The best snowboarders gathered in Laxa for the final duel, where the future of many elite riders was decided. Let’s talk about what happened there and share the results.
Slopestyle: women
The women in slopestyle were the first on the most difficult track of Laksa. The conditions were perfect, the sun was shining – nothing prevented each athlete to give her best today.
Every year it becomes more and more exciting to watch women snowboarding, especially when the industry is driven by such monster-talented riders as Anna Gasser. In addition to her rides, the audience waited for a performance by rising star from Australia, Tess Coady.
As events unfolded, Coady dominated every stage. Scoring her best time on her first attempt, the 21-year-old came to the victory lap confidently, beautifully, and with a clear desire to hold on to her lead. Beginning with a textbook Cab 180 to Backside 360 on the bottom rail, she finished with a magnificent Double Cork 1080 on the second ramp. Cody improved on her first attempt with a score of 86.18, her highest score of the day.
Slopestyle: men
The men’s slopestyle final delighted with a series of the brightest performances in the career of up-and-coming American riders. Sean Fitzsimmons, 21, took first place, landing the Back-to-Back Triple 1440 with a score of 80.91. That result was enough to edge out Stole Sandbeck with 80.43 points and Leon Fokensperger, who scored 71.05 in the final seconds of his performance.
Sharing the podium with Fitzsimmons and Sandbeck was their compatriot Jake Kanter with a score of 74.76. Kanter overcame the terrible excitement of his fall on his first attempt and had his most spectacular performance of the day. American Brock Crouch, with a score of 73.88, finished fourth.
Halfpipe: women
The giant halfpipe on Mount Crap Zone Gion in Laxa is known for the fact that riders here demonstrate a prohibitive level of tricks, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in this sport. And this year was no exception.
Reigning Laax Open champion Chloe Kim rushed into action. She advanced to the women’s halfpipe finals with an impressive combination of Method Air, Switch 900 and Back-to-Back 1080. The American halfpipe star scored a 90.25 and won her sixth straight contest victory since returning to action last year.
Halfpipe: men
The men’s final was full of surprises: many top riders made landing mistakes, making way for veterans Jan Scherrer and Sean White. But despite White’s unexpected return to the top echelon of snowboarding, the winner in Laxa was the hopeful Japanese athlete Ayumu Hirano.
Laxa is home to the world’s largest halfpipe.