Snowboarding superstar Shaun White lost a couple of battles but won the war at last weekend’s final Winter Dew Tour stop at Northstar-at-Tahoe resort in California.
The Olympic gold medalist from Carlsbad, Calif., finished third in the superpipe and second in slopestyle to claim the overall Dew Cup title in each snowboarding discipline, tying freeskier Tanner Hall of Kalispell, Mont., for male athlete of the year based on the highest overall points in the inaugural three-stop series.
Mason Aguirre of Duluth, Minn., won Sunday’s snowboard superpipe contest, followed by Breckenridge team rider Steve Fisher, who was awarded the Toyota Go Big Award along with Team Breck freeskier Bobby Brown for their ability to “go big” and stand out from the competition.
In the women’s field, Australian Torah Bright won the event, and Kelly Clark of West Dover, Vt., earned the season title. Hannah Teter of Belmont, Vt., was third. Clark and snowboarder Spencer O’Brien tied for female athlete of the year after the Canadian clinched the women’s slopestyle Dew Cup with a second- place finish behind Jamie Anderson of South Lake Tahoe, Calif.
Tom Wallisch from Pittsburgh won the freeski slopestyle competition Saturday, his first tour event after missing the first two stops because of injuries. The overall title went to PK Hunder of Norway, who finished sixth in Saturday’s event.
Later in the day, Hall won the freeski superpipe competition, followed by Simon Dumont of Bethel, Maine, and Colby West of Breckenridge.
Colorado contingent.
Nine Coloradans have been named among the 17 members of the U.S. Ski Team set to compete at the 209 FIS Freestyle World Championships in Inawashiro, Japan, on March 2-8. They are Ryan St. Onge of Winter Park (men’s aerials), Michelle Roark of Denver (women’s moguls), Eliza Outtrim of Steamboat Springs (women’s moguls and dual moguls), Emiko Torito of Denver (women’s dual moguls), Casey Puckett of Aspen (men’s ski cross), Jake Fiala of Frisco (men’s ski cross), Walter Wood of Evergreen (men’s ski halfpipe), Taylor Seaton of Avon (men’s ski halfpipe) and Jessica Cumming of Edwards (women’s ski halfpipe).
Banning stars.
Chloe Banning of Steamboat Springs led the charge of up-and-coming riders with a win in women’s snowboardcross racing at the U.S. Snowboarding Revolution Tour at Mt. Hood Meadows, Ore., over the weekend. Cleve Johnson of Basalt was second in the men’s snowboardcross race. Max Gold of Steamboat was the winner in men’s halfpipe competition during the three-day event. The Revolution Tour serves as a pipeline for young athletes looking to make their way to the national team level.
New rando race.
In an effort to satiate the hunger for randonnee racing in the Gunnison Valley, Crested Butte Mountain Resort recently announced a new rando race series this winter. Racing begins Thursday, with a second event March 5. Registration is day-of at Thin Air Sports in Mountaineer Square beginning at 4 p.m. Racing starts at 4:45 p.m., and the entry fee is $10 per person. For more information, contact Thin Air Sports at 970-349-4045.
Scott Willoughby, The Denver Post
