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Place Your Bets! | Our Winning Predictions For Natural Selection Day 2

We examine the brackets for Jackson Hole to give our odds and predictions for Day 2

Although snow conditions weren’t quite what we saw last year, there’s no denying we witnessed some incredible riding on Day 1 of the Natural Selection Tour. The first round of riders have been culled, and the pressure is on the remaining crew to bring their A-game once again to see if they can walk away from Jackson Hole victorious. As always, we love to poke our noses in and make predictions, so here are the definitive* winners for Day 2…

(*Guaranteed results sold separately)

The Stoke is very much on | PC: Chad Chomlack

Dustin Craven vs Jared Elston

DC: Dustin came out victorious after laying down two solid runs. Starting off the comp, Craven got some of the best snow of the day and he made the most of it, navigating the course in flawless control. He’s a man who can read the land well, peppering his runs with lots of little tricks, laying the foundation for a power ender.

JE: Taking down Chris Rasman is no easy feat, but Big Air Jare certainly lived up to his name. Two pretty clean runs with some big money hits and solid landings in some tricky situations, we think he’s got something big up his sleeve for Day 2 so watch this space.

WL Prediction: Old guard vs Young Gun. Dustin’s got years of experience working in his favour here, but if Jared can channel the same explosive energy from Day 1 then it’s him for the win.

“Taking down Chris Rasman is no easy feat, but Big Air Jare certainly lived up to his name”

 

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A post shared by Jared Elston (@big_air_jare)

Travis Rice vs Torstein Horgmo

TR: Travis is Travis, right? There’s not much that needs to be said here, he knows what he has to do to win, and on his best day there’s not much that can be done to beat him. That being said, he didn’t give the best performance of his life on day one and there’s very little margin for error here. Can he come back stronger for Day 2?

TH: Shaking off the competitive cobwebs Torstein started strong with some stylish switch riding, which the judges always love to see and some lofty spins to show what he’s made of. Torstein makes it look easier than pretty much anyone, even when the questionable snow conditions don’t work out in his favour.

WL Prediction: This is a battle of the Titans we’re amped to see, but a tricky one here. Some of the judging has been questioned on social media after Travis bumped Kevin Backstrom, so will they 180 this time and score Torstein more favourably? Are we reading too much into this? Gun to our head? Torstein wins.

“Will they 180 this time and score Torstein more favourably? Are we reading too much into this? Gun to our head? Torstein wins”

Mikkel Bang vs Blake Paul

MB: Mikkel channels a decidedly old school aesthetic, focusing on style and substance. A super fluid rider, he moves through the course like a water dancer, and then explodes off of lips landing super deep and still managing to ride away. The guy is a machine, and if you didn’t hear the commentators say it, he’s tall.

BP: Another ‘if you didn’t hear the commentators say it’, let us fill you in – Blake Paul is light on his feet. He also knows Jackson Hole better than any competitor, save possibly Travis. He’s grown up riding these slopes in all conditions, so he’s got the experience to save his bacon when things aren’t ideal.

WL Prediction: Tall vs light-footed. We’re going for Blake ‘Feathers For Feet’ Paul.

“The guy is a machine, and if you didn’t hear the commentators say it, he’s tall”

Blake Paul in Jackson | PC: Leslie Hittmeier, Red Bull Content Pool

Sage Kotsenburg vs Ben Ferguson

SK: Sage walked away with the best run of the day, laying down a saucy 9 at the bottom to seal the deal. He bested Ferg Junior in a tight battle, and he’ll be out for blood with Ben as well. We’re hoping the snow is slightly better so we can see some of Sage’s bigger moves come out to play.

BF: Whitelines 122 cover boy Ben Ferg came to party, that’s for sure. He had some of the most unique lines of the day, mixing up his runs to seek out some slightly better snow and throwing some huge, clean spins to wrap it up.

WL Prediction: This is it, the redemption match. Tough one to call here, both riders have similar trick ability, speed and experience. Either guy could take this and we wouldn’t be surprised, but for the sake of a bit of payback, let’s go with Sage throwing down his heaviest to best Ben in a nail-biting third run.

“But for the sake of a bit of payback, let’s go with Sage”

Sage Kotsenburg goes HUGE | T. Bird, Red Bull Content Pool

Elena Hight vs Hana Beaman

EH: Elena had some pretty serious hangtime over the transitions and hips, but was unlucky with a few of her landings. Unfortunately, dropping late in the day meant a lot of the landings were bombed out by the time she got to it, with some better snow conditions, Elena could be a serious threat to Hana.

HB: Hana was very tactical with her runs on Day 1, finding untouched pockets of fresh snow to put in some nice turns and started off her runs strong hitting jumps and putting in grabs from the get-go. Some nice flair across the board and some creative work to hit features may give Hana a slight competitive edge.

WL Prediction: Elena and Hana both got to this stage in Jackson last year, but this time one of them will advance to the finals. Both are experienced freeriders, and both have great freestyle ability. Hana is possibly a bit cleaner but Elena goes a bit bigger. This one could quite literally come down to the flip of a coin, so we did. Hana to take the win.

“This one could quite literally come down to the flip of a coin, so we did. Hana to take the win”

Robin Van Gyn vs Marion Haerty

RVG: The defending NST champ goes head to head with the Freeride World Tour queen. Heavy titles in their own right, and we saw Robin with some excellent runs yesterday proving why she took the crown in the first place. If we see some of her bigger freestyle moves from Jackson last year she’s certainly a top contender here.

MH: We keep banging on about Marion’s ability to break down a course, she does it time and time again at the FWT. She came out strong on Day 1 and threaded some runs that impressed us and the judges, taking both of the highest scores in the women’s competition.

WL Prediction: Two very different riders here. Marion is an absolute beast when it comes to technical descents and Robin has the fluidity and line selection on lock. If the snow conditions are similar to Day 1 then we think Robin will take this one home. It’s worth noting though, that if Marion gets out to BC or Alaska then she could absolutely shut down any and all competition.

“If Marion gets out to BC or Alaska then she could absolutely shut down any and all competition”

Robin Van Gyn, the women’s tour champion. Photo: Dean Blotto Gray / Red Bull.

The Natural Selection Tour will be streaming live on Whitelines today at 4:30GMT. Catch all the action here.

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