<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Day one saw the men battle it out in the qualifiers and the women go head-to-head in the quarter-final round, and after a full day of mind-blowing snowboarding the top 12 riders remain.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Among the headlines from the men's side of the contest, we saw the event's mastermind, <a href="https://www.boardriding.com/riders/travis-rice" target="_blank">Travis Rice</a> of the USA, come out on top against Swedish rider Kevin Backstrom, and reigning champion <a href="https://www.boardriding.com/riders/mikkel-bang" target="_blank">Mikkel Bang</a> of Norway see off France's Arthur Longo.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Stand-out match-ups from the women's competition included last year's winner <a href="https://www.boardriding.com/riders/robin-van-gyn" target="_blank">Robin Van Gyn</a> of Canada seeing off the challenge of New Zealand's Stefi Luxton, while Freeride World Tour legend <a href="https://www.boardriding.com/riders/marion-haerty" target="_blank">Marion Haerty</a> did enough to move past Cheryl Maas of the Netherlands.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Now the 12 winning riders eagerly await the green light for day two, which will launch the men's quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals, as well as the women's semi-finals and finals.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- The competition format sees two riders go head-to-head, and the winner moves on – a high-stakes competition format designed to pit veterans against newcomers, and X Games champions against backcountry film icons and big-mountain freeriders.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- The basis of Natural Selection Tour dates back to 2008, when Travis Rice invited a group of professional snowboarders to join him at his home mountain in Jackson Hole. The goal was to create a contest that traded manicured take-offs and spin-to-win judging, for natural raw terrain and creative expression.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- The first <a href="https://www.boardriding.com/events?tour=949&eventsdate=all" target="_blank">2021 Natural Selection Tour</a> introduced a three-phased contest series, where the sport’s top athletes faced off in a head-to-head format, creating an arena for unlikely match-ups and mind-blowing riding.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- The <a href="https://www.boardriding.com/events?tour=1105&eventsdate=all&" target="_blank">2022 Tour</a> will feature three events. After Jackson Hole, the top 12 riders (eight men, four women) will be invited to travel to Canadian snowboard mecca, <a href="https://www.boardriding.com/events/natural-selection-stop-2-baldface-lodge-nelson-bc-2022" target="_blank">Baldface Lodge</a> in British Columbia, from <strong>February 20-27</strong>. Following that, the finale will see the top eight riders (four men, four women) head north to push the limits of big mountain freestyle riding in Alaska's <a href="https://www.boardriding.com/events/natural-selection-stop-3-tordrillo-mountain-lodge-ak-2022" target="_blank">Tordrillo Mountain</a> range from <strong>March 20-27</strong>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Natural Selection Tour: Jackson Hole - Day 1 results</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Men</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Heat 1: <a href="https://www.boardriding.com/riders/dustin-craven" target="_blank">Dustin Craven</a> def Danny Davis</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Heat 2: Jared Elston def Chris Rasman</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Heat 3: Travis Rice def Kevin Backstrom</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Heat 4: <a href="https://www.boardriding.com/riders/torstein-horgmo" target="_blank">Torstein Horgmo</a> def Sebbe De Buck</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Heat 5: Mikkel Bang def Arthur Longo</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Heat 6: <a href="https://www.boardriding.com/riders/blake-paul" target="_blank">Blake Paul</a> def Torgeir Bergrem</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Heat 7: <a href="https://www.boardriding.com/riders/sage-kotsenburg" target="_blank">Sage Kotsenburg</a> def Gabe Ferguson</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Heat 8: <a href="https://www.boardriding.com/riders/ben-ferguson" target="_blank">Ben Ferguson</a> def Austen Sweetin</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Women</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Heat 9: <a href="https://www.boardriding.com/riders/elena-kuntz-hight" target="_blank">Elena Hight</a> def Marie-France Roy</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Heat 10: <a href="https://www.boardriding.com/riders/hana-beaman" target="_blank">Hana Beaman</a> def Spencer O'Brien</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Heat 11: Robin Van Gyn def Stefi Luxton</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Heat 12: Marion Haerty def Cheryl Maas</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Explore more Snowboarding content <a href="https://www.redbullcontentpool.com/search?sort=-firstActivationTimestamp&q=Snowboarding" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</div><div style="text-align: right;"><span>© Red Bull Media House</span></div>