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World's top snowboarders break in Breck's new superpipe

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Created on Sunday, 19 December 2010 19:21

Written by Nathan

                                                               Photo by Christian Murdock, The Gazette

BRECKENRIDGE – Olympians Louie Vito, of Bellefontaine, Ohio, and Spain’s Queralt Castellet won the men and women’s snowboard superpipe finals Saturday at the Winter Dew Tour’s Nike 6.0 Open. The best snowboarders in the world battled it out on Breckenridge Ski Resort’s new 22-foot superpipe.

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Vito, age 22, won the first final of the season with tricks including a front double ten, cab double ten and a crippler, for a top score of 90.25. Steamboat Springs, Colo.-native, Matt Ladley, age 19, came in second with a 75.00 and Greg Bretz, age 19 of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., followed behind in third with a 73.75.

“I like contests, I like the pressure and I like having to do it right then and there. I feel pretty good after today, but it’s definitely a challenging position,” said Vito. “Killington’s a whole new day, a whole new contest, and I’m going to have to be on it if I want to stay on the podium.”

In the women’s snowboard superpipe final, 21-year-old Castellet took the top podium spot for the second consecutive year at the Winter Dew Tour’s season-opening event in Breckenridge. Castellet’s winning run included a back 3, front 9, back 3 grab, front 5, back 5 and a front 7 for a top score of 85.25.  Elena Hight, age 21 of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., placed second with an 80.50 and defending Dew Cup Champion Kaitlyn Farrington, age 21 of Sun Valley, Idaho, rounded out the podium in third with a 74.25.

“I’m very excited because I couldn’t land the first run so for the second run I had a lot of nerves and a lot of pressure to land it,” said Castellet. “I did it, and I’m so happy.”

The four-day competition is the first of three stops on the 2010-11 Winter Dew Tour featuring men and women’s snowboarding and freeskiing disciplines. The Nike 6.0 Open will conclude tomorrow with the snowboard and freeski slopestyle finals for both men and women.