Snowbasin Resort in Ogden, Utah, hosted the third and final event of the 2012 Winter Dew Tour over the weekend, with Red Bull athletes collecting three wins and three additional podium positions across the ski and snowboard events.
In addition, the three victories -- earned by Kaya Turski in Ski Slopestyle, Louie Vito in Snowboard Superpipe and Sebastien Toutant in Snowboard Slopestyle -- earned those athletes the coveted overall Dew Cup titles for the season in their respective disciplines.
Turski Takes the Title
Turski, fresh off her third consecutive Winter X Games gold, matched her Dew Tour victory in Killington with another in Ogden to take home the first-ever Dew Cup title offered in women’s Ski Slopestyle.
Her winning run, which put her three full points ahead of Anna Segal in second, included a blunt 450 off the cannon, a switch 720 high mute and a switch 540 Japan.
“I’m training really hard,” Turski said. “The opportunity of us being in the Olympics is really huge for me. I’m very excited to go and represent Canada in 2014.”
Christian Pondella/Red Bull Media House North America, Inc.
In addition to her overall title, Turski also earned the Toyota Athlete of the Year Award along with Kelly Clark and Spencer O’Brien -- the trio each earned a maximum of 200 points in the overall title chase.
Brown Finishes Third Overall
Defending Dew Cup champ in men’s Ski Slopestyle, Bobby Brown, finished third both in Ogden and for the year, with Red Bull teammate Russ Henshaw just behind him in fourth overall.
Despite delivering a switch 270 to pretzel 270 on the first rail, a switch on to switchup inward 270 out on the second and a cork 630 on cannon followed by a right double 1260 to switch double 1440 on the jumps, Brown couldn’t top the efforts of Nick Goepper and Tom Wallisch for the day.
“I was struggling on the course the last few days," Brown said. "Goepper and Wallisch killed it today. I’m just happy to end the Dew Tour on the podium."
Enni Second in Slopestyle
Finland’s Enni Rukajärvi was completely consistent for the series, taking seconds in women’s Snowboard Slopestyle in Breckenridge and Ogden to finish second overall. Sarka Pancochova, Enni’s Czech Red Bull teammate, finished just behind her in third for the season.
“I’m so happy for getting second," Rukajärvi said. "I had big troubles in the practice landing my tricks so I’m just happy I landed my run." Rukajarvi has been strong all season, earning a silver medal at Winter X Games 16 and the Rookie of the Year honors at the TW SNOW Riders’ Poll Awards last month.
Toots on Top
After finishing in second at the previous two stops of the tour, Sebastien Toutant took an authoritative win in Ogden to earn enough points for the overall Snowboard Slopestyle title.
Vernon Deck/Red Bull photofiles
Toutant adjusted well to the flat light conditions, finishing a whopping 11 points ahead of Dash Kemp in second place. Seb’s second run featured a backside 270 on the first rail feature, a 50/50 gap to frontside 360 out on the second, a frontside bluntslide to 270 out on the up-box, followed by frontside and backside double cork 1080s on the jumps.
“It feels great,” he said of the win. “To end up the season with a first place and winning the Cup, it’s a great feeling. I couldn’t be more happy.”
Louie Captures the Cup
Similar to Toutant, Louie Vito came into the final stop with second-place finishes at the previous two events, with an eye on the additional points awarded for victory in Ogden. Vito trailed Red Bull teammate Iouri Podladtchikov by only two points coming into the event, so the stage was set for a tight battle between the two.
“I-Pod’s riding so well,” Vito commented, “he’s so consistent and he definitely pushes me every time I snowboard. So it was nice to be one and two with him going into the final stop, because it made me make sure I was on my game.”
Vito was just ahead of Podladtchikov after their first runs were over, and both stepped up in run two to boost their scores quite a bit higher. Vito’s second run included a double crippler, a double Michalchuk, a frontside double cork 1080, a Cab double cork 1080, a frontside 1080 and a Cab 720.
Podladtchikov put the pressure on with a double McTwist and frontside and Cab double cork 1080s followed by frontside and Cab 10s, but he fell just shy of Vito’s score. Louie earned his second consecutive Dew Cup title, and he also crushed it as the Toyota Athlete of the Year Fan Favorite, collecting thousands of votes from his fans.
Follow Louie, Kaya and Sebastien on Twitter for more.
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