While
we're stuck suffering through humid mid-summer days, the world's best riders
just kicked off their season on the other side of the globe. As the first big
contest of the upcoming Olympic year, the New Zealand Open is a great litmus
test to see how the Vancouver halfpipe event is going to shake down. This has
brought the largest group of big-name talent to New Zealand ever, and Cardrona
Alpine Resort came through with an impressive 22-foot halfpipe: which will be
the exact same dimensions as Cypress Mountain's Olympic pipe. The riding was
off the charts, so let the Games begin.
But
first, we have a few questions: Did all the private pipe training pay off? Will
the USA dominate again in 2010? Has Shaun White been too busy dating models and
crashing Lambo's to take his riding to the next level? (Note: back-to-back
double corks? Please. White is hungry and ripping) Will Danny and Louie Vito
even be allowed into Canada to compete? Is everyone going to be double corking?
How are our Canadian contenders, like Seb Toots and last years sixth place TTR
finisher Charles Reid doing down south?
With
so many good questions requiring answers and insight, we went straight to Canadian
pipe veteran Justin Lamoureux, who placed a respectable 24th after
tweaking his ankle in practice (while no doubt inventing a double cork
variation of his own). With the NZ Open officially a wrap, let's check in and
see what happened from Justin's perspective.
You were the first
Canadian rider to be selected onto the 2010 Olympic Halfpipe team. How did that
feel?
Well,
I'm the first pipe rider to meet our highest qualification standard,
which I'm pretty psyched on obviously, but there is still a lot of work to
be done and the possibility exists to get bumped off, so it's not over until
the games are. I'm not trying to think about it too much, really... I just want
to be shredding and learning new tricks to hopefully be on the podium in
Vancouver.
What purpose does the NZ
Open serve for you? Is it a barometer for the talent going into 2010, or just
another excuse to go surfing down south?
The
NZ Open, and all the TTR events, is really just a chance to roll some comp runs
and be comfortable competing, and make some cash, hopefully. But I'm not really
into chasing points on either world tour right now. I just want to ride
good pipes and yes, I'm going surfing at the end of this trip, on the South
Island of New Zealand.
How have you been spending
the off-season otherwise? What do you do off-snow?
Off-snow
I'm busy all the time... surfing, biking, climbing, in the gym. I'm pretty much
just addicted to sports and being outside and doing stuff. I rode a fair bit
this summer also; I went down to Hood for a bit to get some pipe riding in. But
that being said, I also had to chill for the month of May since I had just
broken a rib and gotten six screws and a plate taken out of my leg, so it was a
little boring there for a while.
Was your surf trip to Bali
part of the "training"?
Surfing
has always been part of my training. It's one of the few sports where I can go
crazy and not really hurt myself. You might get dragged across a reef or think
you're gonna drown, but those are pretty mellow compared to, ‘oh shit this
double cork just went really wrong I might end up in a wheelchair!'
Many riders have been
working with airbags and learning new tricks, but keeping them veiled in
secrecy. Are you playing this game as well?
I
think the whole secrecy thing is pretty funny... It's just snowboarding and
we're all friends. I just want to see the sport progress and get crazy. It was
a little weird, as certain riders had people sign contracts vowing to keep
silent on the tricks they learned, but everyone can guess pretty easily so... it
was just funny. But I was respecting people's wishes to not show things and
such. But the cat's out now, it's a double-cork world!
What about triples?
There
are no triples. There are about 10 to15 guys in the world that are currently
trying different double corks, and new tricks will appear all the
time. It's going to get really crazy. Two doubles in a run will be standard for
the podium guys at the Olympics, I think.
So was the NZ Open the
place to showcase the new moves? It seemed that way...
Yeah,
it happened here. You need time to get those tricks rolling consistently, so
the sooner the better. I don't think there will be many surprises by the time
the Olympics roll around. The Grand Prix will flush out any new big trick for
sure.
What are your thoughts on
some riders training in private halfpipes? Is this really necessary?
I
think private pipes are lame. It's not really fair to people that can't
cough up half a million dollars to have a pipe and foam pit. Like, how are
the average kids going to keep up with that? That being said, if someone
wants to cough up half-a-mill and make me a private pipe and foam pit I'll
take it! Merely to be able to have the same opportunities that Shaun and a few
others have had...
You have been competing in
halfpipe since before I can even remember... What's your motivation for keeping
it alive when so many started after you and dropped off before you?
[laughs]
Yeah, I was pretty much the oldest guy out at the NZ Open by, like, 10 years! I
just love to ride my snowboard, and I love the progression of the sport. I keep
progressing, so I don't see why I should quit or slow down, and it's not like I
just ride pipe. I ride everything you can on a snowboard, so there are
always new things to learn and lines to ride.
Is the Olympics the final
hoorah for you, or is there no end in sight yet?
No
idea. It's pretty cool being on the forefront of double corks in the pipe and
seeing it all go down like I've been imagining, and it's gonna get so crazy in the next few years. So let's
just say in a way I'm pretty happy not to be 20! I'll be happy with just having
a few double corks, not eight of them.
What are your thoughts on
the younger guys coming out of Canada these days? Guys like Charles Reid and
Seb Toots.
Charles
and Seb are definitely leading the way in my eyes. Their jumping skills
are off the hook. Charles is good in pipe, and Seb is surprising in the pipe.
He's got good style and some pretty good tricks. I'd love to see him with
some edges and some time in the pipe. His jumping skills are ridiculous.
He was just telling me he landed a Cab double cork 1260 and a backside double
cork 1260! So sick... It should be in his Standard Films part. I like those guys
a lot; they just gotta get some pow skills. [laughs]
Anyone else impressing you
these days?
Luke
Mitrani, Shaun White, Scotty Lago, Mason Aguirre, Nate Johnstone, Elijah Teter,
Louie Vito... Granted I've just been riding with these cats, so they're just
the freshest in my mind right now.
Give us your Gold, Silver,
Bronze prediction. Yes, feel free to include yourself. [laughs]
Oh
snap, a pre-call on the Olympic podium? I'm gonna pass! Every dude on the
podium will have double corks; I'll call that right now.
Burton NZ Open Wrap Up with slopestyle and halfpipe madness:
Justin's Blog:
http://justinlamoureux.blogspot.com/
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Related:
Olympic Halfpipe Selection Process For Dummies
Contests Killed The Video Star: Toutant and Reid
Burton NZ Open Results: Slopestyle, Halfpipe