Skiing: NZ skier stays off slopes to take out superpipe title

New Zealand skier Jossi Wells has completed a groundbreaking season by winning the Association of Freeskiing Professionals' superpipe title.

The 19-year-old's latest title came after he and his nearest rival, Frenchman and X Games gold medallist Kevin Rolland, didn't contest the final event at Whistler, Canada, yesterday.

They were the only men capable of securing the title and their collective no-show left Wells to enjoy more silverware after a stellar season.

He sewed up the AFP world championship title this month after accumulating enough points in the three disciplines - slopestyle, halfpipe and big air - to have an unbeatable lead with two events remaining.

"It feels great. My main goal for the season was taking the overall, so being pipe champ is a nice little bonus," Wells said.

"I knew some of the athletes had the potential to have really good runs, so I didn't worry about what they were going to do and just did my own thing. It worked out really well for me and it also makes for a far less stressful comp."

Wells' pipe run started when he won the New Zealand freeski open superpipe at Cardrona ahead of a second placing in the Winter Dew Tour's stop at Breckenridge, Colorado, and a win at Utah before he secured a silver medal at the Winter X Games at Aspen.

"I just had as much fun as I could and aimed for perfection over technicality in my runs," he said.

- NZPA