Dominating the Podium | 2021 Dew Tour

Tis the season for slaying the 2021 Winter Dew Tour at Copper Mountain. In the event’s second iteration at the iconic Rocky Mountains resort, more than 200 athletes representing 17 countries competed for Olympic qualifier points in freeski and snowboard disciplines.

The Women’s Snowboard Superpipe final on Sunday marked the successful return to Dew Tour of Chloe Kim with a down-to-the-wire victory against the elite of the sport. In Men’s Ski Slopestyle, Colby Stevenson soared above the competition to claim first place; the 24-year-old’s first Dew Tour win. In Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott put down a dominant performance for first place and was joined on the podium by Kokomo Murase.

In Friday’s Women’s Ski Superpipe Final, Monster Army rider Hanna Faulhaber held her own against the world elite of the sport and earned third place. In her Dew Tour debut, the 17-year-old from Carbondale, Colorado, impressed the judges by posting the day’s highest aerials and collected valuable qualifier points for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Also on Friday, the annual Newschoolers Ski Awards honored Sarah Hoefflin with the Female Skier of the Year Award presented by Toyota.

Here’s how the action unfolded this weekend for team Monster Energy on Copper Mountain:

Men’s Ski Slopestyle: Colby Stevenson Clinches the Win

The team’s winning run started on Friday in the Men’s Ski Slopestyle final. The downhill obstacle course at Woodward Copper’s Central Park offered a world-class backdrop for premium freestyle snowboarding. The course boasted a technical rail section stacked with jib obstacles and a set of three consecutive jumps.

A total of ten riders competed in the final, looking to post the highest score in three runs. Colby Stevenson stepped into the final as the top qualifier on the strength of creative moves like a new nose butter double cork 1080. But the 24-year-old Team USA rider had never won a Dew Tour event. That was about to change…

As the final got underway, riders struggled with slow course conditions due to fresh snow. Rising to the challenge, Stevenson put down a flawless routine on Run 2 stacked with technical rail moves and high-difficulty aerials for the top spot at 94.25 points. But in a shocking turn of events, Stevenson found himself leapfrogged by fellow American rider Alex Hall, who took the lead in his last run.

Dropping in as the last rider of the day, Stevenson had the final word. In Run 3, the Park City local upped the ante with a 360 switch up transfer from the cannon rail onto the wallride 360 out, switch 360 on the rail, 270 disaster on 450 out the gap out rail, followed by a nose butter double cork 1080, right-side double cork 1260, and a huge double cork 1440 stale grab for 96.25 points and the win.

“It’s so insane! The amount of years I’ve been doing Dew Tour and never had a good result. And coming down to the last run, I don’t know if I ever clutched down like that!” said Stevenson upon winning the Men’s Ski Slopestyle final at Dew Tour Copper 2021.

The final also saw American riders sweep the podium in this crucial qualifier event for the Beijing Winter Games. “It’s insane to have three Americans on top. It just shows that our team is putting in work and we’re ready for what’s to come,” said Stevenson.

Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle: Zoi Sadowski-Synnott Dominates

The victories continued Saturday in the ultra-competitive Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle final. A total of 15 riders attacked the course looking for the highest score, including athletes from Finland, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States. Despite blue skies, conditions proved challenging as riders struggled to build enough speed for big jumps due to very cold and dry snow.

Undeterred by the high-pressure final, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott put her unique blend of technical rail tricks and stylish airs on full display. On her second run, she clinched the lead with a 95.00-point score – only to raise the bar even higher on her final attempt.

In Run 3, Sadowski-Synnott put down a transfer from cannon rail to boardslide fakie on the wallride, switch boardslide 270 the rail, 270 on the final rail into a switch backside 900, frontside 720, and a huge backside 900 tailgrab for 97.75 points and a dominant first-place finish.

“I’m pretty stoked! Dew Tour was the very first competition I was ever invited to and to come back and make it work is amazing,” said Sadowski-Synnott upon winning Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle at Copper Mountain. The 20-year-old also freshly returned from injury. “Honestly, I was just stoked to be back competing. It’s been nine months! Just to see the girls and how well they’re riding was so sick.”

Sadowski-Synnott was joined on the podium by her teammate, Kokomo Murase. In her third run of the final, Murase put down a cannon rail transfer to wallride, frontside blunt the quarterpipe, boardslide to 50-50 fakie, switch boardslide 270, switch backside 180 aerial, huge frontside 720 lien air, and a big backside 900 on the final hit for 87.75 points and third place.

 Snowboard Superpipe: Chloe Kim Claims Victory on Final Run

The competition kicked into high gear on Sunday for the Women’s Snowboard Superpipe final featuring eight riders representing China, Japan, Spain, and the United States on the Copper Mountain Superpipe. As the only operational superpipe in North America at the moment, it boasts 22-foot-high walls for maximum airtime.

The biggest news of the event was the return of team rider and snowboard phenom Chloe Kim. Kim had missed the last iteration of Dew Tour to focus on her studies at Princeton. Returning to competition at Copper Mountain, the reigning Olympic gold medalist found herself amid a field of hungry new riders vying for the top spot.

