Stop two of the Natural Selection Tour is done and dusted. And Dustin Craven and Zoi Sadowski-Synnott are its champions. In a unique call, the NST organizers ran the event at Baldface Lodge on a venue known as Scary Cherry face a few weeks ago and televised the edited version today (above). Scary Cherry is a Baldface staple, complete with diving boards, naturally enhanced kickers into beautiful transitions and some absolutely ‘cherry’ powder once riders got below the wind line.
For Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, the young New Zealander who just came off a gold and a silver at the Olympics, this was a more casual affair than Beijing, and it looked like it. Her lines included as many features as she could pack in, with a mix of power and touch that has propelled her to the top of the sport the last two seasons. Hard to believe she was a wildcard for Jackson Hole in 2021, where she last won on the NST.
Canadian Dustin Craven took out a number of top riders including Travis Rice in the semis before knocking off Mikel Bang in the finals. The man was just aggressive from top to bottom. However, both finalists fell at inopportune times. Craven ahead of a feature on his first try, then Bang had a hellacious wipeout midway through his second final run where he caught his nose, went end over end and emerged packing a tree which he’d literally taken out. But Craven threw down a clean one on his last attempt, making for his second victory on the NST (he won Valhalla last year).
Elena Hight continued her hot streak after winning Jackson Hole, ending second on the women’s side.
We’ll have more as additional information becomes available.
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