Andreas Hatveit wins Slopestyle at Breck

By Shay Williams Freeskier Magazine – The Winter Dew Tour has drawn to a close this afternoon, but not before going out with a bang, in the form of Slopestyle finals. Another sunny day (a little breezy, though) presided over Breckenridge’s massive Dew Tour course, as 12 of the best skiers ripped through it. Super qualified athletes Alexis Godbout and Teen heartthrob Bobby Brown met up with 10 other finalists, which included X Games Medalists Schiller, Carlson, Håtveit, and Gagnier. 

 After it was all said and done, Norway’s Andreas Håtveit stood atop the rest, edging out Tom Wallisch for the top honors. Håtveit’s run, technical and daunting, included a switch right 1080, switch left 1260 and double cork 1080 on the jumps. Andreas, who switch right 450’d onto the first rail, was also the only competitor to hit both the Toyota box feature (flipping form the take off to a hip landing) and the Breckenridge wall ride, while all other competitors opted for one or the other. Håtveit, who is fresh off a win at the King of Style Big Air, held it all together today, emerging victorious.

  

Håtveit switch right 270

All sorts of hubbub has been talked about Tom Wallisch, and today, as expected, he delivered. A pretzel on the first rail, rodeo 900, switch right 1080, switch double 1080 and a misty 450 off the flat-down put Tom within arm’s reach of Håtveit. Despite falling on a massive switch double on his first run, Tom re-composed and put down a run, netting 2nd place. Sammy Carlson, who also bobbled his first run, threw what was a 1st place run for a while, eventually netting him 3rd. A switch right 1080, switch misty 900 poke, double cork 1080 poke, and a rodeo 450 onto the flat down box allowed Sammy to clinch that podium spot.

  

Tom Wallisch about to pretzel his way down

Tough-as-nails award goes to Teen Sensation Bobby Brown, who in practice fell on his ski, cutting his leg open. Bobby toughed his way out of the medical center, falling on his first run, but prevailing on his 2nd.

  

Bobby Brown goes into the atmosphere

A switch right 1080, switch double flip 900, double cork 1260 and misty 450 off the flat-down box was good enough for 4th. Elais Ambuhl, Thursday and Saturday’s top slopestyle rider, Elias Ambuhl, put together a run that should make other competitors scared for the future. Elements of his run included a double cork 1080, Right 900, switch double 1080 and a rodeo 450 onto the flat-down box, which was good enough for 5th, but just shaky enough to miss the podium.

Elias Ambuhl smoothly spins off the wall ride

JF Houle and Phil Casabon both styled out their runs, JF’s right 720 and Phil’s Switch 1080 being representative of the style put forth in their runs. 16-year-old Sean Jordan showed he’s on par with a double cork 1080 in his run, putting him in 8th place, a fine spot for the young man. Alexis Godbout and Oscar Harlaut both put down solid, yet simple runs, pushing them towards the back of the finalists, yet still impressive runs nonetheless.

JF Houle presses the rainbow

TJ Schiller and Charles Gagnier, who both looked impressive in practice, were unable to put together a clean run today, ending up in 11th and 12th, respectively. A bit unusual for the two vets, but days like this can happen and the two will surely have strong performances at the rest of the Winter Dew Tour.

With the end of slopestyle, comes the end of skiing at the Winter Dew Tour. The week, which pitted world-class pros and hungry, talented ams against each other has successfully come to a close. The Breckenridge stop of the Winter Dew Tour will resume at Snowbasin, UT in mid-January, showcasing the top 18 from this weekend in each discipline, plus a handful of wildcards.

Slopestyle Final Results
1) Andreas Håtveit
2) Tom Wallisch
3) Sammy Carlson
4) Bobby Brown
5) Elias Ambuhl
6) JF Houle
7) Phil Casabon
8) Sean Jordan
9) Alexis Godbout
10) Oscar Harlaut
11) TJ Schiller
12) Charles Gagnier

A big thanks to Breckenridge Resort for hosting, Alli Sports for organizing the event and all the volunteers and staff that make it possible. We’ll see you next time.

Men’s Slopestyle Highlights