updated 7:53 p.m. ET Jan. 9, 2009

WEST DOVER, Vt. - Taking his freestyle rail skills to the slopestyle course, Canadian freeskier JF Houle won the men’s slopestyle final Friday in the second stop on the inaugural Winter Dew Tour.

His fellow competitors embraced and congratulated him at the finish of the course after witnessing his impressive tricks on the rail obstacle. Houle executed a 450-degree spin onto the rail, with three spins as he slid down the rail, to finish with another 450 off the rail. He scored 92.00.

“I’m strong at rail and I just went for a super technical run,” Houle said. “I think it’s never really been done in slopestyle before. So I’m pretty stoked on that. I’m super stoked that finally rail gets some respect in the slopestyle course.”

Norway’s Per-Kristian Hunder was second at 86.67, and Canada’s Alexis Godbout finished third at 85.00.

Houle was sixth in the tour opener in Breckenridge, Colo.

“Now with the first place I can’t believe it so I’m just going to be on it for the next Dew Tour for sure, and train hard,” Houle said.

The four-day competition is the second of three stops of the Winter Dew Tour that features men’s and women’s freeskiing and snowboarding disciplines. Saturday’s action features the men’s and women’s snowboard slopestyle finals and the men’s freeski superpipe finals. The Sunday schedule includes the men’s and women’s snowboard superpipe finals.

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