Skiing: Nico Porteous finishes second in freeski halfpipe rankings

Nico Porteous in action at Mammoth Mountain.
Nico Porteous in action at Mammoth Mountain. Photo credit: Snow Sports NZ

Kiwi superstar Nico Porteous has finished second in the 2018/19 freeski halfpipe World Cup rankings, after the final event of the season at Mammoth Mountain in California.

The 17-year-old finished behind Canadian Simon d'Artois after four events to become the first New Zealand male on the FIS rankings podium.

Porteous was in contention to finish on top, after claiming silver in China and Canada, but he struggled to put down a winning run in tricky conditions.

The Olympic bronze medallist went all out to try to end the season in style, but couldn’t land his tricks and had to settle for 16th.

Nico Porteous next to Simon d'Artois and David Wise.
Nico Porteous next to Simon d'Artois and David Wise. Photo credit: Snow Sports NZ

D’Artois' second-place finish in California was enough for the 27-year-old to claim his first career World Cup.

The Canadian finished the season with 256 points, 31 ahead of Porteous.

American Birk Irving won at Mammoth with a score of 95.20 to claim his first World Cup podium, while compatriot David Wise finished third behind Porteous in the overall standings.

The result caps off a successful northern hemisphere campaign for Porteous, who also won bronze at the X Games in Colorado in January.

Newshub.