Immediately after the Freeride Junior World Championships, the Skiers Cup big mountain competition was held on the same face. So it was certainly interesting for the young freeriders to compete indirectly with the invited freeski pros from Europe and America. Compared to some of the juniors, their performances were not all that different, understandably somewhat adapted to the conditions. Nevertheless, most of them made the best of the conditions - a show worth seeing. It was clear to see, especially in the first run, that the riders had been riding in good conditions in North America over the past few weeks and that almost nobody was tempted to perform bigger tricks or riskier lines in the spring conditions that currently prevail almost everywhere in Europe. At the end of the first day, it was Collomb-Patton's Team Europe that took the lead with 9:7 points, leaving Sage Cattabriga-Alosa's Americans behind. At the 2515-metre-high Tossa de Caraup, the skiers were greeted by fresh snow and blue skies. The goal for each participant was clear: to impress the three-person jury with impressive lines and collect one point for their team in each of the two rounds. The judges were freeride world tour rider Sam Smoothy (NZL), freeski legend Philou Poirier (CAN) and Frenchman Arnaud Rougier.
Highlights Bigmountain - Team America
First heat
Bigmountain legend Seth Morrison (USA) kicked things off with a huge backflip, which he was unfortunately unable to complete. Parker White (USA) impressed the crowd with a switch air and a wide backflip. Tanner Rainville (USA) and Nick McNutt (CAN) were also not to be outdone and performed several spins and switch airs. However, Team America suffered from a few crashes, leaving them trailing 3:5 after the first round. Second heat
Team captain Cattabriga-Alosa played it safe and shone with his laid-back style, while Grant Howard (USA) and Logan Pehota (CAN) relied on youthful jibbing. Seth Morrison (USA) was able to land his famous backflip this time, but still lost out to Matieu Bijason (clean backflip at the same spot). Tim Durtschi (USA) also managed a solid run, but was unable to bring the Americans back into the game.
Highlights Bigmountain - Team Europe
First heat
The dominance of the Europeans began early and continued throughout the day. They mostly showed the more consistent and stronger riding. Captain Collomb-Patton (FRA) impressed with wide airs, while Fabio Studer (AUT) and Mathieu Bijasson (FRA) had his back with strong turns and casual tricks. Marcus Eder (ITA) scored with a rodeo 540 and Sam Anthamatten (SUI) jumped a double cliff in a single set. Second heat
Mathieu Bijasson (FRA) scored his second point against Seth Morrison (USA) by jumping a cleaner backflip than the US legend. Sam Anthamatten (SUI) once again made himself the man of the day when he jumped two high cliffs and found a creative line. In the end it was 9:7 for the Europeans. Replay with the individual runs to choose from
Summary Big Mountain:
Day 2 - Backcountry Slopestyle
The Europeans also dominated the second day of competition. Loïc Collomb-Patton's team won the duel by a clear 19:13 in the end.
After losing 7:9 in the big mountain, Sage Cattabriga-Alosa's Team America had to go full throttle to make up the deficit in the backcountry slopestyle. The athletes once again competed against each other in man-to-man duels to collect points for their continent. But the efforts of the riders from overseas were in vain: Europe won 10:6 and thus takes a 4:2 lead in the eternal overall standings of all Skiers Cups. Between the bigmountain and the slopestyle day it rained until very high up, the conditions were of course anything but what you would expect at the end of January. Nevertheless, all riders had to prove their freestyle skills on the backcountry kickers of Grandvalira. Highlights of the first heat
Clouds and wind made for cold and uncomfortable conditions, but the riders were not impressed. America's team captain Sage Cattabriga-Alosa (USA) impressed in his casual style with 360s and a flatspin. Seth Morrison (USA) and Sam Anthamatten (SUI) fought a backflip duel in which the Swiss rider came out on top. Parker White (USA) set the bar high with a 900 tailgrab, but was unable to beat Frenchman Sam Favret's bio 720. Tanner Rainville (USA) then outdid Mathieu Bijasson (FRA) with the first switch air of the day, a massive 540 mute on the stepdown kicker. Highlights of the second heat
The score was 4:4 at half-time, but Team America's hopes of taking the win were quickly dashed after a few crashes. Among the Europeans, Sam Anthamatten (SUI), who had already been "MVP" at the Bigmountain, impressed with a spectacular run: Cork 720, two 360s and a stylish flair on the step-down. Bene Mayr (GER) also impressed the judges with his cork 720 and switch 540, while Marcus Eder (AUT) went one better with a wide cork 900 blunt. Even though Tim Durtschi (USA) and Tanner Rainville (USA) countered with a Cork 720 Mute and Switch 720, they were unable to bring their continent back into the game. Despite the competition at the kickers, the Skiers Cup once again had good vibes and a camaraderie atmosphere, after all it is a show contest and many of these riders are friends with each other and often go skiing together. The showdown was rounded off with a barbecue right on the mountain, where the Europeans were able to celebrate their victory in style. The team captains for the 2017 Skiers Cup were also announced today: Tanner Rainville (USA) will then lead the Americans with the support of Parker White (USA), Richard Permin (FRA) will lead the Europeans. Summary Slopestyle: (can only be found on Facebook for whatever reason)
https://www.facebook.com/SwatchSkiersCup/videos/1018034688267295/
