Teen snowboard sensation Valentino Guseli has won his first World Cup halfpipe gold medal while Australian aerial skier Danielle Scott also thrived in Canada, regaining the lead in the overall standings with a silver medal.
Guseli, 18, led from start to finish, posting the highest score of the final with a 91.50 in his second run ahead of Japan's Ruka Hirano (88.25) and
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It was the Beijing Olympian's second World Cup win, the teenager previously taking out a Big Air event in late 2022 - also in Canada.
"I'm so stoked," said Guseli, who moved into second spot in the overall standings behind Hirano, relegating injured fellow Australian Scotty James to third.
"I really do like Canada. The two wins I've had were in Canada and I'm super-happy.
"The pipe and the snow were great ... I landed my runs and I'm happy."
Scott scored her fifth podium place in six starts to regain top spot in the race for the Crystal Globe trophy with two World Cup events remaining, clinching second spot in Lac Beauport in Quebec.
In difficult conditions with intermittent rain and sticky snow, Scott increased her degree of difficulty in the super-final, with a double full-full triple twisting double back somersault but had trouble on the landing to finish with a final score of 84.24 points.
She finished behind American Karenna Elliott (89.18) while local hope Marion Thenault (83.19) collected bronze.
Fellow Australian Abbey Willcox finished fifth to move to eighth place overall in this season's rankings.
Scott's silver moved her back to the top of the standings on 280 points, shading American Winter Vinecki by 28 points, with Thenault third on 182.
“Super-excited, the yellow bib was the most important thing, and I am super-happy with that,” said the 33-year-old Scott, from NSW.
“It’s been a really tricky day, everyone struggled at the beginning.
"But I got my jumps done. I am pretty happy with them and still have room for improvement, so let’s hope we can bring that out tomorrow.”
A second World Cup takes places in Lac Beauport on Sunday (Monday AEDT) with the final event of the season scheduled for Almaty, Kazakhstan, on March 10.
