Athletes Announced for iON Mountain Dew Tour Championships

SHAUN WHITE, SCOTTY LAGO, LOUIE VITO, TOM WALLISCH, NICK GOEPPER, KELLY CLARK AND MORE SET TO COMPETE AT DEW TOUR iON MOUNTAIN CHAMPIONSHIPS DEC. 13-16

Dew Tour to Debut Ski and Snowboard Big Air and Downtown Breckenridge Events, Including Live Weekend Show Headlined by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Burr Ridge, III – November 19, 2012 – The Dew Tour today announced the first round of confirmed athletes for the iON Mountain Championships in Breckenridge, Colo., December 13-16. The new Dew Tour will feature the world’s top freestyle skiers and snowboarders as they converge in Breckenridge to kick off the first major event of the winter action sports season.  The only winter event of the bigger, better 2012 Dew Tour will feature more competitions, including ski and snowboard Big Air, as well as a Film Night and concert that will take over downtown Breckenridge.
 
The iON Mountain Championships will feature the top names in men’s and women’s snowboarding hitting the Dew Tour Superpipe and Slopestyle course.  Olympic gold medalist Shaun White will bring his one-of-a-kind tricks to the Superpipe, while Iouri Podladtchikov and fun-loving Frends Scotty Lago and Jack and Luke Mitrani attempt to keep him off of the podium.  Last year’s Dew Cup winner, Louie Vito, will aim to gain his third consecutive Cup during the winner-takes-all weekend.  Several snowboarders will be splitting their time between hitting features on the Slopestyle course and triple corking in the Dew Tour’s debut Big Air contest. Mark McMorris, Sebastien Toutant, Torstein Horgmo and Breckenridge local Eric Willett are sure to be pushing the progression of snowboarding as Dew Tour kicks off the 2012-2013 winter season.
 
Competition will be close on the women’s side, as Superpipe dominator Kelly Clark attempts to defend her Dew Cup champion title.  Gretchen Bleiler, Elena Hight and 2010 Olympic gold medalist Torah Bright will also look to get their seasons started at the top of the podium.  Perennial Slopestyle contender Jamie Anderson will face off against Canadian Spencer O’Brien and a strong international field of up-and-coming women for the Slopestyle Dew Cup.
 
“I’m really excited to start the season competing at the Dew Tour iON Mountain Championships in Breckenridge,” said Lago. “The riders get one shot at a Dew Cup for the year, and there will be a lot of heavy hitters, so everyone will be bringing our best to the event.”
 
Freestyle skiing events will see the athletes sizing each other up after an off-season spent training for one of the sport’s biggest stages at the Dew Tour.  Simon Dumont and Tanner Hall will meet in the Superpipe, hoping their experience is enough to overtake Kevin Rolland, the winner of last year’s Dew Cup.  Breckenridge team skier Bobby Brown will attempt to use home slope advantage against Nick Goepper and previous Dew Cup champ Tom Wallisch on the Slopestyle course.  The three will also be among those competing in Big Air.
 
The pressure will also be on the women as they compete for Dew Cups in Superpipe and Slopestyle.  Canadian Rosalind Groenewoud will aim for the top spot on the podium in Pipe, fending off Maddie Bowman, Brita Sigourney and Jen Hudak.  Slopestyle could be anyone’s game, as Kaya Turski and locals Keri Herman and Emilia Wint lead the top names set to compete at Breckenridge.
 
The Dew Tour’s new format for 2012 includes an expansion of events throughout the weekend, bringing the action sports and lifestyle festival to Breckenridge.  The world’s best skiers and snowboarders will throw it down on the mountain while the lifts are running, with the spotlight swinging to the Riverwalk Center and downtown area in the evenings, featuring a Film Night recognizing the most influential and progressive films of the season.  The iON Mountain Championships will also include a concert, set to be announced at a later date.