As the final session heated up, Kim was struggling to put down a perfect run on her first attempt. Meanwhile, Spain’s Queralt Castellet took the lead with a score above 90 points, adding pressure on Kim to land a clean second run. But as Kim once again lost the handle midway through the run, it allowed Castellet to raise the bar higher by stringing together a flawless run for 95.00 points.

With everything riding on her third and final run, Kim dropped in as the last competitor of the contest – and got a full pull! Starting off with a huge frontside 1080 tail grab, Kim landed a switch frontside 900, switch backside 540, highly technical switch backside 1080, and a frontside 540 Indy on the last wall for 96.00 points and the win.

Speaking on her back-against-the-wall victory, Chloe Kim said: “I can’t talk right now. I never want to be in this situation again, that was horrible. But I am so grateful I was able to land. It’s crazy with the Olympics coming up and this is a great start to the season.”

Men’s Snowboard Superpipe: Monster Energy’s Yuto Totsuka Claims 1st Place

As the last competition in a four-day action sports epic, the Men’s Snowboard Superpipe showcased the sport’s rapid evolution on Sunday afternoon. Ten of the world’s top riders, including snowboard icon Shaun White, battled for the highest score in three runs. Countries represented included Japan, Switzerland, Germany, and the United States.

The level of riding escalated quickly in the final as American Taylor Gold took over the lead by posting a massive 92.00-point score. Stepping to the challenge, Yuto Totsuka followed up with a high-scoring run on his second attempt to climb into second place.

When Gold lost the handle on his third and final run, it left the door open for Totsuka to take over. And he did in spectacular fashion: Starting off with a technical switch 1440 mute on the first wall, Totsuka put together a giant switch backside 1260, switch backside 1080, backside 1260, and a massive frontside 1260 double cork on the last wall for 95.5 points and the victory.

“This is my dream. This competition is so great and I’m so happy now,” said Monster Energy’s Totsuka on winning his very first Dew Tour snowboard halfpipe event.

Also making a strong showing in the final, Ayumu Hirano finished in fifth place. The two-time Olympic snowboard halfpipe silver medalist, who also competed in skateboard park at the Tokyo Summer Olympics, earned 86.75 points with a flawless first run featuring a front double cork 1440 tailgrab into a switch mute 1440, frontside 1260 mute, backside 900 tweaker, and a clean frontside 1080.

On his third and final run, Hirano made history by pulling a trick never landed before in competition: A frontside 1440 triple cork, featuring three upside-down spins. The maneuver, mastered by Hirano this fall in a training camp at Saas-Fee, left the crowd and his peers in disbelief and counts as Dew Tour history. But as Hirano could not string together a perfect run following the new move, he had to settle for fifth place.

Newschoolers Awards 2022: Monster Energy’s Sarah Hoefflin Named Female Skier of the Year

The third annual Newschoolers Awards were handed out at Copper Mountain’s Grand Hall on Friday night in front of a live audience of athletes and industry insiders. With over 300 people in attendance, host of ceremonies Dr. Zorko and Level 1’s Conor Smith presented trophies for outstanding performances during the 2021 season.

The trophies designed by Cy Whitling and produced by Gilson Skis were given in recognition of best video projects, personal performances, and team efforts. As usual, the 2022 Newschoolers Awards were chosen by an expert judging panel including Will Wesson, LJ Stenio, Xavier Mayrand, Katrina Siegfried, and Twig.

When all was said and done, Monster Energy’s Sarah Hoefflin took home the Female Skier of the Year Award presented by Toyota in a field of top riders. Going up against top competitive freeskiers such as China’s Eileen Gu, Hoefflin convinced the judges not only by her success in the contest arena, where she earned multiple podium finishes. True to the progressive nature of the Newschoolers platform, Hoefflin also rocked the vote with a standout performance in Faction’s ‘Roots’ film and impressive street footage.

Women’s Ski Superpipe: Monster Army’s Hannah Faulhaber Soars Into Third Place

Earlier on Friday, the Women’s Ski Superpipe final unfolded amid perfect conditions on the legendary Copper Mountain superpipe. The contest was held in a three-run format, winners decided on the highest-scoring run. Countries represented included China, Canada, Estonia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

In the field of Olympic medalists and seasoned top contenders, one new name emerged: Hanna Faulhaber. In her Dew Tour debut, the young US Ski Team rider turned heads by blasting the highest airs of the day at an elevation of 16’2 feet out of the pipe.

On her third run in the final, Faulhaber landed a huge tailgrab air, big 720 landing backwards, switch 360, flair safety grab into another flair, and a massive left side 900 safety grab for 90.25 points, and third place.

Dew Tour 2021 also marked the return to competition of Cassie Sharpe after a knee injury sustained earlier in the year. In the final, she put down a flawless first run including a huge straight mute air, flair, double grab, right-side 720, switch 360, right-side cork 900, and left-side cork 900 for 81.75 points.

On her two last runs, the reigning Olympic gold medalist tried to raise the level of difficulty by adding a 1080 rotation on the final wall. But unable to stick a clean landing, Sharpe had to settle for fourth place in her successful return to world-class competition.