Just over two weeks ago, we saw the Natural Selection Tour field of 24 snowboarders get whittled down to 12 on a feature-rich ridge just south of Revelstoke Mountain Resort. Now, after a strict media embargo, The Finals will air “as live” on Thursday morning at 10 a.m. PST on Redbull TV and we can see how all the drama from day one played out.
The surviving riders could’ve done with a day of rest after the preliminary round, and maybe even another day to fly out and scout the Finals venue. But Mother Nature had other ideas, and she decided to serve up a heat wave that – when it showed up – called for shorts and T-shirts down in the valley. So the troops were assembled roughly 12 hours after the semis wrapped and were whisked away via helicopter to a backcountry face whereupon the 2024 tour champions could be crowned.
Well, the NST crew nailed it (again). They beat the heat and put down another day of competition that will live on in snowboard history forever. The action took place on a high alpine face that looks like it was shipped to B.C. straight from Valdez: a spined-up headwall called Mosquito Bowl deep in the Selkirk Tangiers’ massive tenure. Check it out in the teaser (above) and see for yourself why the NST decided to double down on Revelstoke instead of shipping the whole affair to Alaska this year.
The Selkirks provide.
The day’s been edited down into a three-hour broadcast. And you know they’ve taken the time to create something special for us. I already know who won. But if I told you here, Travis Rice would probably show up at my house and give me the atomic wedgie I’d so rightly deserve. Either way, I’ll be watching alongside all y’all on Thursday morning.
Who you got? Will Travis take the NST title for the men once again? And who’s leading the charge for the women this year?
“I’m just waiting for one of these young bucks to step the f**k up!” Rice, said, half-joking in an interview before the comp.
Now it’s finally time to see how it all shook out.
Remaining Riders and Matchups:
Hailey Langland x Marion Haerty
Jamie Anderson x Mary Rand
Torstein Horgmo x Sage Kostenburg
Austen Sweetin x Mikey Ciccarelli
Travis Rice x Torgeir Bergrem
Nils Mindnich x Jared Elston
