If the Laax Open was any indication, next month’s Olympic halfpipe competition could be one for the ages.
In the first true Olympic preview of the season in snowboard halfpipe, Australia’s Scotty James added a new trick to his run as he won his fifth Laax Open title against a formidable field that was pushing new boundaries all night long at one of the biggest contests on the sport's calendar.
New Zealand’s Cam Melville Ives made an early statement with his opening run, becoming the first rider to land two triple corks in a single halfpipe run. However, it was the trick after his second triple cork that gave him trouble. Melville Ives fell on his final hit and was forced to try again on Run 2.
Meanwhile, James, making just his second start of the season, unveiled a switch backside double cork 1440 on his opening run but missed the grab and was penalized by the judges. Despite that mistake, his run overall — which included a triple cork on the first hit — was strong enough to put him into the lead after Run 1.
For years, James’ signature trick has been the switch backside double cork 1260, a trick that’s extremely difficult because of the way the rider rotates down the halfpipe. He was the first rider to land the trick and, for a long time, was the only rider doing it at all. But ahead of the Milan Cortina Olympics, other riders have started catching up and adding it to their runs.
By upping the rotation to a 1440, James retains his competitive edge over most of the field when it comes to switch backside tricks. The first rider to land the switch backside 1440 in a contest was Japan's Ruka Hirano earlier this season.
On Run 2, Melville Ives once again landed both triple corks but this time turned his run — which consisted of a cab triple cork 1440 indy, double alley-oop backside rodeo 900 melon, backside double cork 1260 mute, frontside triple cork 1440 truckdriver, and switch backside alley-oop rodeo 540 nosegrab — into a full pull. The judges rewarded him with a score of 91.00 that catapulted him into the lead.
Ruka Hirano soon joined him in landing two triple corks in a run, becoming the first to land them back-to-back (something Melville Ives attempted at Snow League earlier this season). However, the judges penalized Ruka for squatting out the landing on the second triple, which kept him off the podium.
It all came down to the final run of the contest. James cleaned up the execution of his run — which consisted of a cab triple cork 1440 indy, frontside double cork 1260 stalefish, backside double cork 1080 stalefish, switch backside double cork 1440 mute, and backside double cork 1260 mute — and was awarded a massive score of 98.75 to overtake Melville Ives for the victory.
While James and Melville Ives had the standout runs of the day, the entire field was going all-out throughout the contest. Many riders were attempting to land progressive tricks but weren’t able to put full runs together.
Japan’s Yuto Totsuka and Shuichiro Shigeno both landed 1620s. American Alessandro Barbieri fell on a cab 1620 attempt. South Korea’s Chaeun Lee nearly landed his own run with two triples.
One rider who surprisingly didn’t feature in this contest was Ayumu Hirano, the reigning Olympic champion. Ayumu took a hard slam midway through his first run that resulted in a broken board and a bloody nose. He opted not to take a second run.
Australia’s Valentino Guseli grabbed the final spot on the podium, continuing a strong season as he returns from an ACL tear. In four halfpipe starts this year, the 20-year-old has not finished worse than 4th.
Behind him was Chase Josey, the top American in the field in 4th place. Josey, who opened his run with three consecutive switch tricks, entered the day battling for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team and will end it as part of the roster for Milan Cortina.
The Laax Open was the third and final selection event for the U.S. Olympic team. Throughout the season, a deep field of American riders have been vying to earn one of the three automatic nominations that were up for grabs. Riders are able to qualify on the basis of their best single result at one of the selection events.
Josey’s finish in Laax put him in position to secure his spot on the U.S. team. Barbieri, who finished 9th in Laax, and Chase Blackwell, who missed the final, are the other two riders in line to receive automatic berths. A fourth man will be named to the team soon.
The level of riding on display in Laax portends what could possibly be a historic contest coming up next month at the Winter Olympics, something that James opined on after his win.
"I really think that we’re probably going to be in for one of the most exciting and thrilling and competitive Olympics maybe in history amongst the whole field in the halfpipe,” he said. “It’s exciting for me, I hope it’s exciting for everyone watching, and I can’t wait to go to battle with everyone.”
Another potential Olympic preview could come next week at X Games. Although the field size is limited, the invite list includes many big names such as James, Melville Ives and Ayumu Hirano.
The Laax Open also hosted a women’s snowboard halfpipe contest, and South Korea’s Gaon Choi emerged with her third win in as many World Cup starts this season.
This one also came down to the final run of the competition, as Choi bounced back from a fall on Run 1 to land a heavy run that consisted of a switch backside 720 stalefish, backside 900 stalefish, frontside 1080 melon, cab 720 melon and frontside 720 indy.
Choi, 17, scored a 92.50 to finish ahead of another rising young star, Japan’s Rise Kudo. China’s Cai Xuetong landed on the podium in 3rd place.
With Chloe Kim currently sidelined with a torn labrum, Maddie Mastro was the only American to reach the final. She took a hard slam on a first-hit double crippler on Run 1 and chose to dial back her run significantly on Run 2.
Mastro’s 9th-place finish means that Bea Kim and Maddy Schaffrick are locked into U.S. Olympic team spots alongside the prequalified Chloe Kim. A fourth woman will be named to the team, and it’s likely that Mastro will end up getting that spot as long as she’s healthy.
The Laax Open concludes Sunday with snowboard slopestyle. Men’s and women’s finals are scheduled to get underway at 7:15 a.m. ET.
Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe
1. Scotty James (AUS), 98.75
2. Cam Melville Ives (NZL), 91.00
3. Valentino Guseli (AUS), 80.25
4. Chase Josey (USA), 75.00
5. Ruka Hirano (JPN), 73.25
6. Pat Burgener (BRA), 71.00
7. Yuto Totsuka (JPN), 59.50
8. Chaeun Lee (KOR), 34.25
9. Alessandro Barbieri, 30.00
10. Ryusei Yamada (JPN), 26.25
11. Shuichiro Shigeno (JPN), 21.25
12. Ayumu Hirano (JPN), 14.75
Women’s Snowboard Halfpipe
1. Gaon Choi (KOR), 92.50
2. Rise Kudo (JPN), 82.75
3. Cai Xuetong (CHN), 75.25
4. Sena Tomita (JPN), 70.75
5. Ruki Tomita (JPN), 70.00
6. Elizabeth Hosking (CAN), 62.75
7. Mitsuki Ono (JPN), 61.50
8. Wu Shaotong (CHN), 58.75
9. Maddie Mastro (USA), 33.50
10. Sara Shimizu (JPN), 20.25