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World Event NewsView all 475 headlines for World Event News. After the unusually hot Vermont sun set at Stratton, the Black & Night Jam was on. 25 men and 10 women had 90 minutes to get in as many runs as possible in the US Open’s fourth ever rail jam. SIna Candrian takes TTR lead with her first Burton US Open Slopestyle title. Perfect bluebird day for a stacked slopestyle competitionThe riders could not have asked for a better day in Vermont with the sun blazing making the course nice and soft. The setup consisted of two rail and box options to start things off that rolled into three kickers and finished off with a canon rail or box option. The men dropped first into the three-run final with some shakeups in the standings throughout the day. Mikkel Bang was able to stick an outstanding second run that included a Cab 1080, switch backside 1260, frontside 1080 and finished off with a gap front board to fakie shifty on the canon rail. Bang’s first place finish bumped him up into World No. 7 giving him a shot to improve his ranking up into the Top 5 tomorrow. Ulrik Badertscher (NOR) and Sebastien Toutant (CAN) were able to secure second and third places, respectively, both with their third and final runs of the day. Sina Candrian takes the TTR Tour lead with her winIn the women’s competition Swiss rider, Sina Candrian, had a great day on the hill putting together a winning run consisting of a Cab 540, frontside 720, backside 360 and a pole jam on the last feature. With a first place finish today, Candrian moves up to the World No. 1 position putting her in an excellent place moving into the halfpipe competition tomorrow and for the final female 6Star event, the Roxy Chicken Jam, next weekend. Sina had this to say about her win, “To win here is so good. It is a good position to be in now, but tomorrow is the pipe contest and I still have some difficulties and need to improve. Luckily, there is another slopestyle in Mammoth and I hope it will go well there.” Shelly Gotlieb (NZL) grabbed second place and American rider, Jamie Anderson, rounded out the podium with a third place finish.  Sina Candrian © Shem Roose Today’s results set the stage for tomorrow’s halfpipe finals where the men will be battling for a coveted TTR Top 5 finish and the women will be looking to better their ranking positions before heading into the Roxy Chicken Jam. Who will take the coveted TTR Top 5 finalist positions?Peetu Piiroinen (FIN), who finished in sixth place today, already has the Swatch TTR Snowboard World Champion title locked in but the remaining Top 5 spots are still up for grabs. Tomorrow’s 6Star halfpipe finals will be the last chance for all riders currently ranked in the TTR Top 10 to make some moves and try to claim one of the Top 5 spots to secure a piece of the TTR prize purse and automatic invites to all major events for the 2010/2011 season. Check out ttrworldtour.com for fresh videos and all the latest news coming out of the Burton US Open. And, head to go211.com to check out all the halfpipe action live via webcast. Subscribe to the Swatch TTR Newsletter on www.ttrworldtour.com.  Men's Slopestyle Winners © Shem Roose Men’s Slopestyle Final Results 1. Mikkel Bang (NOR) 98.00 2. Ulrik Badertscher (NOR) 93.67 3. Sebastien Toutant (CAN) 93.33 AMP Energy Best Trick: Ulrik Badertscher-Double front flip off the canon feature Women’s Slopestyle Final Results 1. Sina Candrian (SUI) 95.50 2. Shelly Gotlieb (NZL) 89.33 3. Jamie Anderson (USA) 88.00 AMP Energy Best Trick: Lisa Wiik - backside 720 indy Here's a great clip from Oakley, with a pretty funny little interview with Jenny Jones fresh from here Winter X Games Europe victory, chatting about her win and lucky pants. More Snowboarding >> From March 18th through 21st, 2010, the LG Snowboard FIS World Cup finals will take place in La Molina. The last competitions in snowboard cross (March 18th and 19th), halfpipe (March 20th) and parallel giant slalom (March 21st) will be staged. For the first time ever, the snowboarders will wrap up a long and eventful season on Spanish soil. This winter’s finals are also the perfect test for the up-coming FIS Snowboard World Championships which will be hosted in La Molina in January 2011. Three World Cup title decisions to