Monster Energy Athletes Take Top Spots And Crystal Globe Trophies In Freeski And Snowboard Slopestyle At FIS World Cup, Silvaplana

Ending the season with medals and Crystal Globes! Monster Energy congratulates team rider Taiga Hasegawa on taking first place in Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle at the FIS World Cup in Silvaplana, Switzerland, this weekend. In the final event of the 2022/23 FIS World Cup season, the 17-year-old from Aichi, Japan, claimed the victory in an elite field.

The podiums continued with Evan McEachran claiming second place in Men’s Freeski Slopestyle. Joining the Canadian on the podium, 22-year-old Birk Ruud from Oslo, Norway, took home third place in Men’s Freeski Slopestyle. After a milestone-heavy season, during which he dominated the top spot on the Slopestyle leaderboards, Ruud took home his career-first Slopestyle Crystal Globe. The Olympic gold medalist also won his second-straight FIS Freeski overall Crystal Globe trophy and set a new all-time record by earning seven Top 3 finishes in a single season.

Also bringing home a Crystal Globe, Team USA’s Dusty Henricksen from Mammoth Lakes, California, clinched the trophy as the season’s top competitor in Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle. In the highly contested Women’s Freeski Slopestyle final, 32-year-old Swiss team rider Sarah Hoefflin finished in second place for her 15th World Cup podium. In Saturday’s Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle final, 22-year-old Tess Coady from Australia brought home the silver medal. Swedish team rider Sven Thorgren rose to third place in Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle.

Overall, Monster Energy athletes claimed 6 medals (1 gold, 3 silver, and 2 bronze) and three Crystal Globe trophies in the season finale in Switzerland.

From March 23-26, 2023, the best freeski and snowboard athletes in the world battled for overall 2022/23 titles at Switzerland’s Corvatsch Resort in Silvaplana. The iconic resort in the Swiss Alps boasts a history of hosting FIS World Cup events for more than ten years. This year, the outstanding slopestyle course at Corvatsch Park once again provided the backdrop for world-class riding to conclude the 2022/23 FIS World Cup season.

Here’s how the action unfolded for Team Monster Energy at Silvaplana 2023:

Snowboard Slopestyle: Monster Energy’s Taiga Hasegawa Takes First Place, Dusty Henricksen Clinches Crystal Globe Trophy for Slopestyle Season

This year, snowboarding was part of competitions at Silvaplana for the third time in a row. The stakes were high in the Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle final featuring previous Crystal Globe winners and Olympic medalists.

In this elite field, 17-year-old Taiga Hasegawa from Aichi, Japan, dropped in as a wildcard. But despite his young age – and having never claimed a World Cup podium spot or win before – the upcoming Japanese superstar proved that he could rise all the way to the top.

Putting down a run for the history books, Hasegawa hit the rails via Cab 270 on to 270 out the first rail into frontside bluntslide to floaty 810 out the launch rail. His outstanding jump line included Cab 1440 tailgrab, switch backside 1620 mute, and a fast-spinning backside 1800 mute on the final booter. Hasegawa stoked fans by landing a frontside 720 on the final halfpipe feature to score 92.00 points and the win.

“Thank you everyone! I’m so happy to get my first slopestyle podium and be first. Thank you so much,” said Hasegawa upon winning Snowboard Slopestyle at Silvaplana.

Sunday’s Slopestyle gold is Hasegawa’s first career Slopestyle World Cup podium and victory. He finished the 2022/23 World Cup season in second place on Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle rankings at 186.00 points. His success contributed to Team Japan claiming the Park & Pipe Nations Cup for 2022/23.

The young Japanese ripper is on a roll this season: In early March, Hasegawa won the 2023 Men’s Snowboard Big Air World Championship at Bakuriani 2023. The Team Japan snowboarder also won the 2020/2021 World Junior Snowboarding Championship in Big Air. At age 15, he made history as the world’s first rider to land 1800 rotations all four ways.

The second big snowboarding story of the weekend saw 20-year-old Dusty Henricksen from Mammoth Lakes, California, clinch the Crystal Globe as best Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle competitor of the 2022/23 World Cup season.

Coming to Silvaplana, the Team USA snowboarder had built a solid score on season rankings. Henricksen qualified for all six World Cup finals on the roster and secured three podium spots in either first or second place.

As a result, any finish above 26th place at Silvaplana would have sufficed to bring home the trophy. When all was said and done, Henricksen finished the Slopestyle event in seventh place to secure the top Slopestyle spot with 286.00 points and a 110-point lead. He also finished second overall in park and pipe rankings.

“I couldn’t ask for much more! It was definitely a big goal of mine, and I know down the road, looking back, this is going to be a super nice trophy to have, and it’s a super special moment for me. I’m kind of speechless. I’m fired up,” said Henricksen upon winning the season’s Slopestyle Crystal Globe.

