Riddle, Bowman win North American halfpipe opener

By Published On: December 10th, 2012Comments Off on Riddle, Bowman win North American halfpipe opener

COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colo. — The first stop of the 2013 The North Face Park and Pipe Open Series (PPOS) concluded Sunday in chilly temperatures with variable light conditions at Copper Mountain.

With Olympic qualification on the horizon and halfpipe athletes now looking to augment their FIS bonafides, the competition saw some of the biggest names in the business, including Tanner Hall, who competed on American snow for the first time since his accident. Over $10,000 in prize money was awarded to the top finishers, Mike Riddle of Whistler, B.C. and Maddie Bowman of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., who both took first place at the NorAm-level event.  

On Saturday, an international field of 62 male and 23 female athletes from countries including the United States, New Zealand, Japan, Canada, Russia and more skied in a highly competitive qualifier day. The men were divided into three heats with the top four scores in each heat moving on to the finals as well as the next top four male scores. A total of 16 men and 12 women advanced to Sunday’s final round.

Men’s champion Mike Riddle started off his winning run with a left-side double cork 1260 mute grab. He then executed a clean right-side 900 tail grab moving into a left-side 900 opposite Japan grab. An alley-oop flat spin 360 bow-and-arrow-grab led to his final trick, a switch left-side 900 mute grab. The run earned Riddle a high score of 90.

“The PPOS Finals at Copper Mountain went down amazingly well with athletes competing at a top level for any standard,” said PPOS Head Judge Steele Spence with AFP. “This open series format is so important for up-and-coming freeskiers to have the opportunity to compete alongside the pros. In addition, athletes at Copper were able to earn both FIS and AFP points.”
 
Rounding out the men’s podium in second place was Peter Crook of the British Virgin Islands scoring an 86.4. Finally, U.S. Freeskiing Rookie Team athlete Aaron Blunck out of Crested Butte, Colorado took the third place spot with a score of 84.6.

U.S Freeskiing team member Maddie Bowman placed herself on top of the women’s podium with a run consisting of a straight-air tail grab, a left-side 900, a right-side 540, a left-side 540 mute grab, a right-side 720 and capped off her first place run with a smooth switch left-side 540 scoring a 85.8.

Anais Caradeaux of France took second place with an 81.4 followed by Angeli VanLaanen, former World Cup halfpipe Champion out of Salt Lake City, UT, who scored an 80.8.

A one-hour broadcast of The North Face Park and Pipe Open Series event at Copper Mountain will air on the CBS Sports Network Dec. 23, 2012 at 1pm EST and again on Dec. 25 (time TBD).

The North Face Park and Pipe Open Series continues throughout the 2013 season with stops at Whistler Blackcomb, British Columbia, Canada (Jan. 14-17), Waterville Valley, New Hampshire (Feb. 23) and Northstar California Resort (March 8-10).

Photos: MSI

Men’s Results — PPOS Copper Mountain (Top 40 shown)

