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Casey Puckett & Tanner Hall Win Ski Tour #2

J Dogg — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 02:00:11 -0500

Rating

The second stop of The Honda Ski Tour (THST) & BaseCamp Music Experience (BCME) 2007 wrapped up Sunday in Breckenridge, CO, drawing crowds in the thousands along with big-name bands, parties and the world’s best ski cross and halfpipe ski competitors. Competitors delivered both entertainment and excitement for the hundreds of spectators who came out to watch these athletes battle for the $25,000 top prize.

THST is North America’s new elite, four-stop mountain festival and skiing competition that features the world’s best halfpipe and ski cross skiers competing for a total of $500,000, the biggest purse in skiing. Cumulative points will determine the overall winners of THST ski cross and halfpipe and both will receive a Honda Element.

Ski cross competition involves four skiers racing head-to-head through a motocross-style course featuring jumps, banked turns, waves and modified terrain features. Saturday’s individual ski cross time trial qualified the fastest 14 athletes who automatically advanced to yesterday’s elimination rounds.

The first two heats of the day were the Paul Mitchell Dark Horse (PMDH) qualifier. Exclusive to THST, the PMDH qualifier allows eight skiers, who qualified 15 to 22 to race head-to-head in two heats with the winner of each heat advancing to the main event. Kyle Sul easily won his heat while Cody Smith nabbed the other PMDH position and the two had the honor of wearing the PMDH black jerseys. Both were knocked out after the first round.

Casey Puckett who seems to be on an unstoppable winning streak since taking the first THST title and his second X Games gold medal almost didn’t make the finals. In the semi-final round Puckett found himself bottle-necked with Daron Rahlves and Roman Hofer while local favorite Carl Rixon glided through without incident. First to get himself together after the crash Puckett managed to finish second to Rixon, just ahead of Rahlves, sending the most successful downhill ski racer in U.S. history to the consolation round.

“I seem to get myself into difficult situations,” said fifth place overall finisher Daron Rahlves. “That semi round was just tough. We all three tangled up, had nowhere to go. I ripped my pants apart when I crashed and shredded a whole pair of skis. I’m not very happy with the way it turned out today. Casey Puckett’s been on a good string of wins and I’m hungrier than ever to take it down. It’s not just him, there are a lot of good guys out there but I’m kind of fed up with ending up in the nets or on the snow or whatever.”

The finals proved to be a battle royal with four of the sport’s biggest names going head-to-head for the glory of being crowned The Honda Ski Tour ski cross champion. Casey Puckett didn’t have a great start but made some tactical moves, managing to get ahead after the first few turns. Stanley Hayer of Canada/Czech Republic and Enak Gavaggio battled for second and third while Carl Rixon finished in fourth. Puckett claimed his second consecutive THST victory and another check for $25,000. Hayer, who has finished second to Puckett for the second time walked away with $15,000, Gavaggio with $7,500 and Rixon added $5,000 to his bank account.

“Today took a lot of luck,” said Puckett. “You know, in the semi finals, there were three of us tumbling together, I was sliding across the snow on my face and I thought ‘okay, this is over’ but luckily I came up on my skis and managed to advance to the finals. In the finals, I wasn’t great out of the start but I was able to hit the trannies really well and make speed and really just squeak by those guys.”

Puckett continues to lead THST overall point’s standings with 200 points, 40 points ahead of Hayer with 160. Daron Rahlves has 95 cumulative points and Enak Gavaggio and Lars Lewen are tied for fourth with 89 each.

Hundreds of spectators turned out to watch the finals of The Honda Ski Tour halfpipe competition yesterday on Breckenridge’s Peak 8 where 25 of the world’s best halfpipe athletes put on an incredible show. Although Tanner Hall posted the best score for his first run, it was Peter Olenick who stole the show with his signature double flatspin dubbed the whiskey flip. The first athlete to successfully land a double flatspin in halfpipe competition, Olenick had difficulty at THST stop #1 and the X Games putting together an entire run. Not the case in yesterday’s competition, as Olenick absolutely stomped each trick this time around. His efforts which earned him a best score of 89.67, just 1.3 behind Hall, was met by boos from spectators and competitors who felt he deserved more for his incredible talent.

“This pipe is awesome, how good the pipe is makes us look better,” said modest Pete Olenick. “I guess I screwed up a little bit, but I think Tanner did too. I’m stoked on the event though, The Ski Tour is going off this year, and it’s going to be really fun at the rest of the stops. “

Andreas Hatveit of Norway was sitting in fourth position after the first run but put together an amazing second run when he dropped in switch, to a front 720, right side 900, left side 900, right side 720 and switch 900, which catapulted him onto the podium, just ahead of THST stop #1 winner, Simon Dumont.

Sean Field’s solid second run was a crowd favorite and launched him from 21st position into the money, at 6th overall.

“It felt really good. I didn’t stomp my first run so landing that second run, I was under a lot of pressure. It was just such a relief to stomp it,” said the ever positive Sean Field. “I’m stoked to be here, I’m having a lot of fun for sure.”

