The 2021/22 FIS Snowboard World Cup season came to a close in sublime fashion on Sunday at the Silvaplana (SUI) slopestyle World Cup, where picture-perfect weather, a top-tier slopestyle course, and a deep field of the world’s best riders stomping some of the heaviest runs we’ve ever seen gave the season the send-off it deserved. It also gave the fans watching at home and on the hill at Corvatsch 3303 a whole lot to cheer about, and gave Anna Gasser (AUT) and Marcus Kleveland (NOR) victories to close out the season with.
Featuring a huge set of three kickers through the middle of the course, you knew that the Beijing 2022 big air gold medallist would feast on the set-up at Corvatsch, and that she did on Sunday, putting down a run that, even by her lofty standards, was exceptional.
Leading things off on her second run with a silky smooth frontside boardslide on the down rail, Gasser then went with a backside air on the quarterpipe, into a cripple on the side hit, before going to town on the jumps.
On the first kicker she stomped her signature double underflip 900, followed by a huge cab 900 nose grab, before putting an exclamation mark on things with a backside double cork 1080 melon, and finally, flowing through the last rail with a 50-50 gap to backside noseslide.
Already in the lead after run one, Gasser’s second run would up the ante further still, scoring her a sky-high 95.40 that would stay untouched by the last few riders down the course, giving Gasser her fourth podium in four World Cups entered on the season and the 10th victory of her World Cup career.
“It feels great,” Gasser said after the results were in, “It’s been such a fun week, such a great course, such great weather, and I think it’s so cool that we could all show our best riding today. All these girls sent it, everyone [on the podium] did 9-9-10 combos, so it was a really high level contest and a lot of fun.”
