Vito vs. IPod. Clark vs. Bleiler. Who would claim the coveted 2012 Dew Cup?

It all came down to the Winter Dew Tour Championships today, during the superpipe finals at Snowbasin Resort in Utah.

The women were the first to suit-up and drop-in to Snowbasin’s massive 22-foot superpipe. The race for the cup was strictly between Gretchen Bleiler and Kelly Clark, as today’s event would determine the overall Dew Cup winner.

After the first runs, Gretchen Bleiler found herself in the top spot–a position she held until the final rider dropped in.

As Kelly Clark stood at the top of the pipe before her final run, she knew she had her work cut out for her. She needed to best Bleiler’s high score of 94.25 to take home the win. She dropped into the pipe and blasted a run that included a huge frontside air, a backside 540, a frontside 1080, a cab 720, a frontside 540 and ended with a stylish backside air. For this, the judges awarded her a 95.00 which was just enough to edge out Bleiler for the win and the Dew Cup.

This was Clark’s 14th consecutive win, which further proves her dominance in the sport. Following the event, Clark said, “I really had to stay focused on what I came up to do today. Some of my favorite contests are when Gretchen and I go head-to-head and run-to-run.”

Clark was elated with her win and continued saying, “Dew Tour puts on some of the best venues that we go to. This is one of the best pipes I’ve ridden all year. I’m happy to do so well and to win the Dew Cup.”

Directly after the suspenseful women’s event, it was the men’s turn to take to the pipe. All of the riders were throwing down. But the quest for first place and the Dew Cup was between Iouri “IPod” Podladtchikov and Louie Vito. Both riders have several variations of double corks in their repertoire, so it was all up to who could execute the cleanest, most technical run.

Vito came out stomping on his first run and made history by landing a run that included three doubles and two 1080s. The judges awarded the “Tiny Dancer” a whopping 94.44 for his clean style and explosive spins.

After seeing this impressive run, IPod knew what he had to do. He came out of the gates in a fury, and blasted a huge run that included three doubles corks and two 10′s, but a slight bobble in the middle marred his chances to best Vito. He earned a 93.00 for this run, and looked to his second to set-up for the win.

With a solid first run in the bag, Vito dropped in for his last run and laid down the smoothest run we’ve seen out of the shredder all season. He stomped a double crippler, a double Michalchuk, a front double 1080, a cab double 1080, a frontside 1080, and ended with a cab 720. The judges were clearly impressed and awarded Vito the highest halfpipe score in Dew history, a 98.00.

IPod dropped in for the final run of the contest and stomped three huge doubles, a 1260 and a 1080. His run had more amplitude than Vito’s, but Louie’s included one more hit, so it definitely was a close call for the judges. After several suspenseful moments, the judges came back with IPod’s score– a 97.00– just 1-point less than Vito’s.

Following the event Vito said, “I’m stoked to be consistent but I wanted to at least get on top of the podium this year. I did today and what better place than where I’m living now in Utah, at the Toyota Championships, to walk away with the Dew Cup.”

With the conclusion of today’s superpipe finals, many of the top riders are making their way to Olso, Norway for the World Superpipe Championships, where they will battle it out once again.

Women’s Snowboard Superpipe Final Results
1. Kelly Clark, West Dover, Vt., 95.00. 2. Gretchen Bleiler, Aspen, Colo., 94.25. 3. Xuetong Cai, China, 89.75. 4. Sophie Rodriguez, France, 77.00. 5. Sarah Conrad, Canada, 68.50. 6. Arielle Gold, Steamboat Springs, Colo., 26.25.

Women’s Snowboard Superpipe – Tour Rankings
1. Kelly Clark, 200. 2. Gretchen Bleiler, 180. 3. Xuetong Cai, 164. 4. Sophie Rodriguez, 113. 5. Sarah Conrad, 107. 6. Arielle Gold, 107. 7. Serena Shaw, 89. 8. Sarka Pancochova, 87. 9. Hannah Teter, 83. 10. Maddy Schaffrick, 76.

Men’s Snowboard Superpipe Final Results
1. Louie Vito, Bellefontaine, Ohio, 98.00. 2. Iouri Podladtchikov, Switzerland, 97.00. 3. Spencer Shaw, Stratton, Vt., 90.00. 4. Trevor Jacob, Malibu, Calif., 88.00. 5. Zachary Black, Breckenridge, Colo., 86.00. 6. Ben Ferguson, Bend, Ore., 83.50. 7. Jack Mitrani, Mammoth Lakes, Calif., 81.50. 8. Mason Aguirre, Duluth, Minn., 80.00. 9. Kyle Mack, W. Bloomfield, Mich., 73.75. 10. Paul Brichta, Burnsville, Minn., 70.00. 11. Ben Watts, Bend, Ore., 67.00. 12. Scotty Pike, Sun Valley, Idaho, 63.00.

Men’s Snowboard Superpipe – Tour Rankings
1. Louie Vito, 330. 2. Iouri Podladtchikov, 317. 3. Spencer Shaw, 220. 4. Zachary Black, 199. 5. Mason Aguirre, 181. 6. Jack Mitrani, 169. 7. Trevor Jacob, 160. 8. Matt Ladley, 150. 9. Kyle Mack, 132. 10. Luke Mitrani, 124.