Langland Third In Dew Tour Slopestyle

BRECKENRIDGE, CO (Dec. 11, 2015) -- American Hailey Langland (San Clemente, CA) scored a third-place finish in her first Dew Tour appearance Friday. Though the contest was a progressive one for the women, with several of the ladies attempting and landing 900s, it was style and execution that earned Langland a spot on the podium.

Langland, who was the top qualifier going into Friday’s final, fell hard in her first run when she went too deep into the landing on a cab 720. Deciding to play it safe and follow the examples of the top two ladies, the 15-year-old U.S Freeskiing member spun all four directions on her second run: switch backside 180, frontside 360, backside 180 and cab 540.

"I’m just happy to be out here in the final with all these girls," said Langland. "My first run I took a pretty big bail, so I went back up to the top, tried to calm my nerves and then just tried to go back out and show how I ride. Maybe not my biggest spin, but just showcase what I do and why I love it. I think it really paid off today."

Anna Gasser of Austria locked down the win with a bar-setting first run that included technical rail tricks and spins in all four directions, going backside 540, Cab 540, switch backside 180 and frontside 720. Second place was earned by Canadian veteran Spener O’Brien, who also spun in all for directions going cab 540, backside 720, switch backside 540 and frontside 720 off the toes.

The Dew Tour slopestyle comp at Breckenridge on Friday may have been the most progressive one to date for women’s snowboarding. Multiple athletes attempted 900s, and two were landed: Katie Ormerod of Great Britain landed a cab 900 and Cheryl Maas of the Netherlands landed a backside 900 in a run that earned her fourth place. Maas was the first woman in snowboard history to land a 900 in competition, doing so at Winter X Games Europe in 2011.

The ladies will take to the superpipe finals Saturday at 10:30 a.m. MST where Americans Arielle Gold (Steamboat Springs, CO), Chloe Kim (La Palma, CA) and Kelly Clark (West Dover, VT) will battle it out for the first major podium of the year. The men will compete in their superpipe final directly following the ladies. Watch for a strong American contingency to fare well there: Shaun White (Carlsbad, CA), Taylor Gold (Steamboat Springs, CO), Ben and Gabe Ferguson (Bend, OR), Chase Josey (Hailey, ID), Brett Esser (Breckenridge, CO) and Matt Ladley (Steamboat Springs, CO) will all compete.

For all the rest of the Dew Tour action from Breckenridge, check out the online schedule and go to the Dew Tour live stream to watch your favorite athletes in action. Or tune in to the TV broadcast on NBC.

HIGHLIGHTS

• U.S. team member Hailey Langland was the top seed going into Friday’s final. Her third-place finish marked her first Dew Tour podium at her first appearance.
• It was Langland's second major win—she also took top honors at the Sprint Grand Prix at Mammoth in March.
• Langland’s run: backside lipslide, boardslide to boardslide to switch, switch backside 180, frontside 360, 50-50 up to frontside lipslide, backside 180 tail, cab 540
• Two 900s were landed in Friday’s final, the first time that a 900 has been landed by more than one woman in competition history.
• U.S. team member Karly Shorr (Milford, MI) also competed in slopestyle at the 2015 Dew Tour, but she did not make the final, finishing 11th in the semifinal.

QUOTES
Hailey Langland
I’m just happy to be out here in the final with all these girls. My first run I took a pretty big bail, so I went back up to the top, tried to calm my nerves and then just tried to go back out and show how I ride. Maybe not my biggest spin, but just showcase what I do and why I love it. I think it really paid off today.

RESULTS
Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle