Finch, Clark take superpipe titles in second stop of Vans Triple Crown

Finch, Clark take superpipe titles in second stop of Vans Triple Crown{mosimage}USSA — While most of the country was watching the Super Bowl pregame show, Andy Finch and Kelly Clark rocked the superpipe at Mammoth Mountain, California, to win the second stop of the Vans Triple Crown.

Clark, the Olympic gold medalist, had a first-run score of 88.8, 1.1 points better than runner-up Hannah Teter, who’d won all her other starts this season. Kjersti Oestgaard Buaas of Norway finished 9.9 points back of Teter for third, followed by American Tricia Byrnes.

Local hero and ’02 Olympian Tommy Czeschin finished two points back of Finch with a 89.3 point run that included a corked 720 to cab 720 followed by a cab 900. Finn flyer Antti Autti was third with 87.5 points.

“Hannah went huge as always and she was really close to topping Kelly,” said U.S. Snowboarding head halfpipe coach Bud Keene. “She was smooth with her 540 and her McTwist, but she didn’t go for the 900 today and that would have won her the contest. The whole team is still coming down from X Games and the pipe could have been better, but she’s still riding so strong.”

Teter, who won her first X Games title a week ago and has already wrapped up the overall Chevrolet U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix crown, held a win streak that dated back to October 13 in the World Cup opener in Valle Nevado, Chile.

Three of the top five men call Mammoth home as Czeschin, who won the ’03 Mammoth Triple Crown, led Luke Wynen and best friend and fellow U.S. Snowboard team member Chris Nelson into the top five. “Tommy always does well in the Mammoth pipe,” said Keene. “But he’s riding really well right now everywhere and so it Nelly. Both these guys have been super smooth lately and I don’t expect that to change.”

Immediately following the Mammoth finals, the U.S. team zipped to Reno, Nevada, before catching a morning flight East for the final stop of the Grand Prix hosted by Mountain Creek, New Jersey.

“We’re all excited to get to Jersey, especially because Pat Malendoski is cutting the pipe. Mammoth was a great contest, but the whole team gets psyched knowing that that they’re going to be riding one of Pat’s pipes and it’s a nighttime final, so there should be some high energy by all the riders.”

VANS TRIPLE CROWN (second event)
Mammoth Mountain, California
February 1, 2004
Men’s Halfpipe
1. Andy Finch, Fresno, Calif., 91.3
2. Tommy Czeschin, Mammoth Lakes, Calif., 89.3
3. Antti Autti, Finland, 87.5
4. Luke Wynen, Reading, Pa., 85.2
5. Chris Nelson, Mammoth Lakes, Calif., 78.7

Women’s Halfpipe
1. Kelly Clark, Mount Snow, Vt., 88.8
2. Hannah Teter, Belmont, Vt. 87.7
3. Kjersti Oestgaard Buaas, Norway, 78.8
4. Tricia Byrnes, Stratton, Vt., 78.8
5. Dorian Vidal, France, 76.2