20-year-old also takes Dual Moguls bronze to conclude superlative season
Mateo Jeannesson confirmed his status as one of Britain’s most exciting young athletes by taking the Moguls Junior World Championships title on Friday, before adding a Bronze medal in the Dual Moguls event on Saturday.
In a season which has seen Jeannesson deliver a number of excellent results, including his first two World Cup top-10 finishes, the Junior World Championships in Chiesa in Valmalenco built on an excellent showing last year which saw him finish fifth in Moguls and third in Dual Moguls.
Jeannesson’s victory in the first day’s action came with a score of 79.60, enough to take the title ahead of South Korea’s Daeyoon Jung with 78.46 and American Asher Michel, who finished with 75.77.
In the Dual Moguls, Jeanesson was pitted in the Small Final against the USA’s Michel, triumphing 28.00 to 7.00, with Jung again taking Silver and Japan’s Ikkei Fujimura in the Gold medal spot.
In the women’s competition, Cali Carr made her World Junior Championships debut, taking a highly respectable tenth place in Moguls and 19th in Dual Moguls to conclude a successful first season in British colours for the highly-rated 17-year-old.
Two Moguls and Five Ski cross athletes named for April Championships
GB Snowsport are pleased to confirm the selection of two Moguls and five Ski Cross athletes for next month’s World Junior Championship competitions.
The Moguls WJC, held in Valmalenco from 3-6 April, will see Mateo Jeannesson and Cali Carr represent Britain in Moguls, Dual Moguls, and Mixed Team Dual Moguls.
The Ski Cross WJC meanwhile sees Tommy Dade, Jake Dade, Scott Johns, Emily Keen, and Alex Rose Green selected to compete in Idre Fjall with Individual and Team events both in the running.
Moguls WJC – Valmalenco – 3-6 April – Selected Athletes
- Cali Carr
- Mateo Jeannesson
Ski Cross WJC – Idre Fjall – 14-15 April – Selected Athletes
- Jake Dade
- Tommy Dade
- Axel Rose Green
- Scott Johns
- Emily Keen
GB Snowsport congratulates all selected athletes, and wishes them good luck in the coming Championships.
Charlotte Bankes’ run of hot form continued, while Mia Brookes and Zoe Atkin impressed at Dew Tour
Bankes takes Gold in Cortina
Charlotte Bankes’ sensational recent form continued at this weekend’s Cortina Snowboard Cross World Cup, with the reigning Crystal Globe holder taking her third solo victory and fourth individual podium of the season.
In a scintillating display of Snowboard Cross racing, Bankes took top spot in qualifying and followed that up with first place finishes at Quarter and Semi Final stages, before putting in another outstanding performance to clinch victory.
Bankes now sits third in the overall season standings on 427 points, just 95 points behind Chloe Trespeuch in top spot.
Brookes and Atkin on fire at Dew Tour 20th anniversary competition
Mia Brookes and Zoe Atkin both took podiums at Dew Tour as the invitational event celebrated its 20th anniversary.
Brookes, competing in the Snowboard Streetstyle, put in a dominant display to further enhance her reputation as one of the world’s great rail riders, taking victory and best trick in commanding fashion. Atkin, meanwhile, added yet another podium to her season collection with Silver in the Freeski Superpipe contest, with her score of 94.00 coming just short of Eileen Gu’s 96.33 in first place, while also tying for highest amplitude recorded at 12’3”.
Gerken Schofield into top-10 in Almaty
Makayla Gerken Schofield notched their second top-10 of the season with tenth spot at the Almaty Moguls World Cup. After an injury-impacted season, Gerken Schofield’s tenth place finish marked their first Single Moguls top-10 of the season and eighth overall, as they looked to be getting back towards the form that saw them record seven top-10 finishes including a podium in the 2022/23 season, while they also recorded a 16th place finish in Dual Moguls.