Claiming a podium spot in Sunday’s final, 28-year-old Sven Thorgren from Sweden took home the bronze medal. On his first run, Thorgren put down a frontside 1440 tail grab, backside 1620 melon, and Cab 1260 tail grab in the jumps, supplemented by a stylish alley-oop 540 nose grab in the pipe for 85.00 points.

This marks the second third-place podium of the season for the Swedish ripper and owner of 8 X Games medals (1 gold, 2 silver, 5 bronze).

Initially slated for Sunday, the Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle final unfolded amid blue skis and perfect course conditions on Saturday. On her first attempt, 22-year-old Tess Coady from Melbourne, Australia, took over the lead with a flawless run.

Straight out the gate, Coady impressed the judges with skate-inspired rail moves. In the jumps, she showcased her aerial strength by posting frontside 900 tail grab, switch backside 900 Weddle, and backside double cork 1080 mute grab on the big third booter. Ultimately, her score of 85.00 points secured second place, with American Julia Marino taking the win.

This marks the third career FIS World Cup podium for Coady. She also took bronze in Big Air at the Bakuriani 2023 FIS Freestyle Ski, Snowboard, and Freeski World Championships in March. In 2022, Coady earned the Slopestyle bronze medal at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. In January, she claimed silver at X Games Aspen 2023, earning the first medal in the Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle discipline as an Australian rider.

Freeski Slopestyle: Monster Energy’s Birk Ruud Ends Record-Setting Season with Slopestyle and Overall Crystal Globes, Evan McEachran Takes Second Place in Men’s Final

In the Men’s Freeski Slopestyle final, 26-year-old Evan McEachran from Ochran, Canada, boosted into second place on his second run. Hitting the course with speed and confidence, the two-time X Games medalist put down a right nosebutter 450 to switch on the first rail, switch left 270 on to blindside switchup to front 450 out on rail number two. In the jumps, he sent a switch right 1800 safety on the second jump for 93.00 points and second place.

This marks the fifth World Cup podium finish for McEachran, who represents Canada in Olympic competitions.

McEachran faced competition from his teammate, Norwegian Birk Ruud. The 22-year-old from Oslo came to Silvaplana fresh off winning the Slopestyle discipline at the Tignes World Cup the previous weekend. Ranked first on FIS season Slopestyle leaderboards, the Olympic gold medalist had a chance to claim the coveted Crystal Globe trophy for Slopestyle and had already locked in the trophy for overall season performance.

When the dust settled, his score of 92.50 points secured Ruud third place, a mere half point behind McEachran. And just like that, the Norwegian set a record by earning a podium spot in every single season event with a total of seven podiums.

There’s more! Saturday’s third-place finish earned Ruud the Crystal Globe trophy in Men’s Freeski Slopestyle as his career-first in the discipline. For the second year in a row, the Norwegian also earned the FIS Freeski overall Crystal Globe title. He earned the trophy with 560.00 points, almost 200 points ahead of Switzerland’s Andri Ragettli in second place at 365.00 points. Ruud now owns four Crystal Globes in total.

“Wow, it’s been a great season, and I’m very happy to finish up on the podium. It’s been the best season I’ve ever had, and I’ve done nine podiums in a row when you count World Champs and World Cups,” said Ruud upon winning two Crystal Globes at Silvaplana 2023, adding: “I’m proud of myself but also proud of my team. It’s been a special season for us all.”

This concludes a dominant season for the Norwegian after clinching the Men’s Freeski Slopestyle World Championship title at Bakuriani 2023. Ruud also took the gold medal in Big Air at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

In the Women’s Freeski Slopestyle final, 32-year-old Swiss team rider Sarah Hoefflin from Zurich dropped in as a favorite after taking home second place at the legendary Laax Open in January.

In front of a hometown crowd, the Olympic gold medalist put down her highest-scoring routine for 90.25 points and second place. In the rails, Hoefflin finessed an eclectic mix of technical slides and reverts. Rounding out a perfect run, she posted switch left 720 safety and switch right double cork 1080 mute on the final two jumps to take home her second Slopestyle podium of the World Cup season.

Saturday’s silver medal at Silvaplana marks the fifteenth World Cup podium of Hoefflin’s career. Hoefflin finished her season in second overall on the Women’s Freeski Slopestyle rankings with 280 points, while ending overall rankings at 340 points for the season bronze medal.

Hoefflin came into professional skiing as a late bloomer after earning her neuroscience degree in 2013. She shook up the freeski elite by winning Women’s Ski Big Air at Aspen 2018 and, that same year, claimed the gold medal in slopestyle at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.