Who’s in the Natural Selection Tour final?

On the women’s side we’ve got Hana Beaman (USA), Elena Hight (USA), Marion Haerty (FRA), and Zoi Sadowski-Synnott (NZL), who will kick-off the semi-finals in Alaska.

“Mikkel Bang, the 2021 Natural Selection Tour Champion and winner of the 2021 Alaska event, leads with two podiums and only five points”

As for the men, we’ll see Jared Elston (USA), Dustin Craven (CAN), Torstein Horgmo (NOR), Sage Kotsenburg (USA), Ben Ferguson (USA), Mikkel Bang (NOR), Mark McMorris (CAN) and Travis Rice (USA) go head to head in the qualifiers, before dropping into a two heat semi-final.

What’s the NST contest format for AK?

In the quarters for men, and semis for both men and women, riders have their pick of lines in an untouched zone called Montrachet that tops out at 3800’ elevation with a roughly 1300’ vertical drop and average pitch of 35 degrees. Then, for the finals, the last two men and two women will drop into a venue called Spinal Tap with the highest scorer taking home the YETI Natural Selection Alaska title. Those with the best overall rankings from throughout the tour will be crowned as the overall NST 2022 champions.

How does the NST scoring system work?

A Triple Crown-style format determines the overall 2022 Natural Selection Tour Champion. In this format, each stop of the Tour has equal weighting and a stand-alone winner. The points will be tallied by finish at each stop: first place = 1 point; second place = 2 points; third place = 3 points; fourth place = 4 points, etc.

The rider with the lowest score at the end of the three stops will be the overall Natural Selection Tour Champion. If a competitor places third in Jackson, first in British Columbia, and fifth in Alaska, that rider’s final combined score would be nine (3+1+5). If there is a tie following stop three, the Championship tie-breaker is based on which rider has the best finish at the Alaska finale.

Who’s got the highest score pre-Alaska?

While Elena Hight comes into AK with only three points and a fairly comfortable position, if Hight finishes in fourth in Alaska and either Marion Haerty or Zoi Sadowski-Synnott take first, they could claim the crown. Mikkel Bang, the 2021 Natural Selection Tour Champion and winner of the 2021 Alaska event, leads with two podiums and only five points. Behind Bang, it is anyone’s game with Sage Kotsenburg, Dustin Craven, Jared Elston, Torstein Horgmo and Travis Rice all in contention.