Rank     Name Year Nation Result Level Points
 1 RIDDLE Mike  1986  CAN   90.00    400.00
 2 CROOK Peter  1993  IVB   86.4    320.00
 3 BLUNCK Aaron  1996  USA   84.6    240.00
 4 MARGETTS Matt  1988  CAN   84.00    200.00
 5 WELLS Byron  1992  NZL   83.6    180.00
 6 HALL Tanner  1983  USA   82.6    160.00
 7 KENWORTHY Gus  1991  USA   81.6    144.00
 8 ALLEN Christian  1990  USA   80.6    128.00
 9 SMAINE Kyle  1991  USA   79.6    116.00
 10 WOOD Walter  1992  USA   78.00    104.00
 11 FERREIRA Alex  1994  USA   76.4    96.00
 12 WELLS Beau-James  1995  NZL   73.6    88.00
 13 ILIANO Frederick  1996  SUI   68.2    80.00
 14 LAUPER Nils  1982  SUI   62.4    72.00
 15 KISH Brian  1991  USA   44.8    64.00
 16 POLLET-VILLARD Joffrey  1992  FRA   39.4    60.00
 17 DOREY Justin  1988  CAN   69.2    56.00
 18 VALENTIN Benoit  1992  FRA   69.00    52.00
 19 STRAIGHT Geoff  1988  USA   68.2    48.00
 20 LERJEN Yannic  1990  SUI   67.6    44.00
 21 LEHOUILLIER Carson  1996  USA   67.4    40.00
 22 BUCHAN Murray  1991  GBR   66.8    36.00
 23 NORTHEY Garett  1993  CAN   66.4    32.00
 24 SHEEHAN Lyndon  1988  NZL   66.00    28.00
 25 TSUDA Kentaro  1983  JPN   65.6    24.00
 26 WELLS Josiah  1990  NZL   65.6    20.00
 27 TERADA Kiyoshi  1984  JPN   63.6    18.00
 28 LEONARD John  1994  USA   63.4    16.00
 29 VISSER Hunter  1994  CAN   62.6    14.40
 30 SEATON Taylor  1990  USA   62.2    12.80
 31 BOWMAN Lukas  1994  CAN   60.6    11.20
 32 LEEDS Broby  1994  USA   60.4    10.40
 33 WEBB James  1989  GBR   59.2    9.60
 34 MANN Billy  1990  USA   59.00    8.80
 35 NARITA Gurimu  1994  JPN   58.6    8.00
 36 ATKINSON Kristopher  1991  CAN   57.4    7.88
 37 NABOKIKH Pavel  1989  RUS   56.4    7.76
 38 KIM Kwang-Jin  1995  KOR   55.2    7.64
 39 TAYLOR Robert  1984  GBR   54.8    7.52
 40 MACKAY Brendan  1997  CAN   54.8    7.40


Women’s Results — PPOS Copper Mountain

Rank     Name Year Nation Result Level Points
 1 BOWMAN Maddie  1994  USA   85.8    400.00
 2 CARADEUX Anais  1990  FRA   81.4    320.00
 3 VANLAANEN Angeli  1985  USA   80.8    240.00
 4 SUZUKI Saori  1990  JPN   80.4    200.00
 5 HANSEN Keltie  1992  CAN   79.4    180.00
 6 AERTS Katrien  1976  BEL   78.6    160.00
 7 CRANE-MAUZY Jamie  1992  USA   77.2    144.00
 8 SHARP Kimmy  1989  USA   74.6    128.00
 9 KUZMA Janina  1985  NZL   69.6    116.00
 10 CHESHIRE Rowan  1995  GBR   66.8    104.00
 11 DREW Annalisa  1993  USA   63.8    96.00
 12 GUNNING Megan  1992  CAN       88.00
 13 TERADA Shuri  1982  JPN   66.6    80.00
 14 CHESNOKOVA Elizavetta  1996  RUS   62.6    72.00
 15 SATOH Maiko  1980  JPN   62.4    64.00
 16 HAUPT Hannah  1993  USA   61.2    60.00
 17 TRIPIER MONDANCIN Marine  1995  FRA   60.00    56.00
 18 AUSTIN Zyre  1993  USA   58.6    52.00
 19 KRASS Julia  1997  USA   56.00    48.00
 20 SIMPKINS Emily  1994  USA   54.2    44.00
 21 MIRTOVA Anna  1992  RUS   51.6    40.00
 22 VINCENTI Anna  1995  GBR   50.00    0.00
 23 SHARPE Cassie  1992  CAN   42.6    0.00

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About the Author: Geoff Mintz

Geoff Mintz is a former alpine ski racer who cut his teeth at Ragged Mountain and Waterville Valley, N.H. After graduating from Holderness and UVM, he relocated to Colorado, where he worked on the hill prior to pursuing a career in journalism. Mintz served as associate editor for Ski Racing Media from 2011 to 2015. He later reconnected with his local roots to manage all marketing and communications for Ski & Snowboard Club Vail before resuming work at SRM as editor-in-chief.