Olympic silver medalist Gretchen Bleiler of Aspen joined men’s gold medal counterpart Shaun White of Carlsbad, Calif., in taking the top podium spots Saturday as the Chevrolet U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix kicked off in Breckenridge. Steve Fisher, a Team Breck rider, finished second.
White’s winning run included a straight air into a backside 900 to a frontside 1080, finishing with a Cab 1080 and a frontside 900. White’s surprise entry in the contest and his competition with Fisher, who topped White for his second gold medal in the X Games last January, added an element of excitement.
Bleiler threw out a crippler, frontside alley-oop to a frontside 540 truck driver and finished her winning run with a backside 540 to frontside 900. Reigning Grand Prix champion and 2002 Olympic gold medalist Kelly Clark of Mount Snow, Vt., was second. Turin Olympic gold medalist Hannah Teter of Belmont, Vt., rounded out the podium in her first major competition since the 2006 season.
The event will air at 5 p.m. Saturday on NBC and Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. on Versus.
