Anderson and Mattsson open slopestyle season with Laax Open wins

Women's Slopestyle podium at LAAX OPEN 2021, L-R: Zoi Sadowski-Synnott (NZL) (2nd), Jamie Anderson (USA) (1st) & Tess Coady (AUS) (3rd). Image credit: / LAAX OPEN / Stadler

Friday, January 22, 2021

In a 2020/21 FIS Snowboard Park & Pipe season where nobody can be quite sure what is going to happen from one day - or even one hour - to the next, the worries of the world were pushed the side for a couple of blissful hours and some of the world’s best slopestyle riders got down to business at the Laax Open 2021, where Jamie Anderson of the USA and Sweden’s Niklas Mattsson walked away victorious from a tough competition.

Anderson comes through with the final-run heroics once again

A steady wind blowing across the course meant that the women’s field in the first run had to be absolutely on point when stomping their tricks in order to carry enough speed for all the features, and the first six riders on course were all unable to do that, resulting something of a subdued start to the event.

However, the seventh rider down was Zoi Sadowski-Synnott (NZL), and the 19 year-old reigning slopestyle world champion carried the energy of her hard-charging pre-competition training session right through to finals, where she showed no ill effects from the weather while stomping a run that included a boardslide underlip 450 out on the cannon rail and huge back-to-back 720s through the jump line. Earning a score of 82.96, Sadowski Synnott had set the benchmark for the day.

Top qualifier Anderson dropped next in heat one and put down what was essentially a safety run to earn solid score of 74.66, ending run one in second place behind Sadwoski-Synnott. However, anyone who knows Jamie Anderson knew that she would have plenty more to give if conditions improved for run two.

Conditions did improve, in fact, and several other riders were able to put down clean runs, with Anna Gasser (AUT) and Laurie Blouin (CAN) getting through from top to bottom but still unable to get near Sadowsk-Synnott for top spot. It was Australia’s Tess Coady who made the biggest improvement in run two, stomping a half cab in to backside 360 out on the cannon rail and a gutsy backside 900 on the final kicker to and earn a score of 74.18 to jump into third place.

After Sadowski-Synnott washed out on her cab underflip 540 attempt on the wing feature to end her bid to improve her score on her second run, it was all down to Anderson, and the woman who is arguably the best competition rider of all time simply did what she does best, rising to the occasion once again, upping her tricks, stomping the heck out of her landings, and blasting through her run without so much as a hand touch.

Anderson’s run started out with a half-cab over the tube to backside blunt 270 out on the waterfall rail and then a frontside blunt 270 out on the cannon to finish the rail section. She then went backside 540 stalefish on the wing feature, to a cab frontside double 900 weddle on the first kicker, frontside 720 weddle on the second kicker, and then a frontside 180 in switch backside 540 Indy out on the watch to finish things off for a score of 84.96 and her fifth Laax Open title.

“I’m really happy, yes. I can’t actually believe it,” Anderson said after the thorough champagne shower she had absorbed during the awards ceremony, “I didn’t know if my run today would be enough but I decided I was just gonna send it, try to go big and be as stylie as I can be, and I’m ecstatic with the win.

“My first run I knew it was just too slow out there for me to do my cab 9, so I was a pretty pissed off and frustrated. But thankfully my wax tech hooked it up between runs, and the course got faster as more people rode, so watching the girls on the second run I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I got this.’”

Mattsson drops untouchable first run for first slopestyle World Cup win

Over on the men’s side of things we saw a complete reversal of how the story panned out in the women’s competition, with Niklas Mattsson, the lowest-scoring rider to qualify for finals, dropping in as the very first rider of the men’s competition and absolutely lacing a top to bottom thriller that would not be bested by any of the other 11 riders on hand in either of their two runs.

Mattsson came out of the start gate swinging, with a backlip on the tube to a front blunt, switch-up, 270 off - aka a Casanova - and then finished off his rail section with a cab 270 on to 450 out on the cannon rail. Into the wing feature he stomped a switch double crippler indy, then a switch backside 1260 melon on kicker one, a backside 1620 melon on kicker two, and finished things off with a cab 540 in to backside rodeo 540 out on the Swatch watch feature for a score of 84.28 and the first slopestyle World Cup win of his career.

