COPPER MOUNTAIN — Just one skiing contest into the newly renamed U.S. Halfpipe Grand Prix, and it may already have an image problem. Based on Friday’s halfpipe skiing event, the contest should have been named the Canadian Halfpipe Grand Prix.
Canadians Justin Dorey and Rosa- lind Groenewoud swept the men’s and women’s events in the inaugural skiing contest at the 15-year-old Grand Prix tour originally established to select halfpipe competitors for the U.S. Olympic Snowboard Team.
Mike Riddle, also of Canada, finished second among the men in an event that doubled as a U.S. qualifier for the halfpipe FIS World Championships scheduled for February in Park City, Utah.
“We’re excited,” Dorey said. “It ended up going really well.”
Skiing on an injured knee, part-time Breckenridge resident Simon Dumont of Bethel, Maine, put up the top performance among American men, finishing third in the field of 12 finalists from five nations. Tucker Perkins of New Hampshire finished fourth, earning the second world championship qualifying spot.
“It’s nice to get the jitters out of the way here and then move on to the next step,” Dumont said. “And it’s a qualifier for world championships, so now I’m in and don’t have to worry about that anymore. All in all, I think it turned out all right.”
Qualifying third, Dumont remained in the chase with a relatively conservative effort on two laps through the 22-foot superpipe. As top qualifiers Dorey and Riddle unleashed spectacular double-flipping 1260s that pushed the ceiling of difficulty, Dumont relied on technical combinations featuring high amplitude and smooth landings in a slow, snow-filled pipe.
“I’ve got a couple other things in the back of my head, two more double 12s I’ve learned that I didn’t break out yet,” Dumont said. “I’m just waiting for a good day and a good pipe.”
The Canada-like conditions that included steady snowfall throughout the day didn’t slow Dorey, who came from behind on his final lap to top Riddle’s top first-run score of 47.3 with the winning mark of 48 out of 50.
“The 12 was the key for sure,” Dorey said. “And just holding speed . . . I’m just stoked I put one on my feet.”
Jen Hudak of Salt Lake City and Jess Cumming of Edwards helped salvage the day for American women, each qualifying for the world championships by placing second and third, respectively, with solid second-run efforts after first-run bobbles.
“It was a little bit scary because I fell on that first run, but my plan was just to stick to going big and being smooth and landing everything,” said Cumming, entering her first contest since injuring an ACL last winter. “It worked out the second time.”
Cumming moved into second place with a score of 41.3 before Hudak bumped her to third with a 44.6. Neither could top Groenewoud’s first-run score of 45.2, however, and the top-qualifying Canadian was awarded a “victory lap” as the finish area crowd serenaded her with a chorus of “Happy Birthday.”
“It was my birthday today, so I knew that whatever happened it was going to be a good day,” said Groenewoud, 21. “I just wanted to give it my all.”
The importance of a strong showing was shared by the skiers, who viewed their inclusion in the Grand Prix series as a stepping stone to Olympic inclusion in 2014.
Representatives from the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association included president and CEO Bill Marolt, who acknowledged the effort and announced an agreement to continue hosting the event at Copper through 2014.
“Getting freeskiing into the Olympic Games has been a big part of our strategy for the past five to six years, and I think we’ve positioned it very well and have a great chance for freeskiing to become an Olympic sport,” Marolt said. “Then you’ll really see the lift that the Olympics can provide, and we’re excited about that.”
Scott Willoughby: 303-954-1993 or swilloughby@denverpost.com
