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 four doubles in a row. 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 two 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 and two 10's. 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.

Louie Vito and Bobby Brown are at the top of their game in their respective fields of skiing and snowboarding. Both shred competitively and boast a boatloads of sponsors, including the all-powerful energy drink, Red Bull. This season, Red Bull is producing a series of behind-the-scenes edits that will follow these shred-stars throughout all of their competitions and worldwide travels.

Livin' Louie and Bobby's Life give a glimpse into the lives of these pros and what it's like to live like them. The first episodes just hit the web and show these pros training in the pre-season and getting warmed up on their home mountains.

Who do think is living larger? Bobby or Louie?

In this first webisode of Livin' Louie Vito we start off at the snowboarding Olympian's home in Salt Lake City, Utah before pumping some iron in his favorite gym and hitting the snow park with rider Stevie Bell.

In this first webisode of Livin' Louie Vito we start off at the snowboarding Olympian's home in Salt Lake City, Utah before pumping some iron in his favorite gym and hitting the snow park with rider Stevie Bell.



The skiing preseason has just begun for Bobby Brown in his hometown of Denver, Colorado as him and his friends take full advantage of Breckenridge snow jumps a day before opening. It's full speed ahead as he travels to Woodward at Copper to test out double cork variations just before heading to Sweden for a big air event before Dew Tour.

The second stop of the Winter Dew Tour contest series will be taking over Killington, Vermont this week. World-class athletes will be competing in superpipe and slopestyle, eyeing the top spot on the podium.

Women's freeskiers will also make an appearance at this stop, where the leading ladies will have a chance to show what they're made of on the big screen.

It's going to be an action-packed event, so check out all the details from the Dew Tour below.

Dew Tour- Burr Ridge, Ill. - The Winter Dew Tour continues this weekend with its second stop of the season when the Pantech Invitational hits Killington, Vermont. The top athletes in snowboarding and freeskiing will descend on one of the East Coast's biggest resorts to battle it out for points toward the Dew Cup.

Louie Vito comes to Killington on the heels of a second place finish at the Winter Dew Tour's first stop in Breckenridge, Colorado. Eager to repeat his championship performance in the superpipe during the 2011 season, Vito will be aiming to redeem himself with the top spot in Vermont. The slopestyle course will be crowded with internationally recognized snowboarders, from triple-corking Canadian Mark McMorris to the Norwegian winner of the Nike Open, Gjermund Braaten, as well as a large group of American-bred riders fighting through the last chance qualifiers.

Competition in the men's freeski events will be sure to deliver excitement. After combating an injury in Breckenridge, Simon Dumont will take to the superpipe looking to dethrone reigning champ Kevin Rolland. Tom Wallisch will attempt to go two for two in Winter Dew Tour ski slopestyle wins this season, bringing huge air and smooth landings to a slopestyle run that is sure to defy the laws of physics. Last year's Killington winner Bobby Brown, along with Alex Schlopy and Nick Goepper, will be among the top skiers intending to push him off the podium.

The top names in women's freeskiing will have their Winter Dew Tour season debut at the Pantech Invitational with bigger stakes than in years past. For the first time in Dew Tour history, women freeskiers will compete towards a Dew Cup. Devin Logan, who took the freeski halfpipe world by storm in her breakout rookie year in 2011, will bring her signature style to Bear Mountain, while young up-and-comer Kaya Turski will be showing off on the slopestyle course. Several women with eyes on the 2014 Olympics are also headed to the Pantech Invitational, including Grete Eliassen, Brita Sigourney and Ashley Battersby.

In addition to action-packed competitions, the weekend will also include a Friday night VIP party at the Wobbly Barn, a well-known Killington watering hole. The night will feature a live DJ set from RAC, the Portland-based cutting edge duo of Andre Allen Anjos and Karl Kling, spinning original remixes and party favorites. Party entry will be $10 for those 21-and-over.

