Editor’s note: This story will be updated with live coverage results throughout the day.
COPPER MOUNTAIN – Old Man Winter is trying to steal the show before Dew Tour even begins.
With snow in the forecast over the next few days, including forecasted high winds and blowing snow on Friday, the Dew Tour at Copper Mountain Resort made a last-minute change to its competition schedule in order to take the safety of its athletes into highest consideration.
Namely, the Dew Tour bumped up several of its slopestyle events, including the loaded men’s snowboard slopestyle qualifier, to Thursday in an attempt to get the competitions in during safer windows of time.
The change means one of the stars of this year’s Dew Tour, Ohio native and Summit County resident Red Gerard, will be dropping into the Dew Tour’s slopestyle course at Woodward Copper’s Central Park at 10:30 a.m. Thursday morning.
On the heels of a bronze medal and runner-up finish last month at elite slopestyle competitions at X Games Aspen and the Laax Open, respectively, Gerard appears primed to take on 16 of the world’s best slopestyle riders on a Woodward Copper course that seems to be a challenge.
That said, Gerard was riding creatively through the slope course’s features in practice, including looking good on a canon-rail-to-redirect feature up top and on a wall ride further down the rails section.
Nine snowboarders from Thursday’s 16-athlete qualifying round — which also features such names as X Games gold medalist Darcy Sharpe of Canada, Canadian stars Mark McMorrris and Max Parrot, and international heavy-hitters Sven Thorgren and Yuki Kadono — will vie for nine spots to join Norwegian star and defending Dew Tour champion Stale Sandbech in Saturday’s final (10:45 a.m.)
Along with the men’s snowboard slopestyle qualifier, the Dew Tour will begin with a similar qualifying round for the world’s best men’s slopestyle freeskiers. And, later in the day, various snowboard and ski brands will take on each other in the snowboard and freeski team challenge events. The team challenges include modified superpipe, slopestyle and streetstyle competitions, and Gerard is slated to represent Team Burton.
Check back throughout the day for results and below for Thursday’s schedule, links to live streams and to read up on all of our feature coverage in the lead-up to Dew Tour making its debut at Copper Mountain.
THURSDAY’S LIVE STREAMS
Men’s ski slopestyle qualifier, Central Park, 8:45 a.m.
Men’s snowboard slopestyle qualifier, Central Park, 10:30 a.m.
Snowboard team challenge – slopestyle, Central Park, 12:30 p.m.
Ski team challenge – slopestyle, Central Park, 1 p.m.
Snowboard team challenge – modified superpipe, Center Village, 1:45 p.m.
Ski team challenge – modified superpipe, Center Village, 2:45 p.m.
Snowboard team challenge – streetstyle, Center Village, 3:45 p.m.
Ski team challenge – streetstyle, 4:15 p.m.
DEW TOUR PREVIEWS
Who to watch this year at Dew Tour, plus our podium predictions
Olivero: Storylines aplenty at Summit County’s winter sports Super Bowl at Copper Mountain
Red Gerard nominated for Snowboarder Magazine Rider of the Year award
Dew Tour unveils slopestyle, streetstyle courses for Copper Mountain
Woodward Copper releases renderings of new Dew Tour modified superpipe
Dew Tour to feature first-ever Snowboarder Magazine awards Thursday, Feb. 6
Copper Dew Tour to host Newschoolers.com 20th anniversary award show Friday, Feb. 7
THE ROAD TO COPPER
Olivero: X Games Aspen competition format an experiment in scoring
Red Gerard wins bronze in slopestyle, first X Games Aspen medal
Taylor Gold wins gold in new competition at X Games Aspen superpipe
Aspen’s Ferreira repeats as X Games ski superpipe champion in showdown with Blunck
Scotty James bests Yuto Totsuka to win third X Games Aspen gold in superpipe
Red Gerard qualifies to X Games final in challenging snowboard slopestyle elimination
Jamie Anderson holds off Laurie Blouin in slopestyle for 17th career X Games podium
Sildaru wins first X Games ski superpipe gold over Rachael Karker, Cassie Sharpe
Spaniard Queralt Castellet wins first X Games gold, celebrates grandmother Yaya’s 85th birthday
Breckenridge resident Taylor Gold podiums at Laax superpipe final
Watch: Red Gerard finishes as runner-up at Laax Open slopestyle final
Colorado kids celebrate opening of free Red’s Backyard terrain park at Copper Mountain
Scotty James bests Yuto Totsuka in weather-affected Copper Grand Prix snowboard final
Americans Blunck, Wise tame powder-filled Copper pipe to go 1-2 in Grand Prix ski finals
Red Gerard brings a ‘you get out what you put in’ mentality into new backcountry, contest season
Woodward Copper, Red Gerard honor late Jake Burton Carpenter with memorial lap
Olivero: Red Gerard takes us behind the scenes of the journey to film ‘Joy’
Copper Mountain Resort to host Dew Tour next two winters
Dew Tour won’t return to Breckenridge Ski Resort