Halfpipe free of Canadians

The World Cup snowboarding halfpipe at the picturesque Swiss resort of Saas Fee turned into a Canada-free event Thursday, as no Canadian got a spot in the 12-rider men's and women's finals.

Palmer Taylor, a national development team rider from Collingwood, Ont., led Canada. She ended up 16th, her best finish in three World Cup events.

"Palmer Taylor has a very bright future," said Tom Hutchinson, head coach of the Canadian halfpipe team. "I am very impressed with her."

Taylor finished 24th in her World Cup debut Feb. 14 at Cypress and followed six days later with a 17th at Stoneham, Que.

On Wednesday, a Canadian team of riders plucked off the pro circuit came up flat in qualifying, failing to make Thursday's final. Running on an 18-foot pipe after training on a 22-foot Olympic-sized pipe, Mont Tremblant, Que.'s Charles Reid finished 20th, Dustin Craven of Banff was 37th and Ryan Rausch of Whistler 48th.

"We fell flat under some very difficult conditions, in a small pipe," said Hutchinson. "We spent lots of time in New Zealand doing tricks at huge amplitude in an Olympic-size halfpipe -- which is our main focus this season."

Canadian national team riders Jeff Batchelor (Oakville, Ont.) Brad Martin (Ancaster, Ont.) and Justin Lamoureux (Squamish) didn't compete in the event. Instead, Canada sent Reid, Craven and Rausch so they could earn International Ski Federation (FIS) points and become eligible for the 2010 Olympics, provided they can make the national team.

Australia's Torah Bright won the women's event. China's Xuetong Cai was second and France's Sophie Rodriguez third.

Japan's Kokubo Kazuhiro took the men's gold. Mathieu Crepel of France was second and Finland's Peetu Piiroinen third.

tbell@theprovince.com