Claire and Ruud stomp to the top in Seiser Alm slopestyle
Jan 18, 2020·Freeski Park & Pipe
The second FIS Freeski Slopestyle World Cup competition of the 2019/20 season hit Italy’s Seiser Alm resort on Saturday for the fourth edition of the Seiser Alm Legends competition, where the USA’s Caroline Claire and Birk Ruud of Norway stomped gutsy second runs to claim victories in a dramatic day of competition.
Claire stomps highlight switch double on way to second career win
Many of the women’s field struggled in their first run on the demanding Seiser Alm course, as clouds on Saturday lead to slower speeds for finals than had been seen through a sunny week of training and qualifications.
However, several of the top riders who struggled in run one were able to clean things up in their second attempt, with 19-year-old Claire tops amongst them. Putting together an ultra-smooth rail line at the top of the course, Claire set herself up in the jumps with an equally smooth right-side 540 before dropping the heaviest trick of the day in the women’s competition - a switch left double cork 900 safety on the second jump.
Finishing things off with left 720 tail grab, Claire was welcomed in the finish area with a score of 86.13 for her efforts, vaulting into top spot and her second career World Cup victory at the very same venue where she took her first win back in 2017/18, and her first World Cup podium in 2016/17.
“It was a sweet day,” Claire said, “I love coming back to Seiser Alm. I’ve had two podiums here in the past, my first win was here and now this is my second. It’s amazing. The crowd is always hyped, the weather always holds out, and the course is unbelievable. We got lucky with the weather today and it was firing out there.”
Before Claire knocked her from her perch it was looking like top qualifier Johanne Killi (NOR) would be impossible to best at Seiser Alm, after putting down a super-solid first run for a score of 81.30. After seeing Claire jump into top spot with her second run, Killi was pushing for better in her final run of the competition but wouldn’t improve on her score after falling on her final hit, forcing her to settle for runner-up.
With the result, Killi jumped into a tie with Switzerland’s Giulia Tanno atop the women’s slopestyle World Cup leaderboard, with 104 points apiece.
Third place went to Canada’s Elena Gaskell, as the 18-year-old who’s something of a big air specialist put it all together in her second run for a score of 79.68 and the first slopestyle World Cup podium of her career.
Ruud takes first slopestyle World Cup victory with final-run heroics
Over on the men’s side of things it was an ultra-exciting competition from start to finish, as the 16 finalists traded some progressively heavier runs throughout the day.
With Fabian Boesch (SUI), Colby Stevenson (USA), Oeystein Braaten (NOR) and Javier Lliso (ESP) all stomping first runs with scores in the 80s, Ruud knew that he was going to have to go for broke after struggling for speed and failing to put down the run he was looking for in his first attempt.
And go for broke is exactly what he did, putting together a scorching rail line that was easily the best of the competition, before going switch left double cork 1260 double japan, left double bio 1440 mute, and right double 1620 toxic grab as he pinned it through the jump sections to earn a score of 92.91 and claim his first career slopestyle World Cup victory.
“I’ve definitely been working really to get some good slopestyle results, but it hasn’t always been going my way,” Ruud said from the finish area after his win, “I’ve ended up in fourth place a lot of times. I don’t know, I just kept training more than an ever and now I’ve finally got (my first win). I’m super stoked.
“I’m always motivated to ski, but not too long ago I was kind of struggling a little bit with myself because there was a lot of competitions going on and I was stressing,” continued Ruud, who competes in all three of the slopestyle, big air, and halfpipe disciplines, “I didn’t really feel that I was skiing for me. But now I’ve found that happiness and I know why I ski and makes it so much better. I’m grateful for this life.”
Second place went to Switzerland’s Boesch, who held on to top spot after the first run but was unable to significantly improve on his score in his second run as a sought to catch his Norwegian counterpart Ruud. With a score of 89.78 the Kreischberg 2015 slopestyle world champion would again be denied his first ever World Cup win.
With their results, both Boesch and Ruud were able to overtake Mark Hendrickson (CAN) on the World Cup slopestyle rankings, with Boesch’s 125 points putting him just one point ahead of Ruud’s 124.
Rounding out the men’s podium in third with a score of 88.08 was Colby Stevenson of the USA, as yesterday’s top qualifier earned his fourth World Cup podium at the venue where he claimed his first, and so far only, World Cup win back in 2016/17.
After a break next weekend the FIS Freeski Slopestyle World Cup will be back at it in 11 days time at Mammoth Mountain (USA), where slopestyle qualifications are set to go down on January 29, followed by finals on January 31.
TRICK LISTS
WOMEN:
Claire - down rail left 270 on, snowpad to tailslide 270 out down rail, up rail rightside slide frontside 450 out, right 540 safety, switch left double 900 safety, left 720 tail
Killi - wide rail switch right tailslide 270 out, snowpad to left 270 on down rail, up rail rightside slide frontside 450 off, left 900 tail, switch left 720 safety, switch right 720 japan
Gaskell - wide rail left 270 on 270 out, switch right on to the snowpad rightside slide pretzel out, right 900 opposite tail, switch left 900 japan, left 900 tail
MEN:
Ruud - right 450 on pretzel 270 out on waterfall rail, switch left onto the wall to transfer backside 270, left 270 on cork 650 off up rail, switch left double cork 1260 mute, right double bio 1440 mute, right double cork 1620 toxic
Boesch - right 270 on pretzel 270 off, super fed, switch left 270 on misty 450 safety off up rail, switch right double bio 1260 safety, left double 1620 tail, switch left double 1440 double japan
Stevenson - switch left 270 backswap to switch, switch right 270 pretzel 450 japan, left 270 backslide safety to 270 out, switch left double 1440 stale, switch right double 1260 double japan, left double 1440 cuban
QUICK LINKS:
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