{"id":19050,"date":"2014-04-02T11:02:09","date_gmt":"2014-04-02T15:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alpinezone.com\/?p=19050"},"modified":"2018-12-05T20:38:08","modified_gmt":"2018-12-06T01:38:08","slug":"gus-kenworthy-wins-sixth-annual-dumont-cup-sunday-river-resort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alpinezone.com\/news-and-featured-articles\/gus-kenworthy-wins-sixth-annual-dumont-cup-sunday-river-resort\/","title":{"rendered":"Gus Kenworthy Wins The Sixth Annual Dumont Cup At Sunday River Resort"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SunRiv_DumontCup14_BBrown-3_1400x2100_300_RGB\"<\/a><\/span>Newry, Maine (March 29, 2014)\u2014Gus Kenworthy claimed his second Dumont Cup victory under blazing spring sun at Sunday River Resort on Saturday. The Dumont Cup, created by Simon Dumont, is the largest freeskiing event in the East and the second-to-last platinum-rated event on the AFP World Tour schedule. With this win, 22-year-old Kenworthy earned 925 points and $12,000–and all but sealed his position atop the 2014 AFP Overall World Ranking.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI just saw that there were some really technical rail options, and the jumps were big, but I think that everyone\u2019s jump runs are usually pretty similar and it\u2019s hard to separate yourself, so I tried to do that on the rails,\u201d Kenworthy said of his strategy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a big season and it\u2019s nice to kind of unwind on the East Coast in beautiful weather, and an awesome crowd came,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

This is Kenworthy\u2019s third time on The Dumont Cup\u2019s podium; his first win was in 2012 and he placed second last year. This year, he and Nick Goepper, 20, swapped steps and Goepper, the event\u2019s defending champion, finished as runner-up.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s interesting now that Gus and I have both won twice. It just kind of makes a cool little one-up game. I\u2019m definitely going to come back next year. I\u2019m really excited to come and throw down in the spring of 2015,\u201d Goepper said.<\/p>\n

\u201c[This year\u2019s course] was really intense because everything was really close, on a super steep run, but I think we\u2019re going to figure it out next year and it\u2019ll be sick! It was really sick this year, too,\u201d he continued. \u201cThere were a lot of guys [in this year\u2019s competition]. My brother even dropped in and he\u2019s 12. That\u2019s what makes this event so cool, is that all of the amateurs can come out and compete against the pros, and have a couple of swings at the big guys. I think that\u2019s what it\u2019s all about\u2014giving back to the kids, because that\u2019s what feeds into our sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bobby Brown, 22, took out the third-place spot at his first-ever Dumont Cup showing. The crowd lining the course on Sunday River\u2019s new terrain park trail, T72, went crazy for his tricks.<\/p>\n

\u201c[This] was one of the best events of the year and Simon did a great job,\u201d Brown said. \u201cThe course was good; the jumps were big and kind of hard to get used to, but in the end, it ended up being really good, and one of the best courses of the year, as well. I\u2019m definitely coming back, for sure, with the weather like this and the course being that big and awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

After an action-packed semifinal on Saturday morning, Kenworthy and his two fellow Olympic medalists, Nick Goepper and Joss Christensen, joined 12 other finalists. The three medalists pre-qualified for the final and found themselves amidst a field full of hungry amateurs, despite the 2014 Dumont Cup\u2019s pro roster being the most impressive to date. In addition to Kenworthy, Goepper, Brown, and Christensen, it included Torin Yater-Wallace; McRae Williams, Alex Schlopy (who had to bow out due to injury), Oscar Wester, Matt Walker, Alex Beaulieu-Marchand, Chris Laker, Vinnie Gagnier, PK Hunder, and Kai Mahler.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if the amateurs were more hungry, but they were skiing well,\u201d Kenworthy said. \u201cIt\u2019s sort of a vague line with the pro\/amateur thing. The way they do it here is just that \u201camateur\u201d means that they weren\u2019t pre-qualified; they have to do the qualification round. Some of those guys, like Alex Bellemare, have been in X Games and the big events. He\u2019s a pro skier, he just, for whatever reason, had to qualify [for this event]. It\u2019s hard to say who\u2019s an am and who\u2019s a pro, but yeah, everyone killed it. The kids who did the qualifying rounds came out swinging, for sure, and put on a good show.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaine\u2019s awesome,\u201d he continued of the venue. \u201cI love coming out and all of us stay together at the Grand Summit Hotel, so it\u2019s sort of fun to have everyone who\u2019s in the event staying together and hanging out. It\u2019s like a ski-in, ski-out hotel, so it\u2019s straight out to the mountain and then you come back [to the] hot tub and pool. It\u2019s just fun. The people that come out to watch the event are awesome fans, huge supporters, and it\u2019s sweet to be able to connect with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

For additional information on The Sixth Annual Dumont Cup, please visit www.dumontcup.com or www.sundayriver.com.<\/p>\n

Official sponsors of Simon Dumont and the Dumont Cup are: Red Bull, Target, Oakley, Sunday River, HEAD, Toyota, Nike, Visa, Giro, Empire Attire, and Kicker.<\/p>\n

About Sunday River Resort – A true four-season destination, Sunday River Resort offers eight interconnected peaks of world-class skiing and snowboarding, two Resort Hotels, and golf at the highly acclaimed Sunday River Golf Club. Sunday River is a member of the Boyne USA Resorts family of resorts and attractions and is located in Newry, Maine amidst the scenic Mahoosuc Mountain Range.