Kim and Totsuka wrap up perfect seasons with Aspen World Cup wins

Though it was a pandemic-shortened halfpipe season, with just the two World Cups, the X Games in January, and the World Championships last week here in Aspen in the same pipe, there’s no downplaying Chloe Kim’s definitive reassertion of her claim to the throne, as on Sunday she was able to take her fourth win in this season’s four events, all after taking the entirety of last season off to attend university.

And Kim’s win came while putting down what was essentially a B or even C run for her, as she didn’t have to spin more than a 900 to walk away with the win at the season’s final event. Which isn’t to say what Kim put down wasn’t hugely impressive, but just to say that, when the chips are down, we know just how much more technical she can be.

Kicking things off with a backside 360 indy, Kim then launched the massive switch backside air that has become a staple her runs this season, before heading into a switch frontside 900 melon, then a switch backside 360, and finally a McTwist indy to finish things off for a score of 90.50 and her ninth career World Cup win in 13 starts.

“It feels really good,” Kim said on taking the win in a what was a qualification event for the US Olympic team, “I think qualifying for the Olympics is always a pretty nerve-wracking situation to be in, so I’m really happy right now and I think it’s a good start. I was watching everyone else ride and I wanted to do something different and something that I haven’t seen in the women’s field before and my solution to that was a back three into a switch method. Luckily everything after that I could mix up and play with so honestly it worked out perfectly. I messed around with that run a little bit at X Games and then I was like ‘yeah, I like it.’ I think that I was in a really bad mental place when I left snowboarding last year, so just giving myself the time off and letting myself just take a step back and have fun again was really important to me. And honestly I’m so happy I took the year off and I’m so grateful to be here. So thank you to everyone for supporting me, I really appreciate it.”

Second place on the day went to Queralt Castellet (ESP), who took the bronze medal last week in Aspen 2021 World Championships competition behind Kim and Maddie Mastro, who missed Sunday’s World Cup competition after a hard slam in Saturday’s training.

Kicking things off in her second run with a backside 540 weddle, Castellet then put down a smooth frontside 900 melon, then a stylish air to fakie taipan grab, a switch backside 540 weddle, and then ended things off with a switch frontside 720 indy. Castellet’s podium was the 15th of her World Cup career with a score of 86.00.

Third place for the women went to Japan’s Sena Tomita - the first of three podiums for the Japanese team on the day. Beginning with a frontside 540 stalefish, then a backside 540 weddle, a frontside 720 indy, a switch frontside 720 weddle, and then a last-hit frontside 900 melon, Tomita walked away with a score of 82.50 for a little bit of redemption after finishing fourth in Aspen 2021 World Championships competition.

While it was Ruka Hirano who stopped Scotty James’s (AUS) 13-straight win streak when the Japanese rider triumphed at the season-ender in Calgary last year, since then it has been all Yuto Totsuka, as the 19 year-old has now won five straight major competitions, including the Burton US Open, the 2021 X Games, the Aspen 2021 World Championships just over a week ago, and now the Aspen World Cup.

And again on Sunday - a day when three-time Olympic gold medallist Shaun White made his first halfpipe finals appearance in over three years - it was Totsuka who shined the brightest in the final competition of the 2020/21 season with his fearless and stunningly clean approach to halfpipe snowboarding.

Starting things off with a massive frontside double cork 1440 indy, Tostuka then went even bigger on his second-hit switch frontside double 1260 weddle grab, which lead into a switch backside 1080 indy, a backside 900 weddle, and finally a double 1260 indy to finish things off for a score of 91.75.

Totsuka was joined on the podium by his Japanese teammate Raibu Katayama who placed second, as the 25 year-old who missed all of the 2019/20 season due to injury returned to the World Cup podium for the first time in over three years.

Beginning with a frontside 1080 tail grab, Katayama then stomped a switch frontside double 1440 weddle, a frontside 900 melon, a backside double 1260 weddle, and a frontside double 1080 indy for a score of 86.75 to announce his return to the upper echelon of halfpipe riding.

Third place for the men went to Germany’s Andre Hoefflich, as the 23 year-old who seems to be improving with every run we see him drop in on finally made his way onto his first career World Cup podium with a standout second run.

Boasting the loftiest consistent amplitude of the day, Hoefflich started things off with a switch backside air amongst the biggest you’re likely to ever see, before stomping a switch frontside double cork 1080 indy, a frontside double cork 1260 indy, a backside 900 weddle, and finally frontside double 1080 that earned him a score of 84.00 and had the select crowd of coaches, riders and organisation crew in the finish area buzzing.

“First of all I could never be more stoked about the outcomes of today’s competition,” Hoefflich said when the results were all in, “It’s my first podium, it’s big names in the final. I’m so stoked for what just happened and I can’t really believe it actually happened. My riding felt pretty good, it took a lot in the last two weeks that we’ve spent here, [I’ve] developed so much in this halfpipe and it was very difficult in the beginning and now I feel very comfortable. Gained some height, gained some amplitude and just did my tricks and yeah, I just feel good.”

Fourth place on the day and a most honourable mention goes to the aforementioned Shaun White, who in his first competition since his gold medal performance at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games earned a score of 81.50 and the best US men’s result of the day.

And just like that, the 2020/21 FIS Snowboard halfpipe World Cup season was over, and once the awards were handed out and the interviews wrapped it was off the hill at Buttermilk and onto the long journey home for most. And though there were no crystal globes to hand out in this pandemic shortened season, the winter of 2020/21 ended on a high nonetheless, as the fact that we had all been able to be on site for two incredible weeks in Aspen to celebrate snowboarding was accomplishment most never would have counted on at the season’s outset.

Kudos, congratulations, and thank you to everybody involved, from the athletes and teams on hand, to the staff, volunteers, and organization at Aspen Snowmass, and to our friends at the US Ski & Snowboard Team for making such a remarkable set of events an overwhelming success.

•Full results

•World Cup standings

•Highlight videos

•Photos

•Aspen US Grand Prix virtual media hub (extended quotes and much more)