Simon Dumont and Dania Assaly Stomp Ski Superpipe Finals

Simon Dumont came out big looking to make an answering statement after Justin Dorey posted a 91.25 in his first run to take the lead in the Men’s Ski Superpipe Finals today at the Winter Dew Tour’s Nike 6.0 Open in Breckenridge. Dumont nailed a double cork 1260 on his first hit and followed it up with a sick run including a super stylish double flip before crashing on his final hit for a disappointing score of 56.25.

Welcome to the third season of the Winter Dew Tour, where landing two doubles in a run can still leave a guy near the bottom of the pack. Dumont was visibly flustered after the fall but was determined not to become his own worst enemy.

“I just felt like I’d worked really hard for this one and thought I could win it, so I went back up to the top, regrouped, and put it down when I needed to,” Dumont says. He’s resolved to carry the trend into 2011, calling his shots with a bold New Year’s resolution: “I’m looking forward to dominating the halfpipe scene all year and staying consistently on the podium.”

Simon Dumont

He’ll have his work cut out for him.

“I went to New Zealand for four weeks this summer and I’ve never learned so much so quickly,” Dorey says. “All Fall I’ve been planning runs and getting ready, so there’s a lot that went into this week before it even got started, and I’ve still got four different new doubles I learned in New Zealand and will be breaking out this season. My main goal for this season is to be consistent and stay on the podium, so I’m happy with today’s finish and I’m stoked on my run.”

Start brushing up on your French as the Dew Tour heads to Killington, VT next month: Kevin Rolland (La Plagne, France) won Prelims this week and landed on the Finals podium in third place, just ahead of his fellow countryman Thomas Krief (Alphe D’huez, France), and says he’s looking forward to making an even bigger mark as the tour progresses.

And, in one of the biggest underdog stories in Dew Tour history, 15 year-old Gatorade Free Flow Tour winner Torin Yater-Wallace from Basalt, CO finished in 5th place, proving that the next generation of freeskiers has already arrived.

“It was crazy to be in the Finals competing with all the biggest names in freeskiing,” says Yater-Wallace. “I couldn’t be more stoked on how I came out. Top 5 is great for me! It’s better than I ever dared to dream this would turn out.”

Canadian skier Dania Assaly dominated the first-ever Winter Dew Tour Women’s Ski Superpipe competition, winning Prelims then blasting to the top of the podium in Finals ahead of Mirjam Jaeger and Jessica Cumming.

Dania Assaly

Cumming led the pack after the first of two runs, posting a 79.50 on the scoreboard. Jaeger improved her score from 71.75 to 83.00 in the second run to take the lead, leaving it down to the wire for Assaly, who nailed a 900, back-to-back 540s, and a 720.

“I’m still in shock,” Assaly says. “All my friends were at the bottom and it was so fun when that score came up. I just started dancing around. It’s so huge for girls right now and it’s great to see everybody stepping up. To be in the Dew Tour, be in the X Games, and maybe have this all heading in to the Olympics is very exciting. The progression in just the last year has been huge and it’s been really great to see all these new opportunities opening up for us.”

The women’s competition, new this year, will continue at the Toyota Challenge, the final stop of the Winter Dew Tour at Snowbasin in Ogden, Utah, February 10-13.

“I’m super happy we’re finally on the Dew Tour. I think women’s skiing is getting better and better, and Breckenridge has been just great this week,” says Jaeger. “The pipe is awesome here and I’m really looking forward to skiing again in Utah. There are so many young girls out there killing it, and I think the sport’s just going to get better and better. Today there was a clear winner: Dania skied way better than everyone else and she definitely deserved to win.”

Cumming says she’s looking forward to 2011 and has high hopes for women’s ski halfpipe becoming an Olympic sport. She thinks being included on the Dew Tour is a good start in that direction.
 
“It’s always great to be at it in front of this kind of audience, and all the girls have brought tons of new tricks to prove we belong here,” Cumming says. “The conditions were a little tough today but I think everyone skied their best and it was a great start for women’s skiing on the Dew Tour.”

Freeski Superpipe Final Highlights

SKI SUPERPIPE MEN FINALS
1	Simon Dumont	94.50
2	Justin Dorey	91.25
3	Kevin Rolland	89.25
4	Thomas Krief	85.00
5	Torin Yater-Wallace	83.25
6	Walter Wood	78.75
7	Duncan Adams	78.25
8	Xavier Bertoni	77.75
9	Noah Bowman	72.75
10	Byron Wells	66.25
11	Josiah Wells	56.00
12	Mike Riddle	16.75

 

SKI SUPERPIPE WOMEN FINALS
1	Dania Assaly	91.25
2	Mirjam Jaeger	83.00
3	Jessica Cumming	79.50
4	Anais Caradeux	76.50
5	Devin Logan	33.50
6	Rosalind Groenewoud	26.50