Defending champion Lydia Lassila has opted for safety first in her opening contest of the 2010 aerial skiing season, but has still finished in the top five in a World Cup in Calgary.

Facing a deteriorating jump site and varying speeds on the inrun and kickers, Lassila substituted a double twisting double somersault for her high end triple twisting triple, ending the competition with a total of 164.81 points.

The 27-year-old Mt Buller skier had also missed a day of training thanks to airline problems with her luggage, while high winds had forced the cancellation of a second day.

Chinese triple world champion Nina Li took the gold medal with 195.63 points ahead of Swiss skier Evelyne Leu (178.79), with Xinxin Guo, also from China, collecting the bronze (167.63).

Lassila was lying in fifth place after the first round of jumping, performing a single twisting triple for 88.90 points, 7.33 points shy of Li’s 96.23 points which led qualifying.

AIS team-mate Bree Munro went too big on her opening jump, missing her landing and the second round of competition with 52.44 points.

Five-time World Cup champion Jacqui Cooper bypassed the event, preferring to train in Utah.

Australia’s sole men’s representative, David Morris, set a new pb by qualifying in seventh position, earning 110.97 points from the judges for his triple twisting triple somersault.

But on the second jump he missed his take-off due to the soft snow conditions on the kicker, backslapping his landing for 60.61 points and a total of 171.58.

Chinese skier Jia Zongyang claimed the gold with 253.40 points in front of a trio of Belarussians headed by World Cup leader Anton Kushnir.

The next round of the World Cup will take place in Deer Valley, Utah, on January 15.

In other northern hemisphere action, Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin finished in 10th place in a snowboard cross World Cup in Bad Gastein, Austria, while AIS team-mate Damon Hayler was five places further back.