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> News > Winter Dew Tour 2021: Adaptive Banked Slalom, Slopestyle & Streetstyle Recap & Results

snowboarding News

Winter Dew Tour 2021: Adaptive Banked Slalom, Slopestyle & Streetstyle Recap & Results

Women's Snowboard Slopestyle podium at Winter Dew Tour, L-R: 2nd Enni Rukajarvi (FIN), 1st Zoi Sadowski-Synnott (NZL) & 3rd Kokomo Murase (JPN), at Copper Mountain, CO, USA, December 2021. Image credit: / Yoshida / Dew Tour

Saturday, December 18, 2021

Winter Dew Tour kicked off the first day of final competitions featuring Women’s Ski Superpipe Final presented by Toyota, Men’s Slopestyle Final, Men’s and Women’s Snowboard Adaptive Banked Slalom Final presented by Toyota and Women’s Ski Slopestyle Finals. The third official day of the 2021 Winter Dew Tour showcased a full and action-packed day of final competitions: Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle, Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle, Men’s Ski Superpipe presented by Toyota, and wrapped up with Dew Tour’s signature event under the night lights - the Men’s & Women’s Ski and Snowboard Streetstyle.

Friday, December 17 - Results, Highlights and Quotes

Ski Superpipe Final presented by Toyota

The women put on a strong performance to open the day, with technical prowess and progression that resulted in high scores from every competitor. The showdown was between three-time Dew Tour champ Kelly Sildaru (EST) and Dew Tour rookie Eileen Gu (CHN). In the end, Gu, who was new to the contest scene in 2020 and has been on top ever since, solidified her dominance with two high scores in the 90s by landing the most technically difficult runs in the competition. Gu also took home a second place in the Ski Slopestyle Final and is scheduled to compete in a third discipline of Streetstyle tomorrow afternoon.

“It’s amazing to be here at Copper and Dew Tour,” said Gu. “There’s so much prestige and being able to be here among the cream of the crop of action sports athletes is a huge honor to me. And especially in this pipe at Copper, because I grew up competing in USASA nationals. Hanna (Faulhaber) and I have competed together since we were nine years old in this pipe.”

Hanna Faulhaber (Carbondale, Colo., USA ) took third, showing that the next generation of progressive skiers have arrived - the podium winner’s ages are 17 (Faulhaber), 18 (Gu) and 19 (Sildaru).

Ski Slopestyle Men’s Final

Ski Slopestyle Men’s ended with an American sweep of the podium. Alex Hall (Salt Lake CIty, Utah) was at the top of the leader board until fellow Park City competitor Colby Stevenson came from behind to overtake the lead as the last competitor in the field on run three. Both are also scheduled to compete in Streetstyle tomorrow. Two-time Dew Tour champion and two-time Olympic medalist Nick Goepper (Lawrenceburg, Ind.) took third.

“A win is so insane after all the years I’ve competed at Dew Tour without a good result,” said Stevenson. “I learned that nosebutter double cork on the first jump today. But it’s insane to come out here and win a Dew Tour, talk about a dream! And with all three Americans on top - it’s different at every comp - but it shows our team has been putting in work and also shows what is to come.”

Men’s & Women’s Snowboard Adaptive Banked Slalom presented by Toyota

The banked slalom course featured a hard and fast course - ideal for racing conditions. The competitors customized their prosthetics, which are adapted specifically for the course and sport. The women’s lineup highlighted a field of brand new athletes and the competition proved that the level of skill in the sport continues to grow.

The men’s podium resulted in an international finish: Matti Suur-Hamari (FIN) in first, Owen Pick (GBR) who lost his leg while serving in Iraq and Ben Tudhope (AUS) who came from behind in his second to claim the last position.

"It was pretty cool. We had really good weather and the course was holding up pretty good,” said Suur-Hamari. “I think I was a bit lucky to get the fastest time today. There were really good riders with me. It was cool, cool to be here, and always good to be here with Adaptive Action Sports and Toyota and Dew Tour. It's always a pleasure."

Kiana Clay (USA) who is Burton Snowboard’s first sponsored adaptive athlete, led the charge after Run 1 and was successful in sealing her win in the finals. An avid surfer and motocross athlete, Clay is classified as an athlete with an upper limb disability, which she is pushing for inclusion in future the Paralympic Games. Peggy Martin (USA) took home her second consecutive Dew Tour podium finish and Annika Hutsler (USA) from Aurora, Colo., who was invited to Dew Tour just a few days ago, took third place.

"It's awesome [to compete at home mountain Copper] being in an environment that's very familiar to you, a place that I started snowboarding at Copper adaptively after my accident so this has been a very home-feeling to me,” said Clay. “I love Copper and they're super supportive with adaptive action sports and with everything that we do here."

