Baird and Guseli with career firsts at The Style Experience
Dec 11, 2022·Snowboard Park & Pipe
Though the road to finals at The Style Experience Big Air World Cup in Edmonton (CAN), wasn’t always smooth, when we did finally get to the big show on Saturday night it all paid off in a huge way, with an incredible display of snowboarding at Commonwealth Stadium that saw the maiden World Cup victory for Canada’s own Jasmine Baird and a history-making performance for Australian wunderkind Valentino Guseli on his way to a first World Cup win of his own.
While the jump’s geometry was the best we’ve ever seen for a city big air competition, speed was sometimes an issue for riders at the imposing Style Experience venue. However, on Saturday night, with the jump well worked-in and cold, mostly windless conditions, the seven women and 10 men of the finals here in Edmonton stepped it up in a big way, with a dizzying array of stomped tricks going down from start to finish of the competition.
BAIRD WIN THRILLS CANADIAN CROWD
Canada’s Baird set the tone early, coming out of the gate with a cab double underflip 900 that fired up the host nation’s fans despite the chilly temperatures. When top-qualifier Reira Iwabuchi of Japan went down in the landing of her frontside double cork 900, Baird would head into run two with a sizeable lead.
The 23-year-old Canadian then stomped an exceptionally clean, exceptionally large backside 720 weddle to lock in a two-jump score of 158.50 to head into the final run of the evening in top spot and with final-drop honours. When none of her competitors could approach her score, Baird was granted the first victory lap of her career, which she used to put down the backside 720 once again for a one-point bump up to 159.50.
“This honestly means so much to me,” Baird saw from the finish area, “First World Cup win, and to do it in Canada, with my dad here watching…this is the first time he’s ever seen me ride in person at a World Cup and I’m just so hyped that he was here for this one. To be here, with this crowd, in Canada, I’m so hyped. This is such a sick night.”
Behind Baird it was Belgian rider Evy Poppe having the performance of her young career, as the 18-year-old stomped a backside 720 weddle and a frontside 720 frontside grab for a score of 146.50. Poppe was a true force throughout the week in Edmonton, fearlessly attacking the Style Experience jump in every session, and the runner-up result she earned for her first career World Cup podium was a just reward.
Finally, it was Iwabuchi shaking off the effects of her first-hit fall to grab third place, as the tough-as-nails 20-year-old battled out a landing on her frontside double 900 on run number two, before before putting down a backside 720 on her third and final run for a score of 143.35 and her 12th career World Cup podium.
With Baird and Iwabuchi trading places on the podium after Iwabuchi won and Baird came third at the big air World Cup season opener in Chur, the two are now tied atop the big air World Cup standings with 160 points.
GUSELI MAKES HISTORY WITH FIRST WORLD CUP WIN
While a collection of some of the absolute biggest names from the top nations in big air snowboarding were amongst the 10 riders dropping in on the finale of The Style Experience on Saturday evening, in the end it would be 17-year-old Valentino Guseli walking away with his first career World Cup victory and the first big air win in World Cup history for a rider from Australia.
While Guseli rose to prominence as a halfpipe rider after setting the pipe air world record two years ago, he has since proven himself to be the purest triple threat in competitive snowboarding, capturing his first World Cup podium last year at the Silvaplana slopestyle World Cup, before earning his first World Cup win in dramatic fashion in Edmonton.
However, it was Chris Corning of the USA who set the initial tone for the men, as on the very first hit of the competition he launched a backside triple cork 1800 melon that was quite simply the finest trick put down by anybody at any point throughout the week. And, with a score of 93.50, Corning was duly awarded for that effort.
Guseli, meanwhile, had a slightly sketchy landing on his first-run backside triple cork 1620 drunk driver (weddle + stale grabs) for a score in the low 60’s. Despite this, he went to his second trick on run two and stomped an outrageously stylish, clean frontside double cork 1440 with a boned-out weddle that earned him an 85.50 and a shot at the podium with a good effort in his final run.
Guseli gave more than a good effort, however, returning to the backside triple 16 and stomping it to the bolts, earning himself a score of 87.00, a combined score of 172.50, and first place with just a few riders left to drop in.
In the end it came down to Corning’s last run to decide the winner, and while the two-time big air crystal globe winner was able to improve his score with a frontside 1440 truck driver, he would fall just short of the victory, finishing with 172.00 - just half a point back of Guseli.
“Oh my goodness,” Guseli smiled when the final results were in, “I’m so hyped right now. I woke up this morning and I was just really hoping that I could put my tricks down today, and now I’m just so relieved and so happy. It’s been a long and very bumpy road the last three years, trying to work my way to some podiums. Now I’ve finally got a win and I’m just so hyped. I’m going to try to keep it rolling into the next comps.”
Third place went to crowd-favourite Nicolas Laframboise, as the Canadian landed a massive frontside triple cork 1440 weddle and a backside triple cork 1620 weddle for a two-jump combined score of 168.00 - all while rocking an Edmonton Oilers NHL jersey and hyping the crowd up in between runs.
With his victory, Guseli now wears the yellow big air World Cup leaders’ bib, with 140 points.
From Edmonton it’s straight down to Copper Mountain (USA), where we’ve got more big air action and the first halfpipe World Cup of the season coming up next week.
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