Mateo Jeannesson finished just outside of the top-10 in both Single and Dual Moguls taking 23rd and 21st spots respectively.
Alpine and Para Alpine circuits fall victim to climate conditions
The Men’s Slalom and Para Alpine races scheduled for Kranjska Gora were cancelled owing to poor snow conditions amid on-going warmer weather conditions across Europe. The cancellations mean the end of Billy Major and Laurie Taylor’s Slalom World Cup seasons, while Dave Ryding will go on to compete at the Slalom Final in Saalbach. Para Alpine will be seeking to reschedule their own Finals, pending the outcome of negotiations with alternate venues.
British Alpine history was made on the slopes of Kitzbuehel and Gangwon on a superb weekend of British snowsport action
Kitzbuehel sees three in top-20
All three members of the Men’s Slalom team finished inside the top-20 at the Kitzbuehel Slalom, marking the first time in modern history that Britain has delivered three top-20 finishes at an Alpine World Cup.
Billy Major roared out of the first run to finish in joint-10th spot alongside teammate Dave Ryding at the end of the first run, while Laurie Taylor showed superb grit to see out tricky conditions and qualify for the second run in 29th spot.
From there, with five skiers failing to finish the second run, Dave Ryding delivered his now typical second run brilliance with the second fastest second run of the day to catapult himself to the top of the standings, before being overhauled in the latter stages of the race for an eventual fifth place finish. Taylor landed the seventh best second run of the day to bring himself a 19th place finish and a person best, while Major also secured a World Cup personal best with 13th spot, less than 0.3s outside of the top-10.
Elsewhere on the Alpine World Cup circuit, Charlie Guest finished just outside of the top-30 at the Jasna Slalom World Cup, missing out on the second run by hundredths of a second.
Carrick-Smith takes Gold in Gangwon
Zak Carrick-Smith delivered a sensational performance in Team GB colours at the Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon to take Britain’s first ever Alpine gold medal in an Olympic competition, with victory in the Alpine Combined.
Find out more about Carrick-Smith’s history-making victory here.
Taylor goes four-from-four in stunning Telemark SPrint run
Jaz Taylor’s sensational World Cup season rolled on with back-to-back victories in the Carezza Dolomites Telemark Sprint World Cup, leaving her with four victories from four World Cup races this season, and a firm grasp on top spot in the overall rankings.
The wins, the 10th and 11th of Taylor’s career, mean she has now equalled the best season of her career which saw her take four victories across the 2017/18 season, just four races into the season.
Makayla Gerken Schofield, Maisie Hill, and Katie Ormerod make injury comebacks
Moguls skier Makayla Gerken Schofield, and Freestyle Snowboarders Maisie Hill and Katie Ormerod all made their World Cup comebacks this week after significant injury lay-offs. Hill and Ormerod were both back in action at the Laax Freestyle Snowboard Slopestyle World Cup finishing in 15th and 12th spots respectively, while Gerken Schofield marked their return with a 19th place finish at the Val St. Come Moguls World Cup.
Elsewhere in Laax, Mia Brookes cruised through to Finals in the Freestyle Snowboard Slopestyle competition before finishing eighth, while Matty Cox marked his first World Cup in British colours with a 36th place finish in the Men’s Freestyle Snowboard Slopestyle contest. Siddhartha Ullah’s sixth World Cup appearance finished with a 38th place in the Men’s Halfpipe.
In Freeski, Ash Clayton was the pick of the bunch taking tenth place in the Women’s Freeski Slopestyle in only their second World Cup appearance.
In Moguls, Mateo Jeannesson came 33rd in Moguls and 17th in Dual Moguls in the first World Cup of 2024, with the latter marking the best Dual Moguls result of his World Cup career to date.
Davies takes 16th in Nakisaka
Ollie Davies’ World Cup season took off with an excellent 16th place finish in the Nakisaka Ski Cross World Cup. In a difficult season, Davies showed serious grit and application to make it through to the Quarter Final stage, and the best result of his season to date.
