Breckenridge’s new 22-foot pipe is one of the best pipes in the world. With this week’s Nike 6.0 Open — the first stop of the Winter Dew Tour — at Breckenridge Ski Resort, hundreds of world-class athletes will be taking competitive runs down the resort’s new pipe and slopestyle course.

The Winter Dew Tour is a three-stop action-sports series featuring snowboarding and freeskiing competitions in both halfpipe and slopestyle. The multi-sport events span the country, with a cumulative points system, and a $1.5 million competitive purse.

Breck is playing host to the series’ first stop for the third straight year with competitions set to continue through the weekend.

According to a press release from Alli Sports, which operates the series, more than 280 athletes will go through open qualifying, trying to earn a spot on the tour.

A slew of the sports’ biggest names are already prequalified into the preliminary rounds.

Women’s Snowboard Halfpipe:

Fresh off her win in the Grand Prix, Kaitlyn Farrington will look to defend her overall Dew Cup crown against a stiff field that includes Kelly Clark and Elena Hight. Some of the biggest names on the women’s side — including four-time winner of the Winter X Games Halfpipe and 2006 Winter Olympic silver medalist Gretchen Bleiler — are also prequalified into the field. Finals are on Saturday at noon.

Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle:

Jamie Anderson may be the most dominant female rider in any discipline, as she’s virtually owned the women’s slopestyle scene for the past few years. Last year’s Dew Cup champ will be challenged by a fierce field that includes Kjersti Buaas and Chanelle Sladics. Prelims are Saturday at 11 a.m., and the finals are Sunday at 10.

Women’s Freeski Slopestyle/Halfpipe:

Although the women’s freeski events aren’t exactly official in the Dew rotation (they aren’t in all three stops), the field at the Nike 6.0 Open should showcase everything the female contingent has. Canadian Rosalind Groenewoud and American Jen Hudak are hands down the biggest names but should be challenged by a slew of slick skiers. The finals are Saturday at 9 a.m. Slopestyle prelims are Saturday at 2 p.m., with finals the following day at 1:30.

The Tour takes place at Breckenridge Ski Resort in Breckenridge, Colo., Dec. 16-19, 2010, continues to new host site Killington Resort, in Killington, Vt., Jan.20-23, 2011 and concludes with the Toyota Championship at Snowbasin, a Sun Valley Resort, in Ogden, Utah, Feb. 10-13, 2011.

Athletes compete for the highly coveted Dew Cup that will be awarded at the Toyota Championship at the tour’s last stop in Snowbasin. The 2009-10 Dew Cup champions include Jamie Anderson (Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle), and Kaitlyn Farrington (Women’s Snowboard Superpipe).

Everyone brings their “A” game to the Dew Tour so get ready for some great action . For more information, visit allisports.com.

Friday, December 17th

10:00AM – 10:45AM WOMEN’S SNOWBOARD SUPERPIPE PRELIMS
10:30AM – 12:30PM MEN’S FREESKI SLOPESTYLE PRELIMS
11:05AM – 12:30PM MEN’S SNOWBOARD SUPERPIPE PRELIMS
2:00PM – 4:00PM MEN’S SNOWBOARD SLOPESTYLE PRELIMS
2:30PM – 4:00PM MEN’S FREESKI SLOPESTYLE PRELIMS
7:00PM – 9:00PM THE COOL KIDS/THE KNOCKS – LIVE CONCERT AT RIVERWALK

Saturday, December 18th

9:00AM – 9:40AM WOMEN’S FREESKI SUPERPIPE FINAL
10:00AM – 11:00AM MEN’S FREESKI SUPERPIPE FINAL
11:00AM – 12:00PM WOMEN’S SNOWBOARD SLOPESTYLE PRELIMS
12:00PM – 12:40PM WOMEN’S SNOWBOARD SUPERPIPE FINAL
1:00PM – 2:00PM MEN’S SNOWBOARD SUPERPIPE FINAL
2:00PM – 3:30PM WOMEN’S FREESKI SLOPESTYLE PRELIMS

Sunday, December 19th

10:00AM – 10:40AM WOMENS’ SNOWBOARD SLOPESTYLE FINAL
11:00AM – 12:00PM MEN’S SNOWBOARD SLOPESTYLE FINAL
1:30PM – 2:10PM WOMEN’S FREESKI SLOPESTYLE FINAL
2:30PM – 3:30PM MEN’S FREESKI SLOPESTYLE FINAL

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View Original Post at prettytough.com

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