Dew Tour Toyota Championships: Men's Ski Slope Top 5 Contenders
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From: Tyler Morant February 10, 2012 |
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This Sunday at 1:30pm MST the Dew Tour Men's Ski Slopestyle saga will wrap. It's been an exciting tour highlighted by Tom Wallisch's dominance. Tom finished 1st at the first two events, but the youngster Nick Goepper has been nipping at his heels for the Dew Cup. Bobby Brown is still in the running despite a disappointing 6th place at the Breckenridge stop. But who's going to win this stop? These are the guys to watch for:
#1 Tom Wallisch
Tom's season can be summed up in one word: “Perfection!” Three events and three W's! Not since Tanner Hall skied slopestyle, has anyone dominated the event so much. Tom has a real chance to make it four for four at this stop. The course is perfect for his style of skiing; it has three rails, the kid's specialty. Plus he has home court advantage, Tom has made his home at Park City which is just a hop skip and a jump from Snowbasin. Tom is on a roll and you can expect it to continue through this event.
#2 Nick Goepper
For Nick to win the Cup; he needs Tom to finish 4th and he needs to win. So There is a slim chance he could take the Cup out of Tom's hands. That is a strong motivation for Nick. To win the Cup, Nick needs to make sure he compliments his jumps with a flawless and technical rail section. Nick needs one absolutely ridiculous rail trick in his run to absolutely convince the judges. It's his only chance to beat Tom out right.
#3 Bobby Brown
Bobby still surprisingly has a chance at winning the Dew Cup and is the last person in the running. For the Cup; Bobby needs to win and he needs Tom and Nick each to finish 6th or worse. If Nick finishes 5th they would tie for the Cup. Bobby has a huge disadvantage in this course though. The jumps are not big enough for him to unleash any of his game changing tricks. This is a constant handicap for him, since he is that much taller than all of his competitors and is that much more ahead of his peers when it comes to airs. The one thing he can do to overcome is to focus on holding his grabs long and riding every bit of rail he hits. If he does that; he stands a chance of beating Tom for the Gold.
#4 Joss Christensen
Joss hasn't had the most tremendous competitive season, but he did have success here last year when he finished 2nd. The course is built perfectly to suit his strengths. The mellow rails will allow him to show off his creativity. The two back to back jumps allow he to demonstrate his ability to spin comfortably over either shoulder. Plus Joss is near his home Park City, giving him a home court advantage. You can bet all the cheers will have an influence on the judges scores.
#5 Alex Schlopy
Another Park City local, Schlopy will also benefit from the home court advantage. It helped him to win this stop last year. The course is also perfectly tailored to Schlopy's strengths. On any size jump or rail, Schlopy has an uncanny ability to spin an extra 360 degrees more than his peers. That gives him an advantage on course that is small, like this one. Those extra degrees of rotation make it look like he is out skiing his competition. Another benefit to Alex of a small course, is that it is easier for him to keep track of where he is in the air. If Alex can pull it together mentally, he will have a good chance of being on that podium again.