FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ENAK GAVAGGIO WINS
HONDA SKI TOUR SKI CROSS AT
SQUAW VALLEY
USA, AND
STANLEY
HAYER FINISHES SECOND BEATING CASEY PUCKETT TO WIN THE OVERALL HONDA SKI TOUR
SKI CROSS CHAMPIONSHIP AND BRAND NEW HONDA ELEMENT
SIMON DUMONT WINS THIRD HALFPIPE TITLE AT THE
HONDA SKI TOUR, AND THE OVERALL HONDA SKI TOUR HALFPIPE TITLE AND BRAND NEW
HONDA ELEMENT
Squaw Valley USA,
March 12, 2007—Czech born and Canadian citizen Stanley Hayer made Ski Cross
history yesterday at the fourth and final stop of The Honda Ski Tour (THST) in
Squaw Valley USA, CA, becoming the first athlete to win the overall Honda Ski
Tour Ski Cross title beating out rival Casey Puckett. Hayer finished in second
place behind Frenchman Enak Gavaggio after crashing with Gavaggio near the
finish line attempting a spectacular pass off the last jump. Hayer earned the 2nd
place check of $15,000 totaling his THST earnings to $70,000 and became the new
owner of a brand new Honda Element as the THST overall Ski Cross champion.
THST is North
America's new elite, four-stop mountain festival and skiing competition that
features the world's best halfpipe and ski cross skiers competing for a total
of $500,000, the biggest purse in skiing and a brand new Honda Element as the
overall Tour champion.
"We started and ended with a bang," said THST co-founder
Steve Brown. "We accomplished what we set out to do by creating buzz and an
impact on skiing. The final week here in
Squaw Valley
was great with the weather and spectacular competition. We are definitely
coming back next year, bigger and better."
The dramatic Final included an all-star lineup of Hayer,
Puckett, Gavaggio, and Czech Tomas Kraus. Hayer had a poor start coming out of
the start in fourth, but Puckett and Kraus got tangled on the first turn at the
top of the course and crashed allowing Gavaggio and Hayer to battle it out for
the $25,000 first place check. On the last jump of the course near the finish
line, Hayer tried a risky pass on the inside by taking the inside line in the
air. He landed on Gavaggio's tails causing a wreck, and the two hiked up to ski
through the gate they missed. Once they reached the gate and began skiing down
to the finish line, Hayer conceded the victory to Gavaggio since he tried a
questionable move in regards to Ski Cross etiquette. Nevertheless, Hayer
finished ahead of a concussed Puckett giving him the overall Tour title and
brand new Honda Element.
"The only guy I wanted to beat was Casey [Puckett]," the
33-year-old Hayer said following his victory. "He's the only guy I had to beat.
The money's great, but I wanted the car. The car has been a big thing for me
since I drive a crappy '95 van with about 400,000 miles, no windows, and the
tranny doesn't work. This has been a fantastic year for me being on the podium
of every Honda Ski Tour. I'm going to party tonight."
The Halfpipe side
of the (THST) concluded today and competitor Simon Dumont made
history on Saturday by winning his third Honda Ski Tour Halfpipe title to
clinch the overall Tour title as THST Halfpipe champion and a brand new Honda
Element. With the best run of two counting, Dumont scored a 93.50 on his second
run to win the Squaw Valley USA stop and another $25,000 giving him a total of
$80,000 in earnings from The Honda Ski Tour.
Unlike the first
three THST stops, sunny skies and temperatures hovering around 60 degrees in
Alpine Bowl at Squaw Valley USA welcomed Halfpipe competitors to the pipe that
had just been constructed a week ago. A mass of spectators basked in the sun
lining the deck of the pipe and the corral finish area and were treated to a
world-class display of halfpipe skiing. New Zealand's Jossi Wells, 16, who made
his second THST appearance after breaking his collarbone six weeks ago at the
Winter X Games, scored an 87.25 on his first run starting with a massive flair
nose grab into consecutive 900s (the first rightside and the second leftside)
followed by a rightside 540 and a 1080 tailgrab.
Carbondale, CO,
native Peter Olenick, who placed 2nd at THST stop #2 in
Breckenridge, CO, did not attempt his signature double whiskey flip on his
first run electing to save it for his second run. Canadian Mike Riddle, who sat
in 2nd in the overall Tour standings heading into the event, threw a
1080 to a switch 720 at the end of his first run putting him in second behind
Wells after the first run prior to Dumont's first run. Dumont dropped in for
his first run and wowed spectators and himself by soaring higher than the
20-foot Honda tower marker with a cork 540 lead mute grab followed by a
rightside 540 mute to a huge 1260 to a an alley-oop flatspin 900.
"Honestly, today was the first time I've ever been scared
skiing into a halfpipe wall," said the 20-year-old Maine native following his
historic victory. "I got my skis waxed in the morning and they put this powder
stuff on them right before my run, and I went so fast into the wall and popped as hard as I could."
On the second run, Olenick landed his massive double
whiskey flip off the first hit matching the height meters and followed that up
with a 900 tailgrab and 1080 tailgrab jumping Riddle in the standings with a
score of 84.75, which put him in third place earning $7,500. After Wells
crashed on his second run, Dumont had a victory run and did not disappoint
throwing the same first run but with increased amplitude to score the highest
run of the day with a 93.50.
Following the competition, 2nd place finisher
($15,000) Jossi Wells, making only his second appearance in a halfpipe since
his injury asserted, "This competition has got that professional feel about it,
but it's also really relaxed and chilled. This is the Cadillac of new ski
competitions. I love coming here and hopefully I'll be back next year."
Meanwhile, Internet music celebrity Jillian Ann performed at
Crocs Lounge – Bar One singing over electronica digital music while Tyrone
Wells of
Spokane,
WA, played over at the Plaza Bar. The
original funkmaster George Clinton played late into the evening at the OVL with
fans dressed in funky costumes matching the spirit of the band.
Sunday marked the final day of the inaugural Honda Ski Tour
after four electrifying stops filled with skiing and music. The Honda Ski Tour
returns to mountain towns and living rooms across the country next year with
bigger and better skiing and music.
ABC TELEVISION AIRDATES/TIMES:
THST will be covered in four hours of network
television—one hour per event— scheduled to air on ABC. Event and airing
schedules are as follows:
Event date: March
8-11, Squaw Valley
USA,
California
ABC airdate/times:
Sunday, March 25, 2pm EST / 1pm CT / 12pm MST / 11am PST
**Times
for all airdates subject to change—check your local listings
For videos, stories, photos and general
information and BaseCamp Music Experience ticket information, go to The Honda
Ski Tour website www.theskitour.com
For up-to-date info on The Honda Ski Tour
sent directly to your cell phone, TEXT
the word SKI to 47467
Check out The
Honda Ski Tour myspace page at www.myspace.com/theskitour
The
Honda Ski Tour would like to extend a special thanks to its sponsors, American
Honda Motor Co., Paul Mitchell, Crocs, Spyder, Salomon, Ice Breaker, Oxygen,
Atomic, Bula, Surefoot, Primaloft, Shred, The Village at Squaw Valley and media
partner Outside Magazine.
For more information and downloadable
high-resolution images of Honda vehicles, please visit www.hondanews.com.
Consumer information is available at www.honda.com
