Although snow conditions weren’t quite what we saw last year, there’s no denying we witnessed some incredible riding on Day 1 of the Natural Selection Tour. The first round of riders have been culled, and the pressure is on the remaining crew to bring their A-game once again to see if they can walk away from Jackson Hole victorious. As always, we love to poke our noses in and make predictions, so here are the definitive* winners for Day 2…
(*Guaranteed results sold separately)
Dustin Craven vs Jared Elston
DC: Dustin came out victorious after laying down two solid runs. Starting off the comp, Craven got some of the best snow of the day and he made the most of it, navigating the course in flawless control. He’s a man who can read the land well, peppering his runs with lots of little tricks, laying the foundation for a power ender.
JE: Taking down Chris Rasman is no easy feat, but Big Air Jare certainly lived up to his name. Two pretty clean runs with some big money hits and solid landings in some tricky situations, we think he’s got something big up his sleeve for Day 2 so watch this space.
WL Prediction: Old guard vs Young Gun. Dustin’s got years of experience working in his favour here, but if Jared can channel the same explosive energy from Day 1 then it’s him for the win.
“Taking down Chris Rasman is no easy feat, but Big Air Jare certainly lived up to his name”
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Travis Rice vs Torstein Horgmo
TR: Travis is Travis, right? There’s not much that needs to be said here, he knows what he has to do to win, and on his best day there’s not much that can be done to beat him. That being said, he didn’t give the best performance of his life on day one and there’s very little margin for error here. Can he come back stronger for Day 2?
TH: Shaking off the competitive cobwebs Torstein started strong with some stylish switch riding, which the judges always love to see and some lofty spins to show what he’s made of. Torstein makes it look easier than pretty much anyone, even when the questionable snow conditions don’t work out in his favour.
WL Prediction: This is a battle of the Titans we’re amped to see, but a tricky one here. Some of the judging has been questioned on social media after Travis bumped Kevin Backstrom, so will they 180 this time and score Torstein more favourably? Are we reading too much into this? Gun to our head? Torstein wins.
“Will they 180 this time and score Torstein more favourably? Are we reading too much into this? Gun to our head? Torstein wins”
