Next-level Laax Open halfpipe World Cup wins for Kim and James
Jan 19, 2019·Snowboard Park & Pipe
Laax (SUI) - Competition at the 2019 Laax Open finished on Saturday evening in celebratory fashion, as the best halfpipe riders in the world gathered at what is perhaps the best halfpipe in the world for a nighttime showdown that would see Chloe Kim (USA) and Scotty James (AUS) reign supreme, but not before pushing themselves to a new standard once again.
Run after run throughout the ladies finals offered incredible surprises, beginning with Queralt Castellet (ESP) in her first run turning what looked like it was going to be one of her signature 900s into a huge 1080 - the first time we’ve seen the 29-year-old rider perform the trick in World Cup competition.
Then, in run two, it was Arielle Gold’s (USA) turn to drop a new trick on us, taking a page out of Castellet’s book and also stomping a clean 1080 in the spot in her run where she would typically do a 900.
However, both Castellet and Gold would be one-upped by Kim in her final run, as the 18-year-old, who had already secured the victory and was dropping last, began what could have been a mellow victory lap with her massive, signature method, before launching a 1080 tail grab into a cab 1080 melon combo that had the thousands lining the sides of Laax’s pipe in bedlam.
Kim would finish off what would be far-and-away the highest-scoring night of the evening in the ladies’ competition with a frontside 900 tail and backside 360 indy for a score of 93.75, her second World Cup win at Laax, and her seventh win in 11 career World Cup events.
“I kinda wish I had got the grab better on the cab 10, but other than that I’m happy I put it down,” said Kim from the finish area, “I was a little nervous about the night final, but it turned out well. The pipe was sick and the ladies were killing it and it was so fun to be a part of this contest.”
Castellet would finish in second place with a score of 80.50 to better her third-place result from Laax last season, while Gold would round out the podium in third with a score of 77.25 for her first World Cup podium since she came second at Laax two seasons ago.
With her second victory of the season, Kim moved to within 100 points of China’s Cai Xuetong on the halfpipe World Cup leaderboard, after Cai finished just off the podium in fourth on the evening to give herself 2100 points to Kim’s 2000.
James nearly flawless in first run
The men’s competition was a truly astonishing display of halfpipe riding, with all 11 men in the finals (12th finalist Taylor Gold of the USA was a DNS) having at least one jaw-dropping moment on the evening, and with some putting down astounding runs from front to back.
Of course, nobody’s run on Saturday was more astounding than Scotty James’, as the 24-year-old put down what must be the run of the year up to this point in his first turn in the final. Kicking things off with an insanely difficult switch backside 1080 indy, he proceeded to launch a backside 1080 mute, frontside 1080 tailgrab, cab double 1080 mute, and a frontside double 1260 stalefish, with all five hits consistently at five metres out of the pipe, or higher.
The run would earn James a score of 95.75, his first victory at Laax, and his second World Cup win of the season.
“The Laax Open was an event I’ve wanted to win for a while, and to do it under the lights in front of all these fans makes it extra special,” James said, “I’ve been working on that run for a while and it’s nice to put it all together. The switch backside riding, I really enjoy it and it’s a big element of my run. I’m trying to keep it technical but also keep the amplitude up and hopefully look like I’m enjoying myself while I’m at it.”
James’ incredibly high winning score should not suggest he wasn’t pushed on the evening, however, as the riders in second and third both had runs that could have won almost any other competition for them.
Tops amongst those was Yuto Totsuka (JPN), who went higher than almost anyone from top to bottom while starting and finishing his run with frontside double corks, earning himself a score of 92.00 for second place on the evening and his sixth World Cup podium in seven career World Cup starts.
And then there was third place Jake Pates (USA), who may have emerged from Saturday’s competition as the people’s champ after launching four double corked rotations out of five total hits in his run, ending up with a score of 85.50 and his first career World Cup podium.
James’ win moved him into top spot on the 2018/19 halfpipe World Cup leaderboard with 2000 points, while Totsuka jumped into second overall with 1760 points, moving Jan Scharrer (SUI), World Cup leader before competition began in Laax, down into third place with 1560 points.
With Laax in the books, up next for the top men and ladies’ of halfpipe will be the Utah 2019 FIS Snowboard, Freestyle & Freeski World Championships in Park City (USA).
QUICK LINKS:
TRICK LIST:
Ladies
Kim - method, frontside 1080 tail, cab 1080 melon, frontside 900 tail, backside 360 indy
Castellet - method, frontside 1080 indy, cab 720 mute, frontside 540 lien, backside 540 mute
Gold - frontside 1080 tail, cab 720 mute, frontside 720 indy, cab 720 mute, crippler indy, Michalchuk melon
Men
James - switch backside 1080 indy, backside 1080 mute, frontside 1080 tailgrab, cab double 1080 mute, frontside double 1260 stalefish
Totsuka - frontside double 1260 indy, backside 900 nosegrab, frontside 1080 tailgrab, cab 1080 tailgrab, frontside double 1080 indy
Pates - double McTwist mute, frontside double 1080 mute, cab double 1080 indy, frontside 900 tail, double Michalchuk indy
