Antonio Olivero / aolivero@summitdaily.com
COPPER MOUNTAIN — Australian star Scotty James took home gold Sunday at the Dew Tour men’s modified superpipe competition at Copper Mountain Resort after leading the pack for all three runs.
In the first round, he made a statement that he was there to extend his 10-contest winning streak. James topped the first round of runs with a 95.33 on the strength of a switch backside Michalchuk on the first modified feature to a cab double-cork 900 on the second side-hit modified feature leading into the traditional pipe portion of the course.
In the pipe, James checked his speed before going big on a frontside double-cork 1260 to a backside double-cork 1260. James’ score after that run was ahead of Japan’s Yuto Totsuka (92.00) and Jan Scherrer of Switzerland (90.00).
James held onto the lead after the second run in the pipe, which was similar to his first, but he added in a switch backside double 1080 at the top of the pipe before another 1260 at the bottom. He was awarded a 94.00, the second-highest score of the day for any competitor and ahead of second-place rider Totsuka.
After James landed his second run, American rider Danny Davis turned to slopestyle silver medalist Brock Crouch and said, “animal,” referring to James’ flawless, powerful lines through the tricky modified superpipe course.
James’ win means he’s now 11-0 in pipe competitions since the Olympic bronze medal in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Totsuka placed second, and Pat Burgener of Switzerland came in third.