Russ Henshaw (right) on the podium at the Dew Tour event © Dew Tour Australian slopestyle skier Russ Henshaw kicked off his Northern Hemisphere season with a podium finish at the celebrated Dew Tour event in the United States today.
The 23-year-old NSW Institute of Sport athlete added a bronze medal to the win he recorded in the same event last year.
Today’s final was won by American Nick Goepper, with Canadian Alex Beaulieau-Marchand in second place.
With the Dew Tour being used to select some of the places on the USA Olympic Team for the 2014 Sochi Winter Games, the event attracted a high quality field of athletes seeking US selection and a strong contingent of overseas competitors looking to prepare for the World Cup season.
Henshaw said that finishing on the podium in such a high class field was a “dream come true” and he is looking to the Copper Mountain World Cup event in the United States on Friday with high expectation.
“The Dew tour is the first major event on the calendar so to podium here is a huge confidence boost going into the rest of the season,” Henshaw said.
“The Dew Tour is one of the biggest events in free skiing. It’s so tough to podium at this event and to actually get on the podium again is a dream come true.
“Coming into the first event of the season you get a feel for how everyone is riding and what tricks they are doing and to know you are right up there with them is an awesome feeling.”
To put his performance into context, Henshaw believes that the Dew Tour attracts one of the strongest line-ups of slopestyle skiers in the world.
The starting field of 30 athletes are all individually chosen from the best in the world who battle through qualifying to the final, which consists of 16 skiers.
Such was the quality of the field that Henshaw described the field as “one of the toughest I have ever competed in.”
And on top of that, fluctuating conditions, including gusty strong winds, made it a little more difficult for Henshaw to land his tricks and make it to the podium.
“Literally all the top guys were at this event,” Henshaw said. “Obviously the conditions were rough but that didn't take away from the level of riding we saw today,” he said.
“I had a really rough time in training due to the conditions. It was super windy and hard to judge speed, which you probably noticed in the competition.
“My first run of the competition, I caught a crazy gust of wind coming into the 3rd jump, so I decided not to do the switch double cork.
“The pressure was on to land my run and I can't even begin to describe how good it felt to put my 2nd run to my feet and to be bumped up onto the podium.”
Also in action was AIS Slopestyle athlete Anna Segal, who made her return to competition since injuring her knee in February 2013. Segal placed 11th in qualifying, narrowly missing out on the eight woman final.
Both athletes will compete next week in the World Cup event in Copper Mountain, Colorado, USA.
The 23-year-old NSW Institute of Sport athlete added a bronze medal to the win he recorded in the same event last year.
Today’s final was won by American Nick Goepper, with Canadian Alex Beaulieau-Marchand in second place.
With the Dew Tour being used to select some of the places on the USA Olympic Team for the 2014 Sochi Winter Games, the event attracted a high quality field of athletes seeking US selection and a strong contingent of overseas competitors looking to prepare for the World Cup season.
Henshaw said that finishing on the podium in such a high class field was a “dream come true” and he is looking to the Copper Mountain World Cup event in the United States on Friday with high expectation.
“The Dew tour is the first major event on the calendar so to podium here is a huge confidence boost going into the rest of the season,” Henshaw said.
“The Dew Tour is one of the biggest events in free skiing. It’s so tough to podium at this event and to actually get on the podium again is a dream come true.
“Coming into the first event of the season you get a feel for how everyone is riding and what tricks they are doing and to know you are right up there with them is an awesome feeling.”
To put his performance into context, Henshaw believes that the Dew Tour attracts one of the strongest line-ups of slopestyle skiers in the world.
The starting field of 30 athletes are all individually chosen from the best in the world who battle through qualifying to the final, which consists of 16 skiers.
Such was the quality of the field that Henshaw described the field as “one of the toughest I have ever competed in.”
And on top of that, fluctuating conditions, including gusty strong winds, made it a little more difficult for Henshaw to land his tricks and make it to the podium.
“Literally all the top guys were at this event,” Henshaw said. “Obviously the conditions were rough but that didn't take away from the level of riding we saw today,” he said.
“I had a really rough time in training due to the conditions. It was super windy and hard to judge speed, which you probably noticed in the competition.
“My first run of the competition, I caught a crazy gust of wind coming into the 3rd jump, so I decided not to do the switch double cork.
“The pressure was on to land my run and I can't even begin to describe how good it felt to put my 2nd run to my feet and to be bumped up onto the podium.”
Also in action was AIS Slopestyle athlete Anna Segal, who made her return to competition since injuring her knee in February 2013. Segal placed 11th in qualifying, narrowly missing out on the eight woman final.
Both athletes will compete next week in the World Cup event in Copper Mountain, Colorado, USA.
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