Gu writes history, Ragettli stomps late to grab slopestyle gold
Mar 14, 2021·Freeski Park & Pipe
With what was forecast to be the biggest winter storm in a decade bearing down on Colorado and conflicting reports for just when it might hit Buttermilk Mountain, day two of medal event competition had drama in the skies and history being made on the course as Eileen Gu (CHN) and Andri Ragettli (SUI) claimed slopestyle gold in impressive performances under some occasionally tough conditions.
While training at Saturday’s slopestyle World Championships competition started off with blue skies and fair temperatures, the clouds began to roll in just before finals, and with them some gusty winds, making for tricky conditions for the eight women and 12 men getting set to drop in. Despite that we saw a stack of incredible, stomped runs going down throughout the day, with the skiers on hand rising to the World Championships occasion.
Gu makes history yet again with second Aspen 2021 gold
On the women’s side of competition it was Eileen Gu of China doing the smart thing, dodging the worst of the wind, putting her best foot forward in run number one, and scoring herself another world-first in the process.
Coming out of the gate with a right side 270 on to continuing 270 off on the first down rail, Gu then went switch left 270 on to 270 off on the flat rail, and then into a frontside slide, swap, pretzel 270 out on the flat down to finish off her rail section.
Over the first jump she stomped a switch left bio 900 tail, and then a left cork 720 safety, and finally a right 900 Buick to finish things off on the money booter for a score of 84.23 that would not be touched throughout the rest of the competition - although Gu herself did try to up her score by throwing a double 1080 in run two that she couldn’t quite put the landing gear down on.
With her performance, Gu became the first freeskier ever to win two gold medals at the same World Championships, after taking first place less than 24 hours earlier in the Aspen 2021 halfpipe competition. After her victory lap final run to finish off the competition, the enormity of her achievement set in.
“It is absolutely blown right now,” Gu said, reflecting on her day, “It was super windy today. A lot of girls had to push through really tough conditions. Big shout out to everybody out there. Me personally, I took a biggish fall during training and shook up my confidence a little bit and wasn’t sure how good I was going to feel during the contest. To come back and be able to land my full run makes me really proud of myself, to be able to push through that pressure and self-doubt. Huge thank you to the organizers. Aspen SkiCo as always doing an incredible job and to all the other girls out here killing it.”
Second place for the women went to Switzerland’s Mathilde Gremaud, as the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic silver medallist added some Aspen 2021 hardware to her collection. An odds-on favourite for the podium in every competition she enters, Gremaud stepped up again on Saturday with a top run that included a right rodeo 900 and then a switch left 720 mute on the final two jumps for a score of 77.15 and the first-ever World Championships slopestyle podium for a Swiss woman.
Third place and the bronze medal went to Megan Oldham of Canada, who pulled out all the stops on her final run - including a last-hit double 1260 safety - to earn a score of 76.18 and her piece of the Aspen 2021 podium.
Ragettli dials in final run in tough conditions for gold
In the men’s competition it was the most successful World Cup freeskier of all time finally grabbing some World Championships hardware, as Andri Ragettli stepped it up when it mattered most to take home Aspen 2021 slopestyle gold.
Dropping second-to-last on the day after qualifying with the second highest score, Ragettli put on a clinical performance despite the gusty winds.
Starting things off switch with a left 450 on to continuing 270 off on the down rail, into a switch right 270 on to pretzel 450 out on the tall flat bar, he then finished the rail sections off with a frontside slide, swap, to pretzel 450 out.
Then, through the jump line, Ragettli put down a right double 1260 reverse mute, into a switch left double bio 1620 safety, and finally a left double 1620 double tail, skiing into the finish corral and a score of 90.65 for the win.
“Oh man I feel just amazing,” Ragettli smiled from the finish area, “So stoked. I remember when we got the news that the World Championships was canceled in Canada. I was really, really bummed. And then a few weeks later we got the news that it was going to happen in Aspen, so thank you to everyone for making that happen. To all the organizers, to Aspen, to the judges, to my coaches, to my family. This is a big day for me. It was a goal for me. Four years ago in Sierra Nevada I got sixth, then last World Championships I was injured and I missed it. So feels good to be back and to take the gold here in Aspen.”
For a long portion of Saturday’s competition it looked like the USA’s own Colby Stevenson was going to take the victory, after he posted a score of 89.55 in his second run. From his unique rail line that started off with a nose-butter 450 on to pretzel 270 out, all the way to his final-hit left double cork 1620 Cuban, Stevenson’s run was a an exercise in style, and while Ragettli swooped to steal the win at the last possible moment, Stevenson’s silver medal performance was one to be proud of.
Speaking of last run heroics, Stevenson’s teammate and top qualifier Alexander Hall used the run immediately after Ragettli’s - the final drop of the day - to finally put down a clean one after not even making it through the rails in his first two efforts. Earning a score of 86.01, Hall would leapfrog Utah 2019 World Champion James Woods (GBR) and into bronze medal position.
Action at the Aspen 2021 FIS Snowboard and Freeski World Championships continues on Monday, where big air qualifications will take to the final jump of the slopestyle course as we move towards the conclusion of the World Championships programme.
TRICK LISTS
WOMEN:
GOLD - Eileen Gu (CHN) - right 270 continuing 270, switch left 270 continuing 270, front slide swap to pretzel 270, switch left bio 900 tail, left cork 720 safety, right 900 Buick
SILVER - Mathilde Gremaud (SUI): right 270 on, front slide to 270 out, front slide swap to forward, left 720 tail, right rodeo 900 safety, switch left 720 mute
BRONZE - Megan Oldham (CAN): left 270 on, right front 270, switch on to frontside 450 off, right 900 tail, switch left 900 safety, left double 1260 safety
MEN:
GOLD - Andri Ragettli (SUI): switch left rails 450 continuing 270 off, switch right 270 on to pretzel 450 out, front swap pretzel 450 out, right double 12 reverse mute, switch left double bio 16 safety, left double 16 double tail
SILVER - Colby Stevenson (USA): left nose butter 450 pretzel 270 out, switch left 270 backslide continuing 270 out, right 270 continuing 630, switch left double 1440 double Japan, switch right double 1260 safety, left double 1620 Cuban
BRONZE - Alex Hall (USA): switch left 270 continuing 450 out, switch tranny tails 270 continuing 270, left 270 frontswap pretzel 270 out, switch right double 1080 Japan, switch left double 1260 mute, left double 1620 Buick
QUICK LINKS:
