SNOWBASIN -- On the penultimate day of the Winter Dew Tour Wendy's Invitational, Jossi Wells came up with a double shot of victory.
After taking first place in the men's ski superpipe finals, the New Zealander ventured over to the slopestyle course, where he also came out on top in the preliminary round.
"I couldn't be more happy," Wells said after winning the superpipe crown with a score of 92.50. "That was a really good run for me."
The win catapulted him into first place in the points standings after taking second in ski superpipe last month at Breckenridge, Colo. With one more stop coming up next month at Mount Snow, Vt., he now has his sights set on the Dew Tour Cup, given to the points leader in each event at the end of the three-stop tour.
"Just hold onto that top spot and land the best runs I can possibly do," he said of his plans for Mount Snow.
Simon Dumont came in second after posting back-to-back scores of 90.50 and 91.38.
"I thought my first run was better, but I'll use this going into the next round," said Dumont, of Bethel, Maine.
Dumont, who is notorious for catching big air and holds the world record for highest air on a quarterpipe (he launched 35 feet above a pipe in April 2008), said the 18-foot Dew Tour pipe was a little small for his liking. The superpipe used in the Winter X Games is 22 feet high.
Canadian Sarah Burke took top honors in the women's division with a stylish second run that earned her a 91.75 score. Local favorite Jen Hudak of Salt Lake City came in second with a solid 88.75.
Later in the day and into the night, the snowboarders took to the superpipe for the men's and women's finals.
The thousands gathered at the bottom and along the sides of the pipe set a new record high for Winter Dew Tour attendance, the announcers said. An exact count was unavailable because the event was free and open to the public, so there was no ticket count to go by.
The women went first, with Elena Hight of South Lake Tahoe, Calif. coming out on top after nailing her first run to earn a score of 92.50.
Hight, who didn't compete at Breckenridge, said it was a great way to start off her season at a great venue in Snowbasin.
"I just tried to stay focused and nail the landings," she said. "It really worked out for me today."
Kaitlyn Farrington of Sun Valley, Idaho came in second, followed by Spaniard Queralt Castellet, who won the superpipe competition in Breckenridge and leads the women's field in the points standings.
The highest podium spot on the men's side came down to the final run of the night.
After posting a score of 91.75 on his first run, Steve Fisher of Breckenridge held the top spot for most of the night. That came to an end when Danny Davis, who won at the Breckenridge tour stop, scored a 96.00 on his final run as the only rider to successfully pull off a double cork (double flip move) and finish his run without falling.
Norway's Roger Kleivdal also landed a double cork, but fell on the landing of the final trick on his second run.
With back-to-back victories in the superpipe, the 21-year-old Davis, a rising star from Highland, Mich., holds a commanding lead in the points standings heading into the tour's final stop.
The competition wraps up today with slopestyle finals. The men-only ski slopestyle is schedule for a 9:30 a.m. start. The women snowboarders will take to the course at 12:30 p.m., followed by the men at 1:30 p.m.
Comments