Although the absence of Daron Rahlves dampened the overall excitement, the final day of the Rahlves Banzai Tour still had plenty of drama.
With Rahlves nursing a dislocated hip and watching the “Super Finals” instead of defending his two-time title, Kyle Coxon emerged with a victory and the sizable $5,000 check.
Coxon defeated John Bochenek, Jesse Maddex, and John Lange at Sugar Bowl ski resort on Sunday to wrap up the third annual Rahlves Banzai Tour.
“Unfortunately I’m out of the Super Finals this Sunday, but the show will still go on with a four-man battle of the Rahlves’ Banzai Tour winners,” Rahlves said on Friday. “I’ll be watching and be hanging with everyone at the finish this weekend.”
There were certainly some interesting outcomes, even without the decorated Rahlves not bombing down the hill to the cheers of Banzai fans.
Shannon Rahlves, Bode Miller’s brother earn titles
An Olympic skier, Rahlves wasn’t at the podium on Sunday afternoon, but his sister stood proud at the end of the day. Shannon Rahlves took the women’s ski win and the overall women’s ski tour title.
Another connection to an Olympian was Chelone Miller, the brother of skiing legend Bode Miller. Chelone Miller stood on top of the men’s snowboard podium, after winning both the Sugar Bowl stop and the overall men’s snowboard tour title.
Other winners included Kiana Putman in the women’s snowboard event, and Casey Lucas was crowned overall women’s snowboard tour champion.
Perfect conditions at Sugar Bowl
The Rahlves’ Banzai was held under sunny skies and soft snow conditions left over from a mid-week storm that dropped nearly two feet of new snow on the mountain. The Sugar Bowl stop was the fourth and final stop of the two-month race tour that had already run races at Kirkwood, Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows.
At Sugar Bowl Resort racers rocketed through the rock-lined, spectator-friendly Silver Belt Gully course, made famous during the original Silver Belt races of the 1940s. A mix of natural jumps, tight corners, and moguls made for spectacular crashes, tight passes and big airs during the finals and super final on Sunday.
In all, $30,000 of prize money was handed out at the awards ceremony at Sugar Bowl’s Judah Lodge.
Overall Banzai tour top finishers included:
• Men’s Ski Overall: John Bochenek, Kyle Coxon, John Lange
• Men’s Snowboard Overall: Chelone Miller, Lucas Dehmlow, Adam DeVargas
• Women’s Ski Overall: Shannon Rahlves, Shelly Robertson, Hannah Jermstad
• Women’s Snowboard Overall: Casey Lucas, Macy Price, Anna Weber
Sugar Bowl Banzai top finishers included:
• Men’s ski: John Bochenek, Kyle Coxon, John Lange
• Men’s Snowboard: Chelone Miller, Sylvain Duclos, Lucas Dehmlow
• Women’s Ski: Shannon Rahlves, Shelly Robertson, Hannah Jermstad
• Women’s Snowboard: Kiana Putman, Macy Price, Carrie Hall
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