Hertz and GB Park and Pipe
This winter Hertz is supporting the GB Park and Pipe Team, Britain’s finest freestyle skiers and snowboarders, as they compete at the highest level against some of the very best in the world at competitions throughout Colorado, home to some the best winter sports resorts in the US. Hertz is transporting the team using its fleet of 4x4 and SUV vehicles to training and competition locations including Aspen, Breckenridge and Copper Mountain.
In December halfpipe skiers Rowan Cheshire, Madi Rowlands, Molly Summerhayes, Murray Buchan and Peter Speight touched down in Colorado for a couple of training days before competing at the Copper Mountain Halfpipe Grand Prix and the highly coveted, invite only, Dew Tour at Breckenridge.
Early season meant a lack of snow combined with high winds didn’t make for ideal competition conditions, but the team were all thrilled just to be back on snow. It was a mixed bag of results for the team at Copper, with Murray Buchan taking the team’s best result, picking up 16th place in a field stacked with great riders. While Madi Rowlands managed a top 20 result and fellow female skier, Rowan Cheshire continued her road to recovery.
After leaving Copper, the halfpipe team headed over to Breckenridge for the prestigious Dew Tour where they met up with their ski slopestyle compatriots, James Woods and Izzy Atkin. In Slopestyle, after qualifying in 2nd place, Izzy Atkin finished 5th overall and James Woods came 7th. Both skied amazingly and with just a couple of small mistakes, both skiers were extremely happy with their performances. With only eight qualifying for the ladies Superpipe final, Madi Rowlands was unlucky to miss out after skiing into 10th place and capping off a hat trick of top 10s for GB Park and Pipe in front of a global audience at Dew Tour.
Moving on to the Snowmass World Cup, Izzy Atkin claimed her first podium of the season, finishing 3rd. Izzy skied fantastically, sat in 2nd place after her first run, but just missed out on silver in an extremely competitive field. Meanwhile James Woods grabbed a solid 6th.
The Mammoth World Cup was a career highlight for halfpipe skier Murray Buchan, who landed back-to-back double 900s for the first time in his competitive career, skiing into 15th place. Rowan Cheshire continued her road to recovery with an impressive 11th place finish, while in ski slopestyle Tyler Harding bagged a top 30 finish in very tough weather conditions.
Next up is the holy grail of all action sports contests - the Winter X Games in Aspen Colorado where James Woods and Izzy Atkin will be flying the flag for Great Britain.
Britain has always produced a respectable number of world class skiers and snowboarders, but the current crop at GB Park and Pipe are the finest we’ve ever seen, boasting a slew of World Cup and X Games podiums - the benchmark by which these high-octane athletes measure success.
To follow the progress of the team, check out:
@GBparkandpipe
@Rowancheshire
@madirowlands
@MSummerhayes
@murraybuchan
@peter_speight / @peterspeight
@jameswoodsy
@izzyatkin
Follow in the footsteps of the GB Park and Pipe Team, and book your car hire in Colorado.