Pre-qualified and invited Men

Pre-qualified and invited Women

For seven years, Louie Vito has hosted a charity Rail Jam at his home mountain, Mad River Mountain, in Belefountaine, Ohio. Despite unfavorable conditions, this year's event was the biggest to date as tons of shredders from across the country made the trek for the contest.

Words: Mad River Moutain

The Louie Vito Rail Jam is the official beginning to the freestyle contest season at Mad River Mountain. It's really a reunion for the entire Ohio Scene. You get a chance to catch up with the guys who moved away, talk about the good 'ol Mad river days in The Loft with the OG shreds turned dads, and watch some of the best rail riding on this side of the tracks.

As everyone knows, snow has been an issue everywhere this season. That didn't stop The Capital Park Crew from producing another quality contest venue. The set-up featured four mid sized down rails centered by a perfectly pitched 30' down rail that saw more back lips than the Hollywood 16.

The weather was not favorable for a snow competition at all. 50+ degrees wasn't looking too bad compared to three seasons ago LVRJ's balmy 72 degree contest temperature. Then the rain started. The dedicated riders spent the better part of the two hour practice session getting absolutely soaked. As final preparations were under way for the event, the clouds parted and the sun shinned through the heavy rain creating one of the most amazing rainbows ever. In true storybook fashion, the end of the rainbow landed directly on the slopes, marking the beginning of a four hour window of dry weather for the contest. Just as the contest ended, the skies once again unleashed forcing the crowd inside The Loft for the party.

This contest and its award ceremony is unlike most. Annually The Vito Family and Mad River Mountain pull out all the stops providing prizes and live entertainment not found at most Resorts this size.

Inside the Lodge, the judges prepared the results while the Skratchmatik Crew displayed their signature turntablism, highlighted with the lyrical genius of fellow snowboarder- MC Many Styles freestyle flow. The event's cache of prizes featured 15 snowboards, 50 helmets, top dollar watches, quality sound equipment, and hundreds of beanies, t-shirts and other various items of clothing. For anyone who has never attended a LVRJ, you just might want to next year. Not only is there entertainment for all ages, there are more prizes than competitors, which means you have a good chance at the product toss!

Prior to announcing the winners of the event, the entire town was treated to a firework display that rocked the Valley. The fifteen minute display provided a timely segway for the bib raffle and awards, setting the stage for the highlight of the night, a show by Olympic Snowboarder Trevor Andrew's band Trouble Andrew. As the winners of the 8th annual Louie Vito Rail Jam were crowned and the lucky winner of the all expenses paid trip to Windells Summer Snowboard camp was drawn, thousands of dollars in products showered the crowd. This is the Vito Families way of giving a little back to the community. The product toss worked as a smoke and mirrors trick. It distracted the crowd long enough for Trouble Andrew to rush the stage unnoticed. They delivered an end all set that had both Lou(dad) and Louie (son) Vito enjoying Louie's true talent, dancing.

Mad River Mountain and The Vito Family would like to thank The St Vincent DePaul of Bellefontaine, Windells, Ryan Andreas Photography, Neff, Spy, 686, Kicker, Red Bull, Capix, Nike 6.0, G Shock, C Mag, Lost Nation, Shooby, Lantis Fireworks, Rob Knight, Trevor Andrew, the weather, and Most of all everyone who attended the event.



â¨LVRJ 2011 Final Results

Snowboard 10 - 13 1st Eli Spires 2nd Brandon Bishoff 3rd Oliver Kroker
Snowboard 14 - 17 1st Dominic Palarchio 2nd Hayden Dillon 3rd Davis Church
Snowboard 18+ 1st Ethan Weatherbyâ¨2nd Cody Hines 3rd Oliver Dixon 4th Dylan Chrismer
Snowboard Top Female Jen Cusick
Ski 14 - 17 1st Will Givens 2nd Kyle Kaparos 3rd Axel Rudling
Ski 18+ 1st Matt Heffernan 2nd Brian Kiss 3rd Brian Fitzgerald

Grand Prize Winner- Windells Trip William Noble

Men's and women's superpipe finals went down Saturday afternoon in Breckenridge, Colorado for the fourth annual Winter Dew Tour Nike Open. Breckenridge's massive 602 ft superpipe was the site of heavy action as the world's best riders battled it out in front of a massive, sprawling crowd. â¨
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The women's field of six riders kicked things off early in the afternoon as sunny skies illuminated the pipe. After an uncharacteristic bobble in her first run, Kelly Clark came from behind and stomped her second run for the win.

