Photo: Alli
Kevin Rolland - atop the podium.

Everything was on the line for Frenchman Kevin Rolland heading into today's freeski superpipe final at the Winter Dew Tour's Toyota Championship. Rolland and Simon Dumont had flip flopped first and second all year, but it was Rolland who came out on top today earning his second win of the season and his first-ever Dew Cup. On the women s front, Brita Sigourney of Carmel, Calif. took top honors at the freeski superpipe final with a final score of 92.00.

Heading into his second run, Rolland, age 21, already secured the highest score of the competition with a 95.00. However, he topped that on his victory lap by throwing out tricks that included two huge doubles and a flawless left double 12 for a final score of 96.50, the highest in Winter Dew Tour history for freeski superpipe, naming him this season's Dew Cup Champion.

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"To win the Dew Cup is crazy for me because it was my goal at the beginning of the season, and now to get it, it's one of the craziest days of my life," said Rolland. "I'm so, so stoked!"

The story of the day however may go to fellow Frenchman, Benoit Valentin, who placed second in the men's final with a score of 90.25. Valentin, 18, competed in the Winter Dew Tour's Last Chance Qualifiers (LCQs), held for the first time ever at the Toyota Championship. Valentin's win in the LCQ's gave him the opportunity to qualify into prelims at Snowbasin Resort, where he made an impressive second-place finish overall in the final. New Zealand's Byron Wells, 18, rounded out the podium in third with an 84.25.

"This is just such a great day for me," said Valentin. "To be able to have a chance to compete through the Last Chance Qualifiers, and to make it this far, is just so crazy for me. I skied the best I ever have today, and I m so happy."

In the women's freeski superpipe final, 21-year-old Sigourney earned a winning score of 92.00 on her first run by throwing out tricks that included a 900, a 540, an alley-oop 540 and a 720. Devin Logan, age 17 from Dover, Vt., followed in second with a 91.00 and local favorite Jen Hudak, age 24 from Salt Lake City, Utah, earned a third place score of 90.00.

"It feels awesome to win," said Sigourney. "It's the last stop for me and to go out with a win is just a really good feeling."

The four-day competition is the third and final stop on the 2010-11 Winter Dew Tour season featuring men and women s snowboarding and freeskiing disciplines. The Toyota Championship will continue tonight with the snowboard superpipe finals and will conclude tomorrow with the snowboard and freeski slopestyle finals where the remaining Dew Cup Champions will be honored.

Winter Dew Tour's Toyota Championship

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Ogden, Utah Snowbasin Resort

Men's Freeski Superpipe Finals

1. Kevin Rolland, France, 96.50. 2. Benoit Valentin, France, 90.25. 3. Byron Wells, New Zealand, 84.25. 4. David Wise, Reno, Nev., 83.00. 5. Jossi Wells, New Zealand, 82.00. 6. Simon Dumont, Bethel, Maine, 81.00. 7. Thomas Krief, France, 80.00. 8. Matt Margetts, Canada, 76.75. 9. Duncan Adams, Breckenridge, Colo., 76.00. 10. Tucker Perkins, North Hampton, N.H., 75.25 11. Mike Riddle, Canada, 44.25. 12. Justin Dorey, Canada, 38.25.

Men's Freeski Superpipe Tour Rankings

1. Kevin Rolland, 286. 2. Simon Dumont, 260. 3. Thomas Krief, 230. 4. Justin Dorey, 196. 5. David Wise, 187. 6. Jossi Wells, 177. 7. Matt Margetts, 177. 8. Byron Wells, 167. 9. Dan Marion, 166. 10. Mike Riddle, 162.

Women's Freeski Superpipe Finals

1. Brita Sigourney, Carmel, Calif., 92.00. 2. Devin Logan, Dover, Vt., 91.00. 3. Jen Hudak, Salt Lake City, Utah, 90.00. 4. Maddie Bowman, South Lake Tahoe, Calif., 85.75. 5. Keltie Hansen, Canada, 80.50. 6. Rosalind Groenwoud, Canada, 15.25.