Gerard, Corning Top Dew Tour Slopestyle Podium
2018 Olympic Gold Medalist Red Gerard took the top spot on the podium Saturday at the Dew Tour at Copper Mountain, followed by Chris Corning in second.
Weather had cancelled the Thursday qualifiers, so the full field of 25 men ran with best of two runs counting. Gerard was the very last rider to drop —Corning, the second-to-last, had just dropped prior and disrupted the podium, bumping Canada’s Mark McMorris out of first with a score of 91.50. Then it was Gerard’s turn. You guys, this series of events was a lot!
Gerard put down an incredible run earning a score of 93.25 to overtake Corning. He went clean through the upper rail section, then frontside 1080 nosegrab improving over the 720 on his first run and adding in the nosegrab for style, then into a backside 1260 melon, and finishing with the biggest trick of the day—a switch backside 1620 Weddle. The crowd, which included a large gathering of his family and friends, absolutely erupted.
“Standing at the top for run two after seeing all the guys destroy it today, I was just thinking that I’m so proud of our U.S. team and all of my friends from everywhere, and how good we’ve been riding,” Gerard shared with the Dew Tour. “Obviously I wanted to land a run and get on the podium, but more than anything, I was just feeling so happy with how everyone rode. It was incredible.”
Corning earned his second-place finish cleanly handling the rail section and then stepping up in the jumps with a Cab 1260 nosegrab, into a frontside flatspin 1440 melon, to backside triple cork 1440 melon.
U.S. Team Slopestyle Coach Dave Reynolds shared his excitement at the results: “This was an amazing finish to the contest, the event kept getting postponed and every postponement meant a new start order. Chris Corning and Red, the last two to drop, couldn’t have been a more storybook situation. They came in so clutch, not a surprise, but so impressive. Really excited for them both.”
McMorris held it down in third with a score of 90, while Sean Fitzsimons put down a memorable run linking up back-to-back triple cork 1440s which earned him a fourth-place finish. Brock Crouch took sixth and Like Winklemann finished in 11th.
Women’s Slopestyle
The women’s slopestyle saw challenging snow conditions for some of the competitors, with speed becoming less of an issue among the field of 15 as they advanced through the three-run finals.
New Zealand’s Zoi Sadowski-Synnott took the top score of the day with a 97.75, followed by Finland’s Enni Rukajarvi with a 90.75, and Japan’s Kokomo Murase in third with an 87.75.
Eighteen-year-old Courtney Rummel posted the top U.S. score of the day, earning fourth place with an 83.50. This was a career-best finish for the U.S. Team rookie rider.
“I’m super stoked, I’ve never done two sevens in a run so I’m so happy I pulled it together. It’s insane to me,” shared Rummel just after landing her run. She also shared her excitement about competing alongside teammates Julia Marino and Jamie Anderson, “It makes me want to step up because they step up. They’re the biggest inspirations ever. It’s so sick riding with them—I love it.”
Two-time Olympic Gold medalist Jamie Anderson finished in seventh and Julia Marino in 10th—both uncharacteristically unable to put down their runs in finals.
The Olympic qualifiers continue after the holidays at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain, California, January 3–8, 2022.
Men's Slopestyle Results
Women's Slopestyle Results
