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Roark, Begg-Smith triumph in moguls

Alexandre Bilodeau of Canada jumps during the qualification round at the World Cup freestyle moguls skiing competition in Lake Placid, New York, on Sunday. Bilodeau placed second in the event. PHOTO: AP

Michelle Roark put together a solid final run on Sunday to win the women's World Cup moguls event at snowy Whiteface Mountain. Olympic champion Dale Begg-Smith of Australia won the men's event.

Roark qualified fifth, but her back-flip off the top jump and her "bronco" (a full rotation with her skis kicked out midway through the spin) on the bottom jump were worth 24.20 points.

Ekaterina Stolyarova of Russia was the runner-up with 24.13 points, with Czech Nikola Sudova in third place on the final day of the Nature Valley Freestyle Cup.

Begg-Smith, the defending World Cup champion and second on Friday in the opening moguls contest, led the qualifying run as he earned the 13th World Cup win of his career. He had 26.37 points, ahead of Canadian Alexandre Bilodeau with 25.57.

Pat Deneen, a 20-year-old American who qualified for the World Cup last month, picked up his second top-three finish of the weekend.

The World Cup tour heads next to Mont Gabriel, Quebec, just outside Montreal, for moguls on Saturday and aerials next Sunday.

SKI CROSS

AP, KREISCHBERG, AUSTRIA

Tomas Kraus of the Czech Republic won a men's World Cup ski cross event on Sunday and Ophelie David of France won the women's race.

It was the 10th career victory for Kraus, a 33-year-old world champion who also won both previous ski cross events this year.

Michael Schmid of Switzerland finished second, and Alois Mani, another Swiss skier, took third.

Kraus extended his lead in the World Cup standings, leading Enak Gavaggio of France by 96 points.

David won the women's race for her 10th career title, edging Karin Huttary of Austria. Jenne Owens of Australia was third, while World Cup leader Myrel Boulangeat of France took fourth.

Hedda Berntsen, who finished fifth, is second in the standings. David climbed to third place, trailing Boulangeat by 59 points.

The next World Cup ski cross event is scheduled for Park City, Utah, on Feb. 2.
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