COPPER MOUNTAIN, CO - Coming off the most progressive year in halfpipe snowboarding's history, the athletes at the Visa U.S. Halfpipe Grand Prix could be forgiven for not ushering in the new season with any unprecedented wizardry. Instead, U.S. rider Louie Vito stuck to reliable tricks to win the first major pipe competition of the Northern Hemisphere winter at Copper Mountain, Colo., which received nearly 18 inches of snow in the 24 hours preceding the contest.
Vito, 22, stomped back-to-back double cork 1080s -- frontside to cab, a combo he has "pretty much on lock" -- to slip past Luke Mitrani, 27.9 points to 26.7. Mitrani also landed two clean double corks but did not do them in succession, which distinguished the two impressive runs.
For Vito, Saturday's victory was his second in three years at the Copper Grand Prix, sandwiched around a runner-up finish to Shaun White last year, when both went on to compete at the Olympics. Vito followed his perfectly executed first two hits with a frontside stiffy, a backside 9 and a front 10 -- all of which featured solid amplitude, which hasn't always been his strength.
He considered trying to add a third double cork to his final run, but settled for a (doomed) front 1260 attempt due to the slow pipe and the fact that riders must incorporate a straight air in any F.I.S. competition, he said. Vito has landed three double corks in a run three times in his career, the most recent of which was this summer in New Zealand.
"I was just trying to keep a good line, because if you messed up a little bit, you paid for it in speed," he said. "So I was trying to land everything solid and then just ride the edge across. It wasn't too bad."
"I'm really stoked. I'm happy to land a run when I had to and start the season off well," Vito said. "It's good to have landed and to be on the podium with two of my best friends."
Vito, who took the lead with his back-to-back doubles in the first run and carried it through the end of the competition, was joined on the podium by Luke Mitrani and Olympic bronze medalist Scotty Lago. According to Vito, with the first one out of the way, he's ready for the rest of the competition season.
"I'm happy to be back into contests and to shake those pre contest season jitters out of the way. You get rid of the anxiety and remember the feelings you have up there and you're ready to move forward," Vito said.
Vito's next competition is this coming week in the first stop of the Winter Dew Tour in Breckenridge, Colorado.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
Top 3 Men
1. Louie Vito, Sandy, UT, 27.90
2. Luke Mitrani, Mammoth, CA, 26.70
3. Scotty Lago, Seabrook, NH, 25.50
Watch the Finals on TV today (Sunday, Dec. 12) on NBC at 2 p.m. ET and again on
Dec. 18, Versus at 5 p.m. ET
Dec. 25, Versus at 4 p.m. ET