comeDespite the good bye parallel races of some riders, the focus is on two last World Cup title decisions which will take place in the very last race of the season. In the Parallel World Cup, Olympic Gold medallist Nicolien Sauerbreij (NED) is sitting in first with 4,800 points, 490 points ahead of Doris Guenther (AUT) who missed the small Crystal Globe last season in the very last race. In addition, Maelle Ricker (CAN), who won Gold in the Olympic snowboard cross race and secured the discipline title last weekend with 4,760 points, is also intervening the Dutch-Austrian duel for the Overall World Cup title. However, Canada’s hopeful has to produce the first facts on Friday. In addition, the race for the men’s Halfpipe World Cup title is still an open one. Since last weekend, Justin Lamoureux (CAN) is leading with 1,800 points. As the Finnish team won’t enter the halfpipe competition it seems that 15-years-old Swiss rising star Patrick Burgener is his main rival with 1,419 points. On the ladies’ side, the battle is no longer an issue as Xuetong Cai (CHN, 3,040) has secured the Globe already as neither she nor her team mate Zhifeng Sun (2,805) won’t start. All other ladies are too far behind. Pierre Vaultier (FRA) has also clinched the Snowboard Cross title already as so has Benjamin Karl in the Parallel and Overall World Cup ranking and Stefan Gimpl (AUT) in the Big Air World Cup. The first of the Highlanders kicked off at the weekend at Nevis Range. It was a typically Scottish day with low cloud hanging around. However, it still did not stop the 27 entrants from getting their shred on. Kids oozing styleWith many of the younger riders throwing down tech trickery that would put most adults to shame, they were also oozing style, to really lay it on thick. However with age comes experience and the old boys were not going to take it lying down. Butters on and lipslides a plenty were the order of the day from them and war was waged.  Winners Jordan and Tomski © Felix RobinsonThe old gondola car was a focal point for the afternoon as it provided some shelter and housed the DJ who kept the tunes going throughout the day. Format was two runs on each rail and the best scores counting. As everyone was a tad wet and the judges couldn’t feel their fingers and toes the final was cancelled and everyone legged it to the restaurant to get some food and dry off. The upside to this was most folk could make it back home in time to see the Scotland England rugby match. Now the results have been processed there are already a few people who have won the Scottish Overall Titles for 09/10. Based on combined World Cup points for each event, the pre requisites were they had competed on both snow and artificial slopes and be a competitor with Snowsport Scotland to be eligible. 2009/10 Overall WinnersFemale snowboard : Emilia Vanni Kids snowboard : Tomski Robinson Youth snowboard : Jordan Gee Male snowboard : Danny McCormick Female ski : Anna Vincetti Kids ski : Chris McCormick Youth ski : Harris Booth Male Ski : Eugene Mackie Stiff competitionTomski's mum, Felix Robinson said, "It was a long six hour drive to Ben Nevis in Scotland, but Tomski and Jordy were full of good spirit. Thanks to Nevis Range for pulling out all the stops to get the park together for the event and prizes and to all the sponsors for supporting the series - Snozone, Armada, Freeze Pro Shop, Bawbags, Level 1, Skullcandy, Boax, Synergy Snowsports & Joystick. More on the 3rd April at CairngormThe final leg of the Highlander is the week after the Brits on the 3rd April at Cairngorm. With the plentiful snow Scotland has seen this winter there is a large pile of snow for the kicker and some of the rails are already out. Hope to see you there. Ed - we love the comment that accompanied the pictures: "Due to the inclement weather the photos are very limited as Stevie McKenna was not keen to get his camera out in the conditions and most people don’t need to try too hard to imagine what the inside of a cloud looks like anyway."   For the third year in a row the Oakley Jib-Vid crew are in Mayrhofen awaiting the arrival of the 18 teams who will compete for the coveted top prize of 5,000 euros for their 2-minute film. In just a couple of hours the teams' arrival will be greeted by beautiful blue skies in the picturesque Zilleratal valley.  The Jib-Vid feature for the competition is nearing completion and looking sick; this will be open to all from Thursday morning and will host the Oakley Jib-Vid FlipandGrip best trick session on Friday afternoon. Anyone can come and join in and ride for free and there is 750€ up for grabs in on the spot prizes for styling moves or even if it is the first time you have ever done a rail – its not to be missed. With tunes, sun and good times it is a great afternoon and with the Banterbox duo of Jon Weaver and Henry Jackson on the microphone it is sure to be amusing – see you in the Vans Penken Park at 1300 on Friday. Final Team ListingsOnce again injuries, acts of God and other unforeseen circumstances have caused some changes to team members. Two members of last year's winning O'Neill / Isenseven team are now competing against each other as Freddie Evenson joins the Onboard team and Andre Kuhlman hooks up with To Be Continued. With just hours to go until registration, the full and final list currently stands at. AnimalJohno Verity, Paddy Graham, James Webb For more information on the Oakley Jib-Vid 2010, and all of the films from last year, check out the Jib-Vid website at www.jib-vid.com Final Superpipe Snowboard - MenThe TEAM Quiksilver snowboarder, Mathieu Crepel, took a silver medal in the final of Superpipe to Winter X Games Europe. For his second run, Mathieu gave his all and perfectly connected a frontside double Cork 1080°, a haakon flip 720°, a frontside 1260° tail grab, melon to fakie, a switch backside 500° and finished with a switch backside alley oop rodeo 540°, which propelled him straight to the podium. Switzerland’s Louri Podlatchikov took first place and the American, Louie Vito completed the podium places at the first ever European Winter X-Games. Final Slopestyle Snowboard - FemaleEarlier in the day, under the spring sunshine, Roxy rider Kersti Buaas took silver medal in the final of the Slopestyle Snowboard thanks to her second run. She only just lacked the speed to steal gold. Roxy Rider Silje Norendal finished in the 4th place. Final Superpipe Snowboard - FemaleThe six women who qualified for the final boarded at an incredibly high level combining beautiful rotations, height and very committed manoeuvres. Roxy girl Bright Torah, recent gold medal winner at the Vancouver Olympic Games,won the silver medal after a fantastic run connecting backside and frontside 540, a backside air and frontside 720. American Kaitlyn Farrington took gold and Frenchwoman Sophie Rodriguez bronze. Roxy rider Kjersti Buaas finished in 6th place. Final Slopestyle Snowboard - MenThe men’s Slopestyle Snowboard took place under radiant sunshine. The first medal in Winter X Games for the Quiksilver TEAM came thanks to American Sage Kotsenburg. With 85.33 points Sage seized Silver and took to the podium alongside the American Eric Willet whose 91 points earned him Gold and Slovak Marco Grilc who took the Bronze medal with 83.66 points. Quiksilver rider Travis Rice finished in 7th place. Final Quiksilver & Roxy RadarRunning alongside the official competition the future stars of ski and snowboard battled it out in the final of the European Quiksilver & Roxy Radar Contest. After qualifying contests held across several European countries, the young riders STIAN SVENDSEN (skier from Norway) and MICHAEL SCHÄRER (snowboarder from Switzerland), each aged 13, went on to win the Quiksilver & Roxy Radar contest. Their prizes included a one-year sponsorship contract from Quiksilver and a stay at the Winter X Games Europe in Tignes. The two winners received their trophy from the hands of Torah Bright, Olympic Half Pipe champion and X Games Superpipe silver medallist. www.quiksilverlive.com/radar10/ Japan's skiing officials have been read the riot act after one of their snowboarders wore his Vancouver Olympic uniform in "hip hop" style last month.  A senior Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) official said on Monday apologies were not enough. "All members of the (Ski Association of Japan) must provide strict guidance to the athletes," JOC secretary general Noriyuki Ichihara told reporters Monday. "The JOC will also try to lend its weight to the moral education of the athletes." 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.  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 Results1. 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 More Snowboarding >> Riders from around the globe are currently making the trek to Stratton, Vermont for the men’s last 6Star event of the 2009/2010 Swatch TTR World Tour season. The 6Star Burton US Open is set to take hold of Stratton Mountain Resort all next week with slopestyle finals scheduled for Friday, March 19th and halfpipe finals set for Saturday, March 20th. This gives the men two opportunities to obtain good results and improve their TTR ranking score for a chance to finish in the coveted TTR Top 5. For the women, the US Open offers the chance for riders to secure a good position in the rankings before moving on to the women’s season finale, the 6Star Roxy Chicken Jam. There are a host of cash and titles up for grabs at the US Open including the men’s portion of the TTR prize purse worth a total of $200,000 USD that will be handed out at the TTR Awards Ceremony following halfpipe finals which will also see the official crowning of the 09/10 Swatch TTR World Snowboard Champion Peetu Piiroinen.  Peetu Piiroinen at the US Open 2009 © Aaron Blatt 2009/2010 TTR World Champion, End of Season Cash and Final TTR Top 5Although Peetu Piiroinen (FIN) has already taken an unassailable lead and secured the 09/10 TTR Champion title at the 6Star Arctic Challenge last weekend, riders are going to be duking it out for a prized Top 5 finish in the TTR World Rankings. Riders who finish in the TTR Top 5 will grab a piece of the $200,000 TTR prize purse and receive automatic invites to all major TTR events for the 2010/2011 season. Keep on the watch for the likes of Swiss destroyer, Iouri Podladtchikov, who will be defending his World No. 2 position in the TTR world ranking list from Norwegian rookie and World No. 3, Gjermund Braaten, Slovenian rider, Marko Grilc, who sits in World No. 4 and from American up-and-comer, Eric Willett, who is currently sitting in World No. 5. Other riders on the bubble include Janne Korpi (FIN), Christian Haller (SUI) and Seppe Smits (BEL). The slopestyle competition comes up first where there are sure to be some shake-ups before the final TTR world ranking placements are finalized after the halfpipe showdown. Women Hustling for Good Position Before the Roxy Chicken JamThe women have a big couple of weeks ahead with the US Open leading straight into the Roxy Chicken Jam. Current TTR leader, Lisa Wiik (NOR), will be trying to keep the competition at bay with some good finishes at the US Open which would set her up nicely moving into the final female 6Star event. She will need to keep on her toes as the talented Czech rider, Sarka Pancochova, is right behind Wiik in the rankings and will definitely be putting up a good fight. Swiss rider, Sina Candrian, and Finnish shredder and newcomer of the season, Enni Rukajärvi, are two other women with the drive and talent to give both Wiik and Pancochova a run for their money.  Lisa Wiik at the US Open 2009 © Jake Stangel Watch the US Open Live on Go211.comIf you can’t make it out to Stratton, the Burton US Open will be webcast live March 19th-20th, 2010 on Go211.com with live announcers and up-to-the-minute scoring so you can keep track of all the action. And, be sure to head over to ttrworldtour.com for up-to-date news on rankings changes and fresh video content straight from Vermont. England's Jones has been winning snowboard contests for years, but it wasn't until a fourth-place finish at Winter X Games in 2008 that the shred world began to recognize. She started winning Winter X in 2009 and hasn't stopped. The level of competition has increased, but so has Jones' game. And she just keeps winning.  © Dave Lehl It's been a long week for the all the riders in Tignes, with the marathon-length course going through multiple incarnations and the weather fluctuating daily. "In the beginning, I was terrified. I thought, 'I don't know enough tricks.' Now I like it, because it doesn't feel like a contest, it just flows. It was challenging, but a lot of fun," said Buaas. "You could concentrate on riding rather than freaking out about speed," said Jenny Jones, who won her third straight Winter X gold medal today. "It's a shame that a lot of the top girls weren't able to ride. It makes for a better competition when you have Jamie [Anderson] and Sarka [Pancochova] and Janna [Meyen-Weatherby]. But there's nothing I can do about that," said Jones. Anderson hurt herself in practice earlier in the week and Pancochova pulled out of finals, going in for an X-ray on her left foot Friday morning. Jones' run featured a 5-0, front 3, back 3, front 5, Cab 5, 50/50 and front 7. She added a Cab 7 to the run in practice, but couldn't bring it together in her third run of finals. If you're wondering where you'll find today's winners tonight, they'll be celebrating: Candrian: "On the dance floor." Buaas: "On a table." Jones: "On the pole." Here are the official results. Jenny qualified in first place for the 6 women finals, which also saw the UK's Aimee Fuller in 9th place. Jenny then wen ton to win, dominating the event from start to finish. Well done to both of them.  Go Jenny Women's Slopestyle - Final Result1. Jenny Jones 92.33 2. Kjersti Oestgaard Buass 86.66 3. Sina Candrian 83.00 4. Spencer O'Brien 80.66 5. Silje Norendal 63.33 6. Charlotte van Gils 48.33 -- 9. Aimee Fuller 36.33 More Snowboarding >> On a course where the possible number of rotations is exceeded only by the number of baguettes in spectators' hands, the field of eight riders in Thursday's Men's Slopestyle finals had to work hard for their money.  Eric Willett getting it done in Tignes, France. © Dave Lehl The homework paid off for the top two Americans. Willett's winning run included a half Cab 5-0 to backside 180 on the "Railway to Heaven," Cab 9, back 7, front double cork 10, arguably the most textbook backside rodeo in snowboarding today, switch back 9, 50/50 on the "Shark Tank" rail and a double back rodeo. "I feel amazing. I was so bummed this morning because I couldn't do anything in practice, so to come out and stick the run that I wanted is awesome." Rounding out the podium was Slovenia's Marko Grilc. Travis Rice, Chas Guldemond and IPod all had super technical runs, but scrubbed on their landings. Men's Snowboard Slopestyle finals results1. Eric Willett, 91.00 2. Sage Kostenburg, 85.33 3. Marko Grilc, 83.66 4. Stephan Maurer, 82.66 5. Chas Guldemond, 70.66 6. Christian Haller, 67.66 7. Travis Rice, 50.33 8. Iouri Podlatchikov, 49.33 The UK's Tyler Chorlton finished with a score of 61.00 in the qualifiers and placed equal 13th. Good work there. More Snowboarding >> More Snowboarding >>
 Farrington turned what was looking like a fairly stock women's pipe competition upside down in run two, throwing a back 9 that may well have won Winter X or the Olympics. She'll settle for the first-ever Winter X Europe gold. (Photo: Dave Lehl) The Gnu girl from Sun Valley, Idaho might not have the competitive chops of her American counterparts, but if she continues linking bangers like she did today (in no particular order: back 9, inverted frontside 7, Cab 7, alley oop 5), the Torah/Kelly/Gretchen/Hannah show could soon be renamed to something even more convoluted. Despite the absence of the le trio Américain, the fact that there was still an engaging contest in Tignes is good news for women's pipe riding. "Every contest I've been moving up. It feels really good to be improving this season," said Farrington, who had never been on a podium until this season. Granted, Bright's run was no trifling matter, and she led the pack after her first run. But Farrington's second run score of 97.00 busted the doors off Bright's 95.00, and the Olympic Gold Medalist couldn't top it. "I came here exhausted, I'll leave exhausted, and I just want to lay down a safe run. I'm so stoked for Kaitlyn. That back 9 is awesome. Good for her," she said.  Even the sight of Kaitlyn Farrington ripping first place from her couldn't light the fire. The Olympic champ finished second. (Photo: Dave Lehl) For Farrington, the pressure was off from the get-go. "I'm just glad to be here. For me, this is like vacation. I squeaked into the finals and now I can't even believe it. This is my first medal at the X Games. I couldn't be happier." Women's SuperPipe finals results1. Kaitlyn Farrington, 97.00 2. Torah Bright, 95.00 3. Sophie Rodriguez, 87.00 4. Mercedes Nicoll, 82.33 5. Ellery Hollingsworth, 79.00 6. Kjersti Oestgaard Buass, 78.66 http://espn.go.com/action/snowboarding/blog/_/post/4985991 More Snowboarding >>
 Berry Nosepress © Alba Pardo The UK's Jenny Jones has just qualified in 1st place to go through to the six women slopestyle final on Friday at 11.30am.  Jenny Jones was throwing down bangers in Tuesday's practice, but the snow overnight slowed the course to a near standstill for the ladies today. Full article here. Full Elimination round results here. The first ever European X Games is happening in Tignes as we speak. The best skiers and snowboarders in the world will be battling it out for X Games gold from the 10th – 12th March. More Snowboarding >> TSA thanks to everyone who voted for Rowan Coultas. Due to the overwhelming response, Rowan will now be going to compete at the Euro X Games. Shaun White, Peetu Piiroinen, Scotty Lago, Hannah Teter and Kelly Clark all to compete. One of the most impressive snowboard athletes in the world today, Peetu Piiroinen (FIN), reconfirmed his reputation with a first place finish at the coveted 6Star Oakley Arctic Challenge. Thousand of fans at Tryvann Vinterpark in Oslo, Norway witnessed a piece of snowboarding history as 21-year old Peetu Piiroinen took first place in today’s slopestyle competition, and with an additional 1000 TTR ranking points on his account, he took an unassailable lead in the TTR World Rankings. In two weeks time, he will be crowned Swatch TTR World Snowboard Champion at the final 6Star event of the Tour, the Burton US Open. The Arctic Challenge podium was rounded out by Norwegian favourites Torstein Horgmo in second place and Mikkel Bang in third.  Peetu Piiroinen Securing his Second TTR World Champion TitleThe young Fin has earned himself $35 000 USD today with his Arctic Challenge win. This season, Piiroinen has shown his nerves of steel, consistent technique and a seemingly untiring ability to tackle the various formats on the Swatch TTR Tour by taking podium placements at every 6Star event on the Tour. He took 2nd place at the 6Star Billabong Air & Style in Innsbruck, Austria, 3rd places at both the slopestyle and halfpipe at the 6Star O’Neill Evolution in Davos and victories in both formats at the 6Star Burton European Open in Laax, Switzerland. The deserving Piiroinen has shown his exceptional talent and caught the eye of the fans and media worldwide by successfully balancing his commitment on the TTR Tour even while excelling at events outside the Tour. He comments on his season; “It has been the best season ever. Silver medal at the Olympics and now the TTR title. I have got so many podium places and I have had no injuries, it could not have been better.”  The exiting Arctic Challenge final saw Piiroinen stomp an incredibily clean last run that nudged Peetu into the top podium spot. His smooth run consisted of a switch cab 270 to fakie on the top rail, frontside 540 melon on the canon rail, backside 1080 late cork, backside rodeo 720 and a gigantic frontside crail on the hip. Piiroinen remains modest as always about his win, “I really didn't expect to win here at the Arctic Challenge, but I knew that I had a good chance to take the title here. It feels so good to take both. And it is the second title in a row. Now I can take it easy and maybe drink a beer.” The founder of the TTR tour and owner of the Oakley Arctic Challenge, Terje Haakonsen (NOR) praised Piiroinen’s ability to ride all formats on the TTR Tour, “That is why he is a good snowboarder. He is not specialized, but can ride all of them, also when it comes to quarterpipe he can ride really big. He had a lot of second and third places but he is always the guy that can win. He is just a really solid and inventive rider.” Valuable TTR ranking points handed out at The Oakley Arctic ChallengeThe race for the Top 5 spots in the Swatch TTR ranking is on fire with the final 6Star event, the Burton US Open, kicking off in just one week’s time. Eric Willett (USA) moved into the TTR World No.5 spot with a 9th place today and up and coming rookie Roope Tonteri (FIN) moved into TTR World No.7 with a 7th place. Seppe Smits (NED) made the move into the TTR World Top 10 a fourth place finish, today. With two more 6Star results on the menu at the Burton US Open the Top 5 is a desired place as all riders want a piece of the Swatch TTR end of season prize purse of $200,000 USD, as well as guaranteed invites to next season’s 6Star events. Next Up on the Swatch TTR TourThe Burton US Open is only one week away with action kicking off March 15th, 2010 in Stratton, Vermont. You can watch it live and follow as the news unfolds on www.ttrworldtour.com. Don’t miss the crowning of the 2009/2010 Swatch TTR World Snowboard Champion, Peetu Piiroinen, who will receive the TTR trophy and a check of $50 000 USD. [Photos: © Stubberud] ESPN are today proud to announce that the first Winter X Games event to be held outside of the United States will be broadcast live from Europe in March. All competition finals from ESPN Winter X Games Europe Tignes will be shown live and exclusive from 10th - 12th March 2010 on ESPN and ESPN HD. Winter X Games Europe Tignes: ESPN UK Coverage ScheduleWednesday, 10th March 1700 Ski SuperPipe Men’s Final - Live Thursday, 11th March 1230 Snowboard Slopestyle Men’s Final - Live 1530 Snowboard SuperPipe Women’s Final - Live Friday, 12th March 0830 Ski Slopestyle Women’s Final - Live 1030 Snowboard Slopestyle Women’s Final - Live 1230 Ski Slopestyle Men’s Final - Live 1500 Ski SuperPipe Women’s Final - Live 1700 Snowboard SuperPipe Men’s Final - Live English eyes will be on snowboarder Jenny Jones who is down to compete in the snowboard Slopestyle. Jones became the first Brit to ever win a Winter X Games gold medal in 2009, and she repeated her success with another first place finish again this January in Aspen. Fans can watch Jones attempt to make history once again by riding another gold deserving run in one of her most frequented snow playgrounds. The women’s SuperPipe will see performances from Olympic medal-winners Torah Bright (Australia) and American snowboarding superstar Gretchen Bleiler. Together with other medal-decorated riders in the Slopestyle event, Winter X Games Europe is set to be an exciting competition for women’s snowboarding. Among the athletes to watch in the Women’s Skiing Slopestyle are Germany’s Lena Stoffel and Canada’s Kaya Turski. Athletes to watch in men’s snowboarding are Olympic silver medallist Peetu Piiroinen of Finland, and local Frenchman Mathieu Crepel who will each compete in both the SuperPipe and Slopestyle events. The men’s skiing Slopestyle event also promises to deliver top competition from the likes of New Zealand’s Jossi Wells, Australia’s Russ Henshaw, American three-time X Games medalist Colby West and Norwegian X Games multi-medal winner Andreas Hatveit. With the chance to make winter sports history in Europe’s first ever Winter X Games event, all the top riders will be ready and eager to compete in Tignes. To make sure you are part of this ground breaking occasion catch all the excitement on ESPN and ESPN HD from Wednesday 10th March as Winter X Games Europe prepares for three days of extreme snowy competitions. Sky 417 / HD – 442 Virgin 529 / HD – 530 BT Vision / Top Up TV – 34 TalkTalk TV – 555 www.espn.co.uk
Top 10 AMsJessica Jensen Midori Oatari Anouck Gran Lauren Weibert Ariel Freidman Renae Palma Halo Wilson Jessi Higgi Kirra Kotsenburg Oliyvia Weston Top 10 PROsLynn Niell Colleen Quigley (Nikita) Steph Luxton Lajawn Allen Ashley Thornton (Nikita) Kaitlyn Farrington (Nikita) Gabby Maiden (Nikita) Kara Rennie (Nikita) Paige Rainear Sandra Hillen The surprise of the day was seeing winner of the AM division, 17 year old Jessica Jensen (pictured above) go on to win the PRO category as well!! This has never happened before and Jessica is definitely going to be a name to watch. She was hucking some super clean back 5’s which earned her the win and becomes a proud member of the Nikita Team with a one-year sponsorship deal. She totally rocked it! The Brighton staff did justice providing a great course. It had a variety of five different rails and boxes at the start leading to two 20 foot kickers in a row on to a wall ride finish. Long and challenging, but super fun!  Nikita Team rider and NC USA regular Colleen Quigley took 3rd again in the PROs category, consistently throwing huge back flips throughout the day. Another highlight was Paige Rainear getting tech on the rails with front board back one’s and gnarly nollie back tails. Thanks to the judges on the day, including Madison Blackley (Nikita Team rider), Ana Van Pelt (Niche Snowboards), Kory (Arkade Magazine) and Marty (Park Digger at Brighton). Each judged a particular category either looking at Style, Technicality, Amplitude or Landing. Madison “had a blast judging. It was very fun being on this side of the competition. I got to see really rad tricks that I normally don’t see being so focused on the competition.” Well done to all competitors that took part in Nikita Chickita 2010. Here are the results: Winner AMs1st Place - Jessica Jensen, Idaho 2nd Place - Midori Oatari, Japan 3rd Place - Ranae Palma, Massachusetts Winner PROs1st Place - Jessica Jensen, Idaho 2nd Place - Lynn Neill, Utah 3rd Place – Colleen Quigley, Massachusetts  Following her win, this is what Jessica had to say; “It was my first all-girl event and I had so much fun! The jam format took all the stress away from the comp and that was great.” Other riders included Alice Gong (Winner Nikita Chickita USA 2008), Gabby Maiden, Kaitlyn Farrington, Kara Rennie plus Ashley Thornton who commented that “All in all it was an amazing contest!” and Colleen Quigley, “You guys killed it, the event was awesome and super fun.” The youngest competitor on the day was Kirra Kostenburg, just 13 years of age and tearing the bag!! Following on from the day’s contest, everyone got loose at the Canyon Inn. A whole bunch of dancing and drinking took place in true Nikita fashion. A bunch of prizes were given away in a dance-off, which led to some pretty impressive moves on the floor! www.nikitaclothing.com/blog After we reported on the winners of the 5 Star TTR Burn River Jump last week, we didn't really say anything about the amazing performance of the UK's Jamie Nicholls at the event in Italy.  Jamie can't find the bridge © TTR www.riverjump.it
Swatch TTR World Champion Title on the Menu?The Arctic Challenge is one of the première snowboard events in the world and is the signature event of TTR co-founder, Terje Haakonsen. It was historically the crowning event of the TTR World Champion until the 2005/2006 season. This year could be a repetition of the early TTR years, as one rider has taken a hefty lead and with a good result at TAC can secure the TTR World Champion title into his name. 2008/2009 TTR World Champion, Peetu Piiroinen, has had an amazing season and was able to take the tour lead in January with podium placements at both formats of the 6Star O’Neill Evolution and later on with wins in the halfpipe and slopestyle formats of the 6Star Burton European Open. Peetu has managed to balance his TTR commitments as well as shine at events outside the TTR Tour winning an Olympic silver medal and last weekend taking the title at the Toyota Big Air in Japan. It is general knowledge that Piiroinen is a competition machine and all eyes are on Peetu to see how he will do at TAC and if he will be able to claim a second consecutive TTR World Champion Title.  The coveted TTR Top 5 getting crowdedCurrently sitting in World No.3 on the TTR World Ranking list, the young Gjermund Braaten (NOR), will need to put on a solid performance at TAC to defend this spot, as there are many riders slated to be present who could challenge his position in the rankings. In fact, every rider present who is currently in the TTR Top10 stands the chance of moving into the World No. 3 spot: Marko Grilc (SLO), Antti Autti (FIN), Christian Haller (SUI), Stale Sandbech (NOR), Eric Willett (USA) and Janne Korpi (FIN). These riders are all looking to get a piece of the end of season Swatch TTR prize purse of $200,000 USD as well as the guaranteed invites to next season’s 6Star events. Watch the action liveIf you cannot make it to watch the action in Oslo from the 5th to the 7th of March 2010 join the live webcast on www.ttrworldtour.com. Don’t forget that on the same weekend there will be 4Star action at the Nescafé Champs halfpipe event, in Leysin Swizerland. Check up on the TTR website for the latest updates, videos, photos and blogs.
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Next week sees Winter X Games, the legendary U.S. winter action sports event, come to Europe for the first time. Competing for Britain will be top snowboarder Jenny Jones, hoping to win another gold medal following her win at the recent U.S. event. Can she do it again? Find out by watching all the action LIVE online from 10th March, only at 
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