Olympic gold medalist Shaun White won the men’s snowboard slopestyle competition and Spencer O’Brien won the women’s event Friday in the first stop of the inaugural Winter Dew Tour.
The 22-year old White scored a 95.17 on his second run, which began with a frontside 270 at the top rail, a frontside 1080 on the first jump to a backside 900. He finished with an impressive 1260, a three and a half revolution spin, on the bottom jump.
“I knew I could do it, I just kind of believed in that spin at the end there,” White said. “I didn’t really practice it at all, but for some reason I knew I had it.”
Mikkel Bang of Norway was second at 92.33 and Janne Korpi of Finland placed third at 86.17.
White, of Carlsbad, Calif., is now the season point leader, and the first Dew Tour crossover athlete with a Dew Cup in skateboard vert from the summer series.
“I’m excited,” White said. “I’m doing all the stops so this is nice for me to start it off right.”
On the women’s side, Canadian snowboarder O’Brien won the event with a gap to boardslide to fakie, into a switch backside 780, a backside 360 and a backside 540 off the jumps to finish with a 5050 to frontside
boardslide on the bottom rail. She finished with a score of 85.00.
Jenny Jones of Great Britain was second at 77.33 and Bev Vuilleumier, of Lake Tahoe, Calif was third at 74.17.
“I was really nervous coming in,” O’Brien said. “It was a lot bigger than I expected seeing it’s the first contest of the year. But all the girls took to it really well. The course was just amazingly built and it was so much fun so once I got over my fear it was awesome.”
Similar to the Dew Tour’s summer competition structure, the Winter Dew Tour is based on a cumulative points system as the top snow athletes battle it out for a piece of the $1.5 million prize purse and the chance to take home the Dew Cup at the conclusion of the season in February.
The four-day competition is the first of three stops of the Winter Dew Tour that features men’s and women’s freeskiing and snowboarding disciplines. Saturday's action features men’s freeski slopestyle finals, women’s freeski slopestyle exhibition, and men’s freeski superpipe finals while the Sunday schedule includes the men’s and women’s snowboard superpipe finals.
Results:
Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle Finals
1. Shaun White, Carlsbad, Calif. 95.17.
2. Mikkel Bang, Norway, 92.33.
3. Janne Korpi, Finland, 86.17.
4. Andreas Wiig, Norway, 81.67.
5. Sam Hulbert, Peterborough, N.H., 78.67.
6. Charles Reid, Canada, 76.33.
7. Torstein Horgmo, Norway, 74.50.
8. Daniel Ek, Norway, 72.67.
9. Kevin Pearce, Norwich, Vt.
10. Mason Aguirre, Duluth, Minn., 44.17
Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle Points
1. Shaun White, 100.
2. Mikkel Bang, 90.
3. Janne Korpi, 80.
4. Andreas Wiig, 75.
5. Sam Hulbert, 70.
6. Charles Reid, 65.
7. Torstein Horgmo, 60.
8. Daniel Ek, 55.
9. Kevin Pearce, 50.
10. Mason Aguirre, 45.
Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle Finals
1. Spencer O’Brien, Canada, 85.00.
2. Jenny Jones, Great Britain, 77.33.
3. Bev Vuilleumier, South Lake Tahoe, Calif., 74.17.
4. Jamie Anderson, South Lake Tahoe, Calif., 67.83.
5. Megan Ginter, Redmond, Wash., 54.83.
6. Kjersti Ostgaard Buaas, Norway, 28.50
Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle Points
1. Spencer O’Brien, 100.
2. Jenny Jones, 90.
3. Bev Vuilleumier, 80.
4. Jamie Anderson, 75.
5. Megan Ginter, 70.
6. Kjersti Ostgaard Buaas, 65.
7. Kimberly Fasani, 60.
8. Chanelle Sladics, 55.
9. Marie-France Roy, 50.
10. Torah Bright, 45.
- Rolling up to Breck... Graybird, windy and cold.
- The sun popped out a few times during the day. Here lighting up the slopestyle course for maybe two minutes.
- Then the clouds would rolling back and in and winds really started picking up.
- FRENDS Kevin Pearce
- Silhouette of Janni Korpi mid spin
- Sam Hulbert
- Mason Aguirre might have not stuck all his runs but his style is always on point.
- Spying on Andreas Wiig while getting some protection from the wind in the trees
- Crowd lined up to watch their favorite pros
- Shaun White mid huck
-Torstein Horgmocoming off his big win in Japan.
- Nice views and weather just across the valley
- Chas Guldemond 270 to start off his run
- This gust of wind could turn your 40ft three sixty into a 60ft seven to flat.
- Heikki Sorsa navigating the wind with a perfect five
- Chas poking it out on the first booter
- Girls winner SpencerO’Brienswitch back 180
- Jani Korpi - 3rd place
- Mikkel Bang - 2nd place
- Who would have guessed...Shaun White - 1st place.
- Womens podium Jenny Jones 2nd, SpencerO’Brien1st, Bev V. 3rd.
- Mens Podium - Mikkel Bang 2nd, Shaun White 1st, Janni Korpi 3rd.
The complete 2008/09 Winter Dew Tour schedule is as follows:
Event Date Location
Stop 1 Dec. 18-21, 2008 Breckenridge, Colo.—Breckenridge Ski Resort
Stop 2 Jan. 8-11, 2009 West Dover, Vt.—Mount Snow Resort
Stop 3 Feb. 19-22, 2009 Lake Tahoe, Calif.—Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort