We're just going to put this out there, doubters be damned. If Shaun White had shown up to Winter X Europe -- and we're betting our wheel of brie that he's gritting his teeth, wishing he had, just to prove to himself and the rest of the world that he could have had it -- he may not have won.

Friday night's Men's Snowboard SuperPipe final could have been the best pipe contest of the year.


Winter X Games silver medalist and Swiss national I-Pod became the second rider -- Shaun White was the first -- to successfully land a double McTwist 1260, otherwise known as the trick that won the Olympics. His run earned him a 98.00 -- the highest pipe score in Winter X history. © Dave Lehl

Run 1 was anticlimactic, and five of eight riders went down. On Run 2, home-crowd favorite Mathieu Crepel threw a frontside double cork, frontside 12 and an alley-oop rodeo, prompting a "Hot brie coming down the halfpipe!" from the announcers. Score: 95.00, the highest of the night.

Next up, Louie Vito, the Tignes Dancer. In a competitive halfpipe first, Vito put down the triple double -- back-to-back-to-back double corks. Danny Davis landed three doubles to win the Mammoth Grand Prix, but he threw a 9 and a crail air between his first and second two. The fact that Vito's score -- a 92.33 -- didn't beat Crepel's, was upsetting ... for about 45 seconds.

"I've never done those all three in a row. I was going to take it conservative, because at X Games this year I fell on all three runs in finals so I was going to just put a run down instead of going for it. But after I fell the first run, I was over putting down a mellow run and just wanted to go for it. To do it when it counts and not in practice is always nice," said Vito.


The Frenchman Crepel, who placed 10th in Vancouver, didn't need a double-double to secure a silver medal in the final. Drawing inspiration from the vocal locals, he set down a double corked 10 and front 12 with the panache of a snowboard bourgeoisie, posting a second-run score of 95.00. © Dave Lehl

In dropped Iouri Podladtchikov with a Cab double cork 10, inverted front 5 and then the trick that he learned a week ago (and landed on his second try) -- the double McTwist 12, aka Shaun's trick, in the middle of his run. On to a front 10 and Cab 7. Score: 98.00 -- the highest in Winter X history.

Game over.

Or is it?

"I have another double that I've never shown in competition, and of course I'm going to add that to my run! I want to make it interesting, and I've never stopped believing that it's possible to beat Shaun. You shouldn't either."

The U.S. Open should be a treat.


Vito was bummed after placing third in Friday's SuperPipe finals. He cleaned the first-ever triple-double -- three double corks on the first three hits of his run. It was a first in pipe history. "To do it when it counts, and not in practice, is always nice," he said. He then offered a free dance to any ladies in the immediate area. © Dave Lehl

X Games Europe Men's Superpipe Fianl Results

1. Iouri Podladtchikov 98.00
2. Mathieu Crepel 95.00
3. Louie Vito 92.33
4. Markus Malin 90.33
5. Aluan Ricciardi 88.66
6. Christian Haller 85.00
7. Luke Mitrani 82.33
8. J.J. Thomas 79.66


After successfully securing the first European Winter X SuperPipe gold medal, I-Pod took a well-deserved victory lap and blasted this Gumby-esque method, later saying that having one mandatory straight air in any competitive pipe run is "the only FIS rules I agree with and, actually, really like." © Dave Lehl


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