Kashima wobbles before placing 6th

By USSA

PARK CITY -– Canadian skier Alex Bilodeau overtook teammate and World Cup leader Mikael Kingsbury for the victory Saturday in front of a crowd of 8,000 at the Visa Freestyle International FIS World Cup at Deer Valley.

Alexandr Smyshlyaev of Russia took the third spot, while crowd favorite Pat Deneen (Cle Elum, Wash.) finished fourth, the top finish for the United States.

Deneen posted the fastest time of the day during finals on the long, steep Champion run, the 2002 Olympic venue.

Sho Kashima (Stateline) advanced to the superfinal, but he lost control for just a second before the bottom air and finished sixth.

The crowd grew to about 8,500 in the finish area during the finals, and the roar became louder as the snow began to fall during the men’s superfinal.

The U.S. men have two more chances to seal their two required FIS World Cup podiums for Olympic team qualification.