The Vermont native put down a run that included a frontside inverted 720, a cab 720, frontside 540, backside 540, frontside 900, and ended with a massive method oozing with style. Clark's run earned her a 91.25 which was just enough to bump Gretchen Bleiler out of the top spot and into second place. Rounding out the women's podium was Xuetong Cai who earned an 85.00 for her efforts.

After the contest Clark commented, "This is the longest pipe we've ever ridden and it makes for a progressive contest because no one's trying to squeak all of their tricks in. "There's plenty of room to do every combination that you want to do. I couldn't have had a better start to my season, I think more importantly than doing well, I'm happy with the way I'm riding." â¨â¨

Over on the men's side of things, it was Shaun White who rode away with the win after stomping a massive, progressive run. White dropped into the pipe and sent a huge 27 foot backside air, a frontside double cork 900, backside 540, frontside stalefish 540, a double McTwist 1260 and ended it with an alley-oop backside rodeo which earned him a solid 95.0 Rumor has it that this was only White's fourth day on hill this season, making this win all the more impressive.
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White was elated with the win and said "I'm so happy to put that run down and make it count, get the win and start the season off right." White was pumped on the size of Breck's pipe and said, "I'm blown away by Breckenridge delivering such an amazing pipe. It's one of the best I've ever ridden." â¨â¨Coming in a close second was Louie Vito who stomped a super techincal run that went like this, double crippler, Michalchuk, front double 10, cab double 10, front 12 and finished with a back 5. Vito's run was smooth and stylish, but lacked the amplitude that White had.
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Rounding out the podium was Iouri Podlachikov who rallied from a brutal fall in his first run and came back to stomp his second. IPOD's first run was easily the best run of the whole comp, until his last hit, where he landed super low and slammed his face on the bottom of the pipe. IPOD smacked his noggin so hard that his goggle broke, and he rose up with a bloody nose. When asked about his second run, IPOD said, "I was just all in. I had nothing to lose. My face was hurting. My nose, I can slowly feel it again, but that first run was like the best run of my life."

It was a super action-packed day at the Winter Dew Tour Nike Open in Breckenridge, Colorado and the fun continues tomorrow with men's and women's slope finals.

Men's Snowboard Superpipe Final Results

1. Shaun White, Carlsbad, Calif., 95.00.
2. Louie Vito, Bellefontaine, Ohio, 92.75.
3. Iouri Podlachikov, Switzerland, 90.00.
4. Christian Haller, Switzerland, 88.00.
5. Kohei Kudo, Japan, 86.00.
6. Matt Ladley, Steamboat Spring, Colo., 84.00.
7. Steve Fisher, Breckenridge, Colo., 79.75.
8. Keito Kumazaki, Japan, 55.75.
9. Kazuhiro Kokubo, Japan, 47.75.
10. Scott Lago, Seabrook, N.H., 40.00.
11. Luke Mitrani, Mammoth Lakes, Calif., 24.25.
12. Danny Davis,Highland, Mich., 18.25.

Women's Snowboard Superpipe Final Results

1. Kelly Clark, West Dover, Vt., 91.25.
â¨2. Gretchen Bleiler, Aspen, Colo., 90.25.
â¨3. Xuetong Cai, China, 85.00.
4. Maddy Schaffrick, Steamboat Springs, Colo., 80.00.
5. Kaitlyn Farrington, Sun Valley, Id., 70.00.
6. Queralt Castellet, Spain, 54.50.




Women's Podium. 1. Kelly Clark 2. Gretchen Blieler 3. Cai Xuetong

Men's Podium 1. Shaun White 2. Louie Vito 3. IPOD