Slopestyle is a sprawling competitors that asks freestyle skiers to mix all of their expertise and show themselves on each huge jumps and rail options. The course in Aspen this yr is electrical, spanning over 1,700 ft lengthy with six distinctive options. The highest half of the course consists of three rail-based options, and the underside half consists of three giant jumps. 10 athletes lay down two runs every, with one of the best run being counted. The 5 finest riders transfer on to finals, the place they’ve two extra runs to place down their best methods.
Slopestyle skiers are judged on development, execution, problem, selection and amplitude.
The beauty of X Video games Aspen is that you simply by no means know what you’re going to get. We noticed just a few examples of this in final evening’s Knuckle Huck, as Alex Corridor and Rell Harwood earned gold with just a few unsuspecting maneuvers underneath the lights. We’d be remiss with out mentioning Juho Saastamoinen’s cocktail of a trick, mixing a backslide, screamin’ seamen and bio flip into one.
Males’s Slopestyle delivered extra surprises. Younger Luca Harrington was coasting into Aspen as an alternate for Slopestyle simply yesterday. With one name, the gifted Kiwi was summoned to compete within the massive occasion. Laying down a BEAUTIFUL line, he grew to become solely the second X Video games rookie to ever win gold. The opposite individual to do it? Colby Stevenson. Fairly good firm to be in, in case you ask us.
Harrington landed a triple 19 blunt yesterday throughout observe on the Massive Air bounce, and whereas he didn’t break that out in Slopestyle at present, we must always have seen it as an omen for what was to come back.
It was the Swiss stud Andri Ragettli grabbing silver. Ragettli has turn into well-known across the web and freeski scene for his bewildering and artistic coaching movies, and if we’ve discovered something, it’s that working in your stability in unorthodox methods appears to go miles to your snowboarding. Ragettli was dialed within the first half of the course, touchdown change out of each rail characteristic.
Mac Forehand earned the bronze medal with a powerful efficiency, coming in simply two factors behind Ragettli, and one level forward of fourth-place finisher Konnor Ralph. Forehand closed out his run by stomping a change triple 1620, taking it deep down the touchdown. He was the primary rider within the finals to place collectively a accomplished run within the bounce line.
Whereas Alex Corridor was trying to be the primary rider in historical past to win 4 gold medals in a single X Video games, at present’s seventh place end places him out of competition. However A Corridor is rarely one to pat his stats only for the hell of it. We’re positive he’ll maintain snowboarding in his personal fashion, and odds are he’ll deliver dwelling one other medal in Road Model or Massive Air.
Try the rostrum runs and full occasion replay under!
🥇 Luca Harrington (NZL) 93.33
🥈 Andri Ragettli (SUI) 90.66
🥉 Mac Forehand (USA) 88.33