Andrew Musgrave returns from illness in Oberhot
Andrew Musgrave returned from the bout of illness that put paid to his Tour de Ski endeavours, finishing just outside the Top-20 at the Oberhof 20km C Mass Start World Cup. A 21st place finish there along with a run out in the Sprint C event marked his first appearance of the year, having had to drop out of the 2023/24 Tour de Ski after the 10km C on 31 December.
A record-breaking weekend saw British skiers and snowboarders take eight World Cup podiums
Brookes takes bronze, secures Crystal Globe
The weekend’s first podium arrived with Mia Brookes taking bronze at the Copper Mountain Big Air World Cup, and securing with it the Freestyle Snowboard Big Air Crystal Globe.
A score of 155.75 was enough to propel Brookes into the podium positions, behind Japan’s Kokomo Murase and Mari Fukada in first and second spot. The result, with Reira Iwabuchi finishing in fifth, was enough to confirm Brookes’ Crystal Globe title with three podiums in four Big Air World Cup competitions this season.
Musgrave’s superb silver
Andrew Musgrave secured his best ever World Cup result and matched Britain’s highest finish in Cross-Country World Cup competition with a breathtaking second place finish at the Trondheim Skiathlon World Cup.
Coming into the weekend’s competitions in a rich vein of form with four top-10s under his belt already, Musgrave delivered a near flawless display of Cross-Country skiing to finish in 43:51.4 just 0.7s behind race winner, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo. The result gave Musgrave his third World Cup podium, after third place finishes in Toblach in 2017 and Beitostolen in 2022.
Fitzpatrick and Guest strike Gold (and Silver)
Menna Fitzpatrick and Katie Guest ensured the start to the Para Alpine season would be a memorable one, with silver and gold medal finishes in back-to-back Para Alpine Downhill World Cup races in St. Moritz.
After a hugely encouraging showing on day one of competition which yielded an excellent second place, Fitzpatrick and Guest stepped up a gear to take victory on the second day of racing, finishing ahead of South Korea’s Sara Choi and Sanghyun Jung, and Slovakia’s Alexandra Rexova and Hugo Rybar.
Atkin and Muir bank Freeski Bronzes
The Copper Mountain Freeski World Cup saw further bronze medal performances from Kirsty Muir (Freeski Big Air) and Zoe Atkin (Freeski Halfpipe), taking the overall British tally from the competition to three third place finishes.
In her first World Cup of the season, Atkin skied superbly to qualify in first before delivering a highly technical performance to secure the fourth World Cup podium of her career and her second in Copper Mountain.
Muir showed enormous bravery and grit to overcome a nasty looking fall in the second jump of the Freeski Big Air finals to ensure she also secured bronze and a fourth career World Cup podium finish. An overall score of 173.75 was enough to confirm third place, behind France’s Tess Ledeux and Mathilde Gremaud of Switzerland.
Double Golds for Jaz Taylor
Telemark sensation Jaz Taylor took the 46th and 47th World Cup podiums of her career, and her first race victories since March 2022, with a brace of stunning Sprint victories in the Pinzolo Telemark World Cup.
The results further cement Taylor’s standing as the pre-eminent Telemark skier of her generation, and as one of the finest British snowsport athletes of all time.
Jeannesson in top-10 again
Mateo Jeanneasson‘s excellent early season form continued in the Alpe d’Huez Moguls World Cup with a ninth place finish giving him a second top-10 of the season. Backing up his stunning sixth place in Ruka with 12th in Idre Fjall, Jeannesson once again made finals with a superb score of 73.58 at the iconic French venue, making him the youngest athlete in the top-10.
Mixed weekend for Snowboard Cross team
Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale endured a mixed weekend at the Cervinia Snowboard Cross World Cup, but nevertheless took a commendable fifth place finish in the Mixed Team event to follow their victory in the previous Team World Cup in Les Deux Alpes.
