The final snowboard competition of Dew Tour was the Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle competition, but due to one last flurry of snow, it was decided that the three jumps at the bottom of the course would not be utilized for the contest.
Despite everyone’s love of powder, it came as a clear decision to withhold from the jump sections after all options were heard, a riders’ meeting was held and a vote was taken to exclude the jumps from the contest. Once the group of athletes and officials reached a decision, the eight women ran their three runs each exclusively on the first four rail sections.
Just as adjustments to the format were made, the riders then made adjustments to their own planned runs. Much of the field is better known for its jump tricks rather than its rails. From Miyabi Onitsuka who just won a Big Air event as recently as December to the now 11-time Dew Tour champion Jamie Anderson and the defending Dew Tour champion Anna Gasser, the lack of jumps seemed to make it anybody’s event.
Onitsuka, however, confessed that she had been in Copper since X Games working specifically on her rail game, and it showed when her first run earned a 91.66. Onitsuka put down a very technical first run including a 270 on frontside boardslide to fakie as well as a frontside boardslide 270 off, executed with complete control.
Anderson also impressed the judges with her rail game, but it wasn’t until her third and final run that she dropped her best score of 92.66. Starting off with switch boardslide to 270 into the Mountain Dew Hip, then a switch lipslide to regular to quickly set up for a big backside lipslide on the flat rail before blasting her way up to boardslide across the Woodward wall. For her final rail, she landed a boardslide 270 out.
That final run gave Anderson the score she needed of 92.66 to surpass Onitsuka and ultimately earned her an 11th Dew Tour title as well as perfect on the event week as a whole.
“I don’t know what is going on, I’ve just been trying to ride and enjoy everything,” responded Anderson when asked about being virtually undefeated on the rails all week long. “Riding for Oakley in the Team Challenge was awesome and really helped me to just enjoy riding it all for the crew.
“That’s what snowboarding is about, anyhow,” continued Anderson. “It’s an individual sport but you wouldn’t do it without your friends and the community. That’s what I love about snowboarding.”
Though the defending champ’s best score also came on her final run, Gasser wound up rounding out the podium in third. In the end, dominance on the slopestyle course was felt by Anderson, Onitsuka, and Gasser regardless of the lack of jumps.
Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle Results
1.) Jamie Anderson, 92.66
2.) Miyabi Onitsuka, 91.66
3.) Anna Gasser, 88
4.) Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, 85.66
5.) Enni Rukajarvi, 81.33
6.) Hailey Langland, 79.33
7.) Silje Norendal, 73.33
8.) Klaudia Medlova, 41.33
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