Sick with the flu, Tanner Hall was unable to take a second run and even missed the photo op standing a top the podium. Luckily his first run was enough to confirm his win, and regardless of whether he was present to accept his giant check, he did earn himself $25,000 and 100 overall tour standings points.

“I’m really sick,” said halfpipe winner Tanner Hall. “My plan all day was to just do one competition run and make it the best I could. After training I was put on oxygen by patrol and wasn’t sure if I could even compete. I saved all my energy for my one comp run and it turned out alright.”

Simon Dumont, whose incredible first run included an ally-oop 900, which has never been successfully executed in competition, was visibly upset by what he felt was unfair judging. Dumont declined to make a statement but still leads the overall point’s standings with 150 points followed by a close race between Olenick with 106, Hall with 100 and Matt Philippi with 95.

MORE AT WWW.THESKITOUR.COM

Verbier Ride 2003

J Dogg — Wed, 16 Apr 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Rating

by Phil Martin

So the fat lady has sung. The Verbier Ride 2003 is officially over. This year's freeski festival was a celebration of skiing's new wave and a competitive showcase for both the riders and their sport. With the support and partnership of TeleVerbier and Verbier Tourism and event sponsors, Dainese, The North Face, Ortovox and Snow and Rock, the Verbier Ride team delivered a world-class freeski event.

Big Mountain Freeride

The Big Mountain Freeride, held on the steep slopes of Mont Gele, proved a fitting finale for the inaugural IFSA Freeskiing European Tour. Snow conditions were tough, but the riders still laid down incredible lines, nailed 40foot+ cliff drops and generally wowed the crowds with their skill, power and courage.

Head Judge, Francine Moreillon, was particularly impressed by the professionalism of the riders. "Everybody skied hard, but also skied responsibly. They put on a great show up there."

British rider, Jason Schutt (Dynastar), showed his talent with an impressive 6th place in the elite international field. In the end, though, French riders, Romaine Raisson and Thomas Diet, stole the show. Diet is the new prot' of French freeriding and, at only 18, one of the brightest stars of the future. Raisson is an established figure and one of the smoothest riders on the circuit. He edged Diet into second place with two blistering runs.

The ladies event came down to a matter of 2 points, as German rider, Steffi Franck (Dynastar) fought hard in the final run to catch up Norwegian, Marte Lise Karlsen (Extrem). Karlsen had done just enough on the first day however, and held on to win.

Skiercross

The Verbier Ride SkierCross was a designated Winter X-Games 2004 Qualifier. This gave Warren Smith a good excuse to seek out the services of course-shaping guru, Nicolas Voudroz. The designer of the Skiercross World Championship course, Nicolas laid on the most spectacular course Verbier has ever seen.

Although the event start-time was delayed due to a combination of logistical issues and rider-proposed course alterations, this actually gave the course time to soften up a little in the sun. With less concern over safety off the big kickers Nicolas had included, the riders were finally able to let rip on this super-fast course.

With the X-Games place up for grabs, competition was particularly fierce in the men?s event. Norwegian, Frederik Lutkyis (Dynastar), eventually won the right to be in Aspen next year. His focus was unwavering and he was never headed in any race. Afterwards, his elation was clear. 'This is the best moment of my skiing life!' he stated.

In the ladies' skiercross, a triple fall in the final run, left the race wide open. Martina Renschler (Head) recovered fastest to record the victory.

Slopestyle Jam Session

The Slopestyle Jam session on the final day of the Verbier Ride 2003 was a change of pace from the frantic action of the Slopestyle. The course designed by Yannick and his TeleVerbier shaping crew was fluid and imaginative, allowing the riders a range of options with which to express their creativity on the slope.

The atmosphere was chilled and the vibe very positive amongst the riders. This showed as they inspired each other to ever more spectacular tricks.

In the end the D-spin 7s and 9s of Ben 'Skinner' Murphy (Adidas Eyewear) won the day. UK rider, Andy Bennett (Line, Fat Face) misty-flipped himself into 2nd and local rider, Matteas Eisenschwanz, finished off the podium placings.

In Summary

All in all, the Verbier Ride 2003 was a great success. Leading freeskiers from around the world gathered to showcase the sport and judging from the whoops and cheers of the crowds, their efforts were much appreciated.

With PlayKids Productions chronicling the event both for TV and Snows in the House 2 and Quattro Media handling the TV distribution, there will be ample opportunity for people to catch up with any action they missed over the next few months. Check back regularly with www.verbierride.com to view updated broadcasting schedules.

Freeskiing may not be about competition, but competition is an integral part of freeskiing. Such a progressive sport needs events, not only for the media coverage they generate, but also because the fusion of riding talents in the theatre of competition generates an intensity and inspiration capable of pushing the sport to the next level. Riders feed off the energy of such events and take the vibe back to their home playgrounds.

The Verbier Ride is founded on this core spirit. It remains a festival of freeskiing for freeskiers. It just happens to have evolved into a world-class competition. With the support of resorts and the industry, such events will continue to drive freeskiing and freeskiing will continue to shape the wintersports industry as a whole.

Leading the way next year will be the Verbier Ride 2004.

Writer, Freeskier, Wintersports Media Consultant email: philmartin@skijournalism.com

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