Ski Slopestyle Women’s Final

Tess Ledeau (FRA) came out swinging with a 91.50 score, consistent on jumps and smooth on rails. She was the only one in the competition to hit a score in the 90s in challenging weather conditions. In her victory lap, Ledeau attempted and nearly landed a double cork 1260 on the last jump proving why the style and amplitude of this powerhouse skier is rivaled by few. She took home her first Dew Tour win today and also has a silver medal from her first Dew Tour back in 2018.

“I’m just so happy to land my first run today. Women’s skiing is getting incredibly higher and higher and I’m so proud to be part of this moment,” said Ledeau.

Watch HERE: Winning runs from Men's Snowboard Adaptive Banked Slalom Presented by Toyota| Dew Tour Copper 2021

Watch HERE: Winning runs Women's Snowboard Adaptive Banked Slalom Presented by Toyota | Dew Tour Copper 2021

TOP THREE PODIUM RESULTS

Ski Slopestyle Pipe Women’s Final Results (Field of 8, 3 Runs)

1. EIleen Gu (CHN) - 96.00

2. Kelly Sildaru (EST) - 93.00

3. Hanna Faulhaber (USA) - 90. 75

Ski Slopestyle Men’s Final (Field of 10, 3 Runs)

1. Colby Stevenson (USA) - 94.25

2. Alex Hall (USA) - 91.75

3. Nick Goepper (USA) - 89.50

Men’s & Women’s Snowboard Adaptive Banked Slalom presented by Toyota (Field of 9 (Men’s) / Field of 6 (Women’s), Fastest of 2 Runs)

Men’s

1. Matti Suur-Hamari (FIN)

2. Owen Pick (GBR)

3. Ben Tudhope (AUS)

Women’s

1. Kiana Clay (USA)

2. Peggy Martin (USA)

3. Annika Hutsler (USA)

Ski Slopestyle Women’s Final (Field of 16, 3 runs)

1. Tess Ledeux (NOR), 91.50

2. Eileen Gu (CHN), 89.00

3. Johanne Killi (NOR), 86.00

Saturday, December 18 - Results, Highlights and Quotes

Snowboard Slopestyle Women’s Final

The female field faced challenging conditions due to colder temperatures, with speed being the biggest competitor in clearing the last jump of the run. New Zealand’s Zoi Sadowski-Synott established her lead early in the competition with her ability to adapt to the course and interpret the features with her unique style. Her winning run included solid technicality on rails at the top of the course, into a front 7 melon and smoothly landing a massive backside 900 spin - resulting in a seven point lead ahead of runner-up Enni Rukajarvi (FIN) after run number three.

“It has always been a dream to do well at Dew Tour. This was the first comp I was ever invited to and to do well for once, I’m stoked. I’m just happy to be back competing, especially with all the girls. I haven’t seen them all in nine months so just to be back amongst the mix of all the best female snowboarders in the world is pretty sick,” said Sadowski-Synott.

Japan’s Kokomo Murase clinched the third podium spot.

The top USA women were unable to break into the top three spots, with Dew Tour rookie Courtney Rummel (West Bend, Wisc., USA) finishing in fourth position to secure important points towards her chances of representing Team USA in the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. Julia Marino, Hailey Langland and veteran Jamie Anderson finished in seventh, 10th and 12th respectively.

Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle Final

Arguably the most exciting competition of the day, in the Men’s final, Mark McMorris (CAN) set the bar high in Run 1 with a score of 90.00 while his fellow competitors struggled with speed in the first run - similar to the Women’s Slopestyle final. McMorris held onto the lead through the majority of the competition until things started to heat up with the last five competitors in the last run.

Beginning with Sean FitzSimons (Hood River, Ore.) who jumped from 21st position into second to shake up the rankings, followed by the last two competitors to go - local Silverthorne heroes and Olympians Chris Corning (USA) who upset McMorris as the second to last competitor to ride, and Red Gerard (USA) who leapt over both to defend his Dew Tour title in the last moments of the competition.

“I can’t imagine being a judge right now with those last runs. Speechless. I cannot believe it. I told Sean FitzSimons up top, ‘Don’t leave anything on the table, just go.’ The U.S. team is thriving right now. I can’t describe back-to-back wins…just speechless,” said a visibly emotional Gerard physically pinching himself.

Twelve Americans made up the 25-person final.

Men’s Ski Superpipe Final presented by Toyota

Superpipe conditions were ideal for maintaining speed and control down the 22-foot walls of the pipe for athletes to show off their best runs. Coming off a victory from the Copper Grand Prix last week, Olympic silver medalist and two-time Dew Tour champion Alex Ferreira (Aspen, Colo., USA) brought the heat in run 2 and laid down the two high scores of the competition.

In his last run, he upped the level of difficulty even more with a combination trick: 1620 to 1440 combination: a switch left side 1080 tail grab into the right side double cork 1620 tail grab into a left side double cork 1440 safety grab and switch down the pipe double cork 900 Japan grab and finished it off with a left side 1260 Double cork safety. His final high score was a 95.75 after claiming the second highest score of a 94.75 in run 2 sealed the win.

“I’m just super excited. I’ve never done well in Copper except last week and this week, so it must be my year out here in Copper. I’m very grateful. There was a lot of tension up on top - scary, nervous, whatever you want to call it. Maybe I overcame that today. There was a lot of spinning in that run and I’ve never done it before. There’s just a lot of pieces to the puzzle and this is pretty incredible not just for my result but for my mental game as well,” said Ferreira.

Aaron Blunck (Crested Butte, Colo.) looked confident on his third run as he executed double cork on every wall, a score of 94.00 that was solid enough for a Team USA first and second place on the podium. Brendan McKay (CAN) finished in third.

STREETSTYLE FINALS

The day capped off with Dew Tour’s signature and crowd favorite Streetstyle event where fans lined around the entire course to cheer on the women’s and men’s ski and snowboard jam session as they competed for the title, best trick and prize money. Held under the night lights and full moon, scoring was based on consistency, overall impression and use of the full park features. The evening also ended with a fireworks show to end a full day with an exclamation point.

Women’s Ski Streetstyle Final

The Women’s Ski Streetstyle Final featured heavy hitters Kelly Sildaru (EST) and Eileen Gu (CHN). Sildaru, who won second in the Women’s Ski Superpipe final yesterday, snuck into first position in the last few seconds of the jam session for her technical and stylish hits and best use of the park features.

Johanne Killi (NOR), who has an accomplished slopestyle and streestyle history at Dew Tour, claimed second place for executing multiple switch tricks down the rails. Gu took home third place in addition to the Best Trick award for her Switch Lip 270 Pretzel 270. The Streetstyle competition makes this her third podium finish: with a win in Superpipe, a second in Slopestyle.

Women’s Snowboard Streetstyle Final

The Women’s Snowboard Streetstyle Final exuded high energy where fun and creativity was the name of the game from spectators and competitors cheering on the entertainment. Ellie Weiler (Highland Ranch, Colo.) showcased a crowd pleasing 50/50 over the bottom of Alexis Roland’s board; who took home the Best Trick prize as well for her 270 on Boardslide, 270 Out.

But it was Roland who won the favor of the judges with her lines and best trick. First known to the world as a ripping six-year-old snowboarder, she has been able to translate that talent into a strong career as a street rider.

“I love the energy, I love the format, you guys always have such a creative line. It’s Dew Tour for God’s sake, what’s not to love!?! I do this for women’s snowboarding. I do this because I love the culture and I want women to snowboard. I think it’s beautiful and I just want to share that,” said Roland (Bloomington, Minn.).

Men’s Ski Streetstyle Final

The course was hot for the Men’s Ski Streetstyle Final with multiple requests for Alex Hall (Park City, Utah) to show off a flip. Canadian Max Moffatt (Guelph, ONT.) ramped up the crowd when he locked in the best trick of the night - a backside 540 switch up on transfer. But it was Hall who put on an impressive show to take home a second win after winning second place in the Slopestyle final yesterday.

“It was all about having fun tonight. I was feeling really tired before and didn’t get to ski the course too much, but Streetstyle is just about coming out and having fun with the boys and not taking it too seriously. That being said, everyone sends it. You get in that vibe and that energy. It was super fun,” said Hall.

Men’s Snowboard Streetstyle Final

The last competition of the day was the Men’s Snowboard Streetstyle Final as a pumped up crowd got louder throughout the evening to support their favorite riders. Luke Winklemann (Blowing Rock, N.C.) who turned 21 today got the best gift of all as he took home the Streetstyle win.

"After a tough day at Slopestyle, I came out here with no expectations – literally just wanted to have fun. I'm in shock right now that I won, so this is amazing. The vibe was unbelievable. Everybody is screaming, having a great time. All the riders at the top are smiling and having a blast," said Winklemann.

Slopestyle sensation Sebastian Toutant (Montreal, CAN) took home second place as well as

Best Trick - a Front 4 to 360 Switch Up, Front 4 to Fakie.

TOP THREE PODIUM RESULTS

Snowboard Slopestyle Women’s Final (Field of 15, 3 Runs)

1. Zoi Sadowski-Synnott (NZL), 97.75

2. Enni Rukajarvi (FIN), 90.75

3. Kokomo Murase (JPN), 87.75

Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle

Field of 25, 2 Runs

1. Red Gerard (USA), 93.25

2. Chris Corning (USA), 91.50

3. Mark McMorris (CAN), 90.00