Finland, in 2005, Mustonen produced Finland's only podium finish by coming in second in the dual moguls. He also holds an Olympic moguls bronze from Nagano, way back in 1998. More recently, he has been hit by injuries at critical moments, and by a bout of food poisoning that ruled him out of serious contention at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City.


Links:
  FIS-Ski Freestyle Skiing

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