Individual World Cup races saw Nightingale finish in 31st and Bankes in 21st positions.
Guest takes another Europa Cup top-10
Charlie Guest took her second Slalom Europa Cup top-10 finish in a week with seventh place in the Valle Aurina/Ahrntal EC on Saturday, having finished eighth in Mayrhofen the previous week.
World Cup debuts for Carr, Gledhill, and Holden
Amid the good news from this weekend’s performances, there was more to celebrate with World Cup debuts for Cali Carr (Moguls), Gabriel Gledhill (Cross-Country), and Gidget Holden (Freestyle Snowboard Halfpipe).
GB Snowsport’s electric start to the season continued in Edmonton, while there was frustration in Val d’Isere
Brookes excels in Edmonton
Mia Brookes bagged her second, and Britain’s third, podium of the 2023-24 season with a career-best Big Air World Cup result in Edmonton. Mia’s silver, in a field stacked with the world’s best Big Air talent, including the gold and silver medallists from the Beijing Olympic Winter Games, continued her superb form since debuting on the World Cup circuit a year ago, and leaves her in top spot in the Freestyle Snowboard Big Air standings going into the final Big Air competition of the season in Copper Mountain.
Musgrave delivers impressive showing in Ostersund
Andrew Musgrave’s impressive start to the 2023/24 season continued with a battling sixth place finish in the Ostersund 10k Free Internal Start race this weekend. Finishing with a time of 24:18.3, Musgrave was once again the best of the non-Norwegian skiers, and now stands at fourth in the overall Cross-Country Distance rankings.
James Clugnet took 33rd in the 10k F and 48th in the Sprint C, with Andrew Young 35th in the 10km F and 58th in Sprint C.
Jeannesson goes back-to-back for Finals
Following his groundbreaking sixth place in Ruka, Mateo Jeannesson made another appearance in the Single Moguls Finals in Idre Fjall, finishing in an impressive 12th position. Among seasoned Finalists, Mateo’s early season form shows he has the ability to compete with the best Moguls skiers on the World Cup circuit, and means his two best Moguls World Cup performances have now come in the opening two competitions of the season.
Davies’ Ski cross season gets underway in Val Thorens
Ollie Davies got the Ski Cross World Cup season underway with a top-30 finish in the second of back-to-back World Cup races in Val Thorens. Having finished 37th in the opening race of the season, Davies improved to take 27th in the second race, in a year where he is looking to build on last year’s excellent performances, which included a a top-10 and his first World Cup podium.
Weather hits Val d’Isere hopes
There was frustration for the Men’s Alpine team in Val d’Isere, as the Slalom race was lost to poor weather conditions on Sunday. In the GS, Charlie Raposo recorded a DNF, while at the Mayrhofen Europa Cup race, Charlie Guest finished in an excellent eighth place, with Reece Bell and Victoria Palla both also making it into the second run.
2023/24 season explodes into life with day of stunning results
Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale take sensational Team SBX Victory
Reigning Mixed Team Snowboard Cross World Champions, Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale, opened their season in outstanding style with Britain’s first ever Team Snowboard Cross World Cup victory at Les Deux Alpes. In a strong field and amid challenging conditions, Nightingale and Bankes rode flawlessly to back up their breathtaking World Championships win with another superbly executed demonstration of Team Boardercross action.
The following day’s solo competition saw disappointment for Bankes as she failed to make it through the qualifying heats, but Nightingale recorded a personal best 16th place finish, improving on his previous PB set at the Mt. St. Anne World Cup in March.
Muir Majestic in Beijing
Returning to the site of the Beijing Olympic Winter Games Big Air competition, Kirsty Muir delivered an astonishing display of Big Air skiing to land second place among a field of the world’s strongest Big Air athletes. The result gave Muir her third career World Cup podium and a first in the Big Air discipline, having recorded top-10 finishes in her previous two Big Air competitions in Chur and Copper Mountain last year.
