Where to Ski And Snowboard - GB skier James Woods wins again

GB skier James Woods wins again

15th January 2013, by Abi Butcher

British slopestyle skier James Woods in action

British skier James Woods has won a second slopestyle ski World Cup.

James “Woodsy” Woods, 20, from Sheffield, has won the FIS US Freeskiing Grand Prix in Copper Mountain, Colorado — a qualifier for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Slopestyle is the latest discipline to be included in the Olympics — and will make its debut at the 2014 Games in Sochi. Skiers and snowboarders are judged on tricks they perform on a course with boxes, rails and jumps.

In September, Woods made history winning the World Cup opening in Ushuaia, Argentina. In Copper Mountain on Saturday (12 January), one of the season’s biggest freeski contests, he took his second World Cup, in temperatures of -20c. He won with a narrow margin over Russ Henshaw of Australia, with 93.4 points.

The Copper Mountain event was the second of five World Cup rounds, the third is scheduled for Engadine, Switzerland next month (8-9 February). Woodsy now has 200 points, a 90-point lead ahead of Canadian Alex Beaulieu-Marchand, Swedish skier Henrik Harlaut and Henshaw in joint third.

Last March, Woods won bronze at the European Winter X Games in Tignes, France — the first time a Brit has won a skiing medal at a major championships.

The win at Copper Mountain stands Wood in good stead going into Sochi next February. No British skier has yet won a Winter Olympic medal.