Bilodeau suffers training crash but rallies to 4th-place finish

WILMINGTON, N.Y. - Alexandre Bilodeau missed out on a podium finish Thursday - but more importantly, he also avoided potential disaster.
Bilodeau overcame a training crash to post the top Canadian result at a World Cup moguls competition, placing fourth in the men's event. The defending World Cup champion struggled on the middle portion of the Wilderness course at Whiteface Mountain, but still managed to put up 24.90 points.
Guilbault Colas of France finished first with 26.51, while Australia's Dale Begg-Smith (25.95) and Jesper Bjoernlund of Sweden (25.44) rounded out the top three.
Though the Canadian Olympic freestyle entry won't be officially announced until after Sunday's skicross competition, Bilodeau is virtually assured a spot on the team. For that reason, there was some question going into the event as to whether Bilodeau would strap on the skis, or take a break before the team heads to Apex Mountain in B.C., for pre-Olympic training.
Two teammates in similar positions chose not to compete at Whiteface. Jennifer Heil has pre-qualified for the Games, and opted to go straight to Montreal - where the team will be introduced Monday - rather than risk possible injury. Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau, who is also in good shape to make the team, bowed out to get a little more rest for his wonky right knee.
So why didn't Bilodeau follow his compatriots' lead?
"I'm somebody that really likes to build the momentum, to keep skiing," said Bilodeau. "I need to continue skiing, continue fighting. For me, it really wasn't an issue."
It became an issue Thursday when Bilodeau had difficulty with his training jumps, front-flipping twice and winding up with a sore ankle and a bruised hip. After consulting with medical staff, the 22-year-old elected to stay in the competition.
"Obviously this morning when I injured myself, it was a question of whether I was competing or not," said Bilodeau. "They need a good excuse to keep me from competing. I was ready to compete.
"I took painkillers, and I knew I needed to come back for myself. And I'm glad I did it. That was a positive point for me."
Bilodeau qualified fifth but surged ahead in the final, his biggest blemish coming when he lost control heading into the second jump. Begg-Smith passed him with a solid showing before Colas did one better, putting together a near-flawless run while posting the fastest time of the day.
Even though Bilodeau still sits fourth in the overall standings - behind the three men that topped him Thursday - he believes his best skiing is still ahead of him.
"I know my skiing is there, I know my speed and jumping are there," said Bilodeau. "I just need to get that together, and I'm pretty confident I'll be able to do that.
"I've been skiing really well since the beginning of the year. I'm not getting the results I want, but the skiing is there."
Philippe Marquis of Quebec City was sixth in 24.37, while Cedric Rochon of St-Sauveur, Que., was 10th in 23.17 and Warren Tanner of Grimsby, Ont., was 15th with 7.79.
Americans swept the top four spots in women's action. Hannah Kearney won gold with 25.13 points, followed by Shannon Bahrke (24.96), Heather McPhie (24.08) and Michelle Roark (24.05).
Chloe Dufour-Lapointe of Montreal bolstered her chances of making the Olympic team, finishing fifth with 23.99. Dufour-Lapointe had been on the bubble going into the competition, but has now put some space between herself and her closest competitors.
"The last few weeks were really stressful," said Dufour-Lapointe, "I felt a lot of butterflies in my stomach ... that wasn't a good (feeling). So today, I just stuck with my smile. It feels amazing."
Kristi Richards of Pemberton, B.C., placed ninth with 23.36, Maxime Dufour-Lapointe of Montreal wound up 11th with 21.87 and Audrey Robichaud of Quebec City finished 15th with 20.63 points. The result was a damaging one for Robichaud, who needed a top-5 result to have a realistic chance at reaching the Olympics.