In the Freestyle Snowboard competition, Mia Brookes delivered another excellent performance to take fourth place in one of the highest calibre Big Air World Cup contests of recent years. Mia, who qualified in first place, looked on course for another podium position before high-scoring jumps from Anna Gasser, Tess Coady, and Miyabi Onitsuka nudged her just out of the top-3.
In the Men’s competitions, Billy Cockrell’s first World Cup of the season saw him finish in 39th spot, while Freeskiers Tom Greenway and Chris McCormick finished in 29th and 46th spot respectively.
Musgrave pushing for podiums in Cross-Country
Andrew Musgrave’s strong start to the Cross-Country World Cup season continued in Gallivare with fifth place in the 10km Free Interval Start. Once again, Musgrave was the only non-Norwegian skier in the top-5, finishing just 1.3s outside of the podium places and only 6.4s behind race winner Paal Golberg. The result continues Musgrave’s excellent early season form which has already delivered three top-10 finishes in four World Cup races.
Andrew Young put in an impressive showing to break into the top-30, while Joe Davies finished 34th putting him in third spot in the U23 rankings.
Jeannesson breaks new ground in Ruka Moguls World Cup
19-year-old Mateo Jeannesson obliterated his previous World Cup personal best with an astonishing sixth place finish at the Moguls World Cup opener in Ruka. Marking his first time making the Super Finals stage of a World Cup competition, Mateo skiied with skill and verve to push himself into the top-6 for the first time at World Cup level, as one of only two teenage skiers to make the top-10.
The result demolishes a previous personal best of 19th set in Deer Valley in February.
Para Snowboard Season gets underway in Landgraaf
The first events of the Para Snowboard season saw Nina Sparks and James Barnes-Miller both take a sixth and seventh place finish in back-to-back Banked Slalom World Cup races in Landgraaf. In the Europa Cup competition, Matt Hamilton was the standout performer with third and fourth place finishes, while Jack Silverwood took a fifth and a seventh, and Scott McNeice seventh and ninth.
Olympic and World Cup Moguls star Leonie Gerken-Schofield has confirmed her retirement from competitive skiing
Leonie, who first broke onto the competitive international circuit a decade ago with a series of stunning Europa Cup and Junior World Ski Championships performances as a teenager, has been a fixture on the Moguls World Cup circuit since 2019 frequently competing alongside her siblings Thomas and Makayla.
A first World Cup top-10 in Krasnoyarsk in 2020 was followed by confirmation of selection for Team GB at the Beijing Olympic WInter Games in 2022, where she won enormous admiration for finishing her qualification run in the Moguls despite a heavy fall part way down the run.
Leonie’s post-Olympic performances saw two hugely promising Europa Cup performances taking second and fourth place in Krispl in just weeks after the Beijing Games, while she secured her final top-20 World Cup finish at the Idre Fjall World Cup in Dual Moguls in December 2022.
Leonie’s retirement marks the departure of one of British Moguls skiing’s most consistently impressive performers, and the end of a career which helped trigger a new era for the World Cup squad of which she was such a vital part.
Everyone at GB Snowsport wishes Leonie all the best for the next stage of her career. You’ll always be a part of the family, Leonie – thank you for showing us what you’re made of for so many years.
Leonie Gerken Schofield career highlights
- February 2013 – Marks Europa Cup level debut with a stunning win in La Rosiere Dual Moguls as one of the youngest athletes in the field
- March 2013 – Follows up with three podiums in her first four Europa Cup appearances, marking herself out as an athlete to watch
- March 2013 – Makes Junior World Ski Championships debut, taking silver in Single Moguls
- December 2019 – After sustained period of Europa Cup competition, makes World Cup debut at Ruka World Cup with top-20 finish
- March 2020 – Registers highest ever World Cup finish with ninth place in Karnoyarsk World Cup in Dual Moguls
- February 2022 – Selected to represent Team GB at Beijing Olympic Winter Games, finishing 27th in Single Moguls
- Februray 2022 – Final competitive podium with second place in Krispl Europa Cup
- December 2022 – Makes final World Cup appearances in Idre Fjall and Alpe d’Huez, finishing 20th in Idre Fjall Dual Moguls
- September 2023 – Announces retirement from competitive Moguls skiing at the age of 25
After a period of non-programme activity following the conclusion of the 2022/23 winter season, GB Snowsport squads are now back in pre-season training.