“To put down my first run was amazing, but then there was a lot of waiting to watch the other riders come down,” 28 year-old Mattsson said, “In the end though this is a dream come true. Wow. It’s been tough love at Laax Open for me for the past six or seven years, but then this year to come here and put down run after run and end up on top of the podium, it’s kind of a revenge. It feels amazing to have a top spot here, because we’ve got to see what happens with the world championships and the rest of the season. So to get a top result here is big.”

Mattsson’s near-perfect execution on run one truly separated him from the pack, as a handful of other riders put down top to bottom efforts but saw minor flubs here or there knock down the scores on runs that may have had a chance at top spot with some cleaning up. Mons Roisland (NOR) in particular looked like he was going to have the answer for Mattsson, but the Norwegian landed heavy on his toes on his frontside 1440 tail grab on the second kicker and went down with just one feature to go in his second run.

Besides Mattsson’s win, the story of the day in the men’s competition went to 21 year-old Leon Vockensperger who, with his second-place finish, became the first German man to earn a Park & Pipe World Cup podium in nearly 11 years, and the first German man ever to earn a slopestyle World Cup podium.

Riding fast, relaxed, and stylish, Vockensperger’s switch backside 1260 melon to backside triple cork 1440 weddle through the kicker line was one of the day’s standout combos, and the historic result for Vockensperger and the German team was a well-earned one.

“This season I’m feeling really good on my board again,” said Vockensperger about scoring his first World Cup podium, “It feels really good to have that injury stuff and negative stuff all behind me. I still can’t really believe it. To be on the podium alongside my big heroes is just awesome and I'm very thankful for that. I had a lot of fun riding the course today, even although the conditions were quite difficult.”

Third place on the day for the men went to the always-incredible Marcus Kleveland, who dropped a heavy first run that included his trademark technical prowess in some truly mindbinding ways, as with his backside 1620 melon into cab 1260 weddle combo through the kicker line, before finishing things off by somehow dropping a double cork 900 out of the Swatch bowl for his final hit.

TRICK LIST

TRICK LIST - WOMEN:

Jamie Anderson (USA) -half-cab over the tube to backside blunt 270 out on the waterfall rail, frontside blunt 270 out on the cannon rail, backside 540 stalefish on the wing kicker, cab frontside double 900 weddle, frontside 720 weddle, frontside 180 in switch backside 540 Indy out on the watch

Zoi Sadowski-Synnott (NZL) - stall 270 in on the tube to 50-50 to frontside boardslide on the waterfall, boardslide underflip 450 out, cab 540 underflip weddle on the wing kicker, frontside 720 weddle, backside 720 melon, frontside 180 in switch backside 540 stalefish out on the watch

Tess Coady (AUS) - half cab over the tube to boardslide to fakie on the waterfall, cab 180 in to backside 360 out on the cannon rail, cripple Indy on the wing kicker, frontside 720 melon to tail grab, backside 900 weddle, switch backside 180 nose grab out on the watch

TRICK LIST - MEN:

Niklas Mattsson (SWE) - backlip on the tube to front blunt switch-up 270 out on the waterfall rail, cab 270 on 450 out on the cannon rail, switch double crippler indy, switch backside 1260 melon, backside 1620 melon, cab 540 in to backside rodeo 540 out

Leon Vockensperger (GER) - cab 180 over to frontside tailslide 270 out on the waterfall rail, frontside 270 in 450 stalefish out, frontside double underflip 900 indy, switch backside 1260 melon, backside triple cork 1440 weddle, backside 360 press to frontside rodeo 540 indy out on the watch

Marcus Kleveland (NOR) - backside 180 over the the tube to cab 270 in 270 out on the waterfall rail, frontside 270 in cork 450 out on the cannon rail, double cripple indy, backside 1620 melon, cab 1260 weddle, backside 360 in to double cork 900 out on the watch

The LAAX OPEN 2021 will end with the Halfpipe night finals on January 23, for all to watch live online or on TV from 5.45pm CET (4.45pm UTC) onwards. All information about the event can also be found at www.laax.com/open.

QUICK LINKS

•Full results Women / Men

•Photos

•Highlight clips - see below

Source: FIS (International Ski Federation)

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