By USSA

BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. – David Wise (Reno) clinched a nomination to the first U.S. Freeskiing Olympic team Sunday with his victory in the snowy halfpipe final at the Visa U.S. Freeskiing Grand Prix presented by the North Face at Breckenridge.

Adverse weather forced officials to reschedule the halfpipe final twice, but the competition commenced Sunday despite heavy snow. Canadian skier Mike Riddle landed second, with French freeskier Kevin Rolland stealing the third podium spot from X Games legend Simon Dumont (Bethel, Maine).

An impressive roster of U.S. skiers made the 16-man final, including rookies Alex Ferreira (Aspen) and Lyman Currier (Boulder, Colo.), who finished eighth and 10th, as well as Broby Leeds (Vail) and Gus Kenworthy (Telluride, Colo.), in 14th and 15th.

Sunday’s final also marked the end of the FIS World Cup tour for halfpipe skiing. Aaron Blunck (Crested Butte, Colo.) took second in the World Cup halfpipe overall standings based on cumulative points earned throughout the tour.

Canadian Justin Dorey claimed the FIS World Cup halfpipe title and the crystal globe while teammate Mike Riddle finished third.

Wise’s Winning run: Double cork 1260, rightside 900, leftside 900, rightside 720, switch 720, alley-oop flatspin 540

“I’m so happy we got the event off. It’s never a good thing to take a qualifier and turn it into a final, so I think all the riders had that mentality,” Wise said. “Now the pressure is off I can work on my runs a little more and maybe work on some things I still need to hone in for Sochi.”