With the 2023/24 season approaching quickly and the Freestyle World Junior Championships already on the horizon, pre-season training camps have been confirmed in the following locations while the Alpine and Cross-Country Squads have both already completed a number of pre-season camps in Peer and Bo.
Freeski
Location: Perisher, Australia
Dates: 16 August – 3 September
Athletes Attending: Connie Brogden, Caoimhe Heavey, Chris McCormick, Kirsty Muir, Mia Rennie
Location: Cardona, New Zealand
Dates: 25 August – 29 September
Athletes Attending: Zoe Atkin, Connie Brogden, Tom Greenway, Caoimhe Heavey, Kirsty Muir, Mia Rennie
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Freestyle Snowboard
Location: Perisher, Australia
Dates: 2 – 23 August
Athletes Attending: Mia Brookes, Billy Cockrell, Charlie Lane
Location: Cardona, New Zealand
Dates: 20 August – 12 September
Athletes Attending: Mia Brookes, Charlie Lane, Katie Ormerod (completing return-to-snow protocols)
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Moguls
Location: Whistler, Canada – Water Ramp Camp
Dates: 8 – 30 July
Athletes Attending: Cali Carr, Will Feneley, Makayla Gerken Schofield, Mateo Jeannesson
Location: Perisher, Australia
Dates: 18 August – 5 September
Athletes Attending: Will Feneley, Makayla Gerken Schofield, Mateo Jeannesson
Location: Hintertux, Austria
Dates: 3 – 13 October
Athletes Attending: Will Feneley, Makayla Gerken Schofield, Mateo Jeannesson
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Ski Cross
Location: Corralco, Chile
Dates: 13 – 26 September
Athlete Attending: Ollie Davies
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Snowboard Cross
Location: Corralco, Chile
Dates: 9 – 29 September
Athletes Attending: Charlotte Bankes, Huw Nightingale
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Cross Country
Location: Blink Festival, Sandnes, Norway
Dates: 31 July – 6 August
Athletes Attending: James Clugnet, Joe Davies, Andrew Musgrave
Location: Hemsedal, Norway
Dates: 10 – 15 September
Athletes Attending: James Clugnet, Joe Davies, Andrew Musgrave, Andrew Young
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Alpine
Location: Saas Fee, Switzerland – Men’s Slalom Camp
Dates: 13 August – 2 September
Athletes Attending: Billy Major, Dave Ryding, Laurie Taylor
Location: Saas Fee, Switzerland – Van Deer Camp
Dates: 7 – 15 August
Athlete Attending: Charlie Raposo
Location: Saas Fee, Switzerland – Men’s Slalom Camp
Dates: 10 – 30 September
Athletes Attending: Billy Major, Dave Ryding, Laurie Taylor
Location: Saas Fee, Switzerland – Women’s Alpine Camp
Dates: 22 August – 1 September
Athlete Attending: Charlie Guest
Location: Argentina – Van Deer Camp
Dates: 23 August – 16 September
Athlete Attending: Charlie Raposo
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Para Alpine
Location: Oslo/Fonne – Norway
Dates: 27 July – 12 August
Athletes Attending: Shona Brownlee, Menna Fitzpatrick, Katie Guest, Adam Hall, Louise Harrison, Michael Kear
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Para Snowboard
Location: Perisher, Australia
Dates: 20 July – 17 August
Athletes Attending: James Barnes-Miller, Matt Hamilton (Invitational Athlete)