Bertone got off to a fantastic start and set a score of 41 just shy of the top of the course. His closest challenger in the first half of the final was the Republic of Korea’s Lee Dohyun, though a late fall left him 11 points shy and in second, the same position he reached at the Keqiao World Cup in April.
The Olympic gold medallist Gines Lopez stepped up next. The Spaniard took his time to pick his moments and produced a calculated climb, though he fell before reaching Bertone’s mark.
As Germany’s Yannick Flohe finished behind Gines Lopez, the Frenchman had his career’s first World Cup podium secured – Yoshida would decide where he stood on that podium.
The Japanese climber needed to stay composed early on, but as he…