Today's superpipe event on Blackcomb not only marked the end of the week-long World Ski and Snowboard Festival but also the last event on the AFP event calendar and the unofficial end to the busy contest season. With the clouds rolling in and out throughout the day, the field was narrowed down to a 12-men and 10-women final.
With the soft pipe freshly cut, primed and ready to go, the skiers threw down, battling not only for a win today but also valuable AFP points to close out the season. For the women, Maddie Bowman landed herself on yet another podium, taking the win. A super stoked Joss Christensen ended his solid year with a third place finish. Thomas Krief landed himself in second, and Mike Riddle secured himself the top spot with textbook fluidity in his run: double 12, right 9, left 9, alley-oop flat 3 to switch 9.
Mike Riddle on his win today
Torin Yater-Wallace and David Wise went into the day neck and neck for the top spot in the AFP overall superpipe points ranking, but with Wise not competing today Torin walked home with the 2012 title—he finished 4th on the day. It has not yet been announced whether Roz's third place finish will secure her first place spot, or whether Maddie's win will put her into first. The AFP will honor its winners with a dinner tonight in Whistler.
Thomas Krief talks about his day
After the main event, it was time for the superhit, a long-standing WSI tradition. Best single hit in the pipe, as judged by the other competitors, wins. Noah Bowman threw down a massive switch double to take the top prize. But it was Walter Wood who stole the show. Taking a page out of Tom Dolezel's book, Walter took two runs through the pipe in nothing but a thong and his knee brace. After his first run, which he kept relatively mellow, he dropped in again with tons of speed. He launched a double flip and took the biggest crash of the day, nearly naked. It was a great way to put a festive touch on the end of the Festival.
Joss Christensen on his third-place finish
Men's Results
1_ Mike Riddle
2_ Thomas Krief
3_ Joss Christensen
4_ Torin Yater-Wallace
5_ Jossi Wells
6_ Joffrey Pollet-Villard
7_ AJ Kemppainen
8_ Hunter Visser
9_ Alex Ferreira
10_ Noah Bowman
11_ Matt Margetts
12_ Justin Dorey
Women's Results
1_ Maddie Bowman
2_ Anais Caradeux
3_ Rosalind Groenewoud
4_ Annalisa Drew
5_ Megan Gunning
6_ Mirjam Jaeger
7_ Dara Howell
8_ Katrien Aerts
9_ Rose Battersby
10_ Kimmy Sharp
DNS_ Keltie Hansen
