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The Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour to head Downunder with over $100,000 in prize money up for grabs!

The Swatch TTR Event applications are over and we are looking forward to a new season of amazing snowboarding performances – with an incredible prize money of over $2,500,000 USD up for grabs at events worldwide over a 10-month period.

The Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour kicks off downunder where it has been growing steadily since the start of the Tour with some hugely successful events and unexpected record-breaking moments. Who knew that Australia even had mountains!

With the season’s first snow already on the ground it is setting up to be the best southern hemisphere tour to date. 2008 will see the introduction of two new events to the already solid southern hemisphere event line up. The Boost Mobile Sno Sho at Perisher Blue, Australia and the Billabong Snow Stock in Snowpark, New Zealand, have applied to be a part of the Swatch TTR Tour and, if accepted, will join the Burton New Zealand Open (5Star in 07/08), Oakley Stylewars (3Star in 07/08) and the Burton Australian Open (4Star in 07/08) bringing with it more prize money and more event possibilities for international riders travelling downunder.

The Southern Hemisphere Tour starts in New Zealand with the BNZO. Held on Snowboarding’s holy ground, Snowpark, The Burton New Zealand Open has a long history and the park builders from Snowpark never disappoint. With one of the world’s best halfpipes, a perfect slopestyle set up and a massive quarter pipe the BNZO is always a must for transition riders. As the first stop on the Burton Global Open Series (BGOS) the NZO is a must for all riders wanting to start the northern hemisphere tour with practice and TTR points under their belts.

Following the NZO, the Tour stays in Snowpark, New Zealand to prepare for the Billabong Snowstock. This new event on the Tour features a Straight Jump and Quarterpipe competition and offers a prize purse of $ 10 000 USD. From New Zealand the Tour crosses the Tasman Ocean to Falls Creek, Victoria Australia for the Oakley Stylewars. This event launched the newly designed TTR World Tour in 2005 and has a long history for pushing the boundaries of slopestyle and rider endurance. The only event on the Swatch TTR World Tour the Oakley Stylewars is an invitational 3-day Slopestyle jam session with a music festival running within it. The riders battle it out in a park set up that brings fear to the biggest names in snowboarding and at night the event rolls on with beats and beers till the early hours only to get up early and do it all again. After 3 Slopestyle competition days, 1 night rail event, 7 judged sessions and 4 nights of music the end result goes to the top scoring rider: the Stylewars Grand Master.

The evening after Stylewars grinds to a halt the Boost Sno Sho takes off with a one night, under lights, big air and rail showdown. The Boost Sno Sho is held at Perisher Blue in NSW and boasts the World’s Longest Rail event. Not to be laughed at, the current Guinness Book Of Records longest rail record holder is Ryan Thorley with a distance of 54.15m on the 80m rail set in qualifying at the event in 2007.

The Southern Hemisphere Tour finishes with the Burton Australian Open also held at Perisher Blue, NSW. The event has a long-standing history that never disappoints. Run over 5 days the BAO consists of Slopestyle and Halfpipe categories and fits in with the Burton Global Open Series history and style. Consistently boasting the biggest names in snowboarding attending the event is a great way to complete the southern tour.

Get ready for an exciting start into the new Swatch TTR Tour season which again will be filled with the biggest names of snowboarding. On the list of already confirmed riders are Torstein Horgmo (NOR), Jonas Karlsson (SWE), Sani Alibabic (AUT), Robbie Walker (AUS), Jacob Koia (NZE), Chas Guldemond (USA), Quentin Robbins (NZE) and many more, all trying to get a good head start for the Northern Hemisphere season. Stay tuned on www.ttrworldtour.com for news, videos and blogs from Oceania.

[Photo: Chas Guldemond by Mooney]

Laura Berry (SCUK: Lozza) travelled to Val Senales in Italy with Sam Turnbull last weekend for the final leg of the Burton AM Tour. She finished a lazy 2nd on the day, but was crowned Tour Winner and walked away with a Suzuki 250 Quad Bike. We have a garden the size of a postage stamp so hopefully we'll be able to sell it.

Sam finished 4th in his age group beating the eventual Overall Winner who came 9th, but he lost the Overall title by a measly 57 points!

They both stayed on an extra day to take part in the Photo Shoot Burton had organised and both got some amazing shot on a beautiful sunny day.

All details of the Tour can be found at www.burtonamtour.com

[From Laura's mum, Lesley (SCUK: Lesley)]

Laura Berry


Sam Turnbull

The world’s top snowboarders will once again return to the giant superpipe and slopestyle courses at Snow Park NZ in Lake Wanaka for five days of world-class snowboarding action during the Burton New Zealand Open Snowboarding Championships from July 29th to August 2nd.

The last event of the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour couldn't have gone more smoothly. The sun was cooking, the music was blasting and riders were going full out at the 4-Star Snickers Classic & Popcorn Wallride in Saas-Fee, Switzerland. In his second European appearance this season, Shaun White pulled out all the stops, bagging his 6th result, 700 TTR Ranking Points, and $10 000 USD.

Shauns win improved his TTR rank to Number 1. Finnish rider Juuso Laivisto placed 2nd claiming $6000 USD as Saas-Fee local Fredi Kalbermatten rounded out the Top 3, taking home $3000.

Although Shaun White has moved into the Swatch TTR World No. 1 spot, fellow American and Burton team rider Kevin Pearce remains the Tour Champion. Pearce had a hugely successful season and with the best six results of every competitor under his belt after the Burton US Open, Kevin was crowned the Swatch TTR Tour Champion and awarded $50 000. However, due to incredible performances in every contest he entered, and a 25% point bonus for both his SS and HP US Open wins, Shaun White was able to move into TTR No. 1 by earning his 6th TTR result in Saas-Fee and for this Shaun was also awarded $50 000 USD.

At the top of the glacier in Saas-Fee however, all attention was focused on the stellar riding put forth by every rider on the Slopestyle course. The set up included a small gap to table feature up top, a perfectly sculpted kicker in the middle and a step up kicker at the bottom. Saturdays finals had the top riders from Fridays qualifications duke it out in a 2.5 hour Jam format with judges scoring riders in their best overall tricks.

Under bright blue skies, Shaun White absolutely killed it. His best tricks that earned him his first place finish included a FS 180 to an insane Inverted Cab 9 up top, a BS 9, and a massive Cab 1080. Laivisto earned himself second place with a Halfcab to BS 7, a sick Double Backflip, a FS 900 and a switch BS 7. To the cheers of a stoked out crowd, Swiss legend Fredi K took third place with a Halfcab to FS 3 melon, a Cab 9, BS 9 and switch BS 7 loaded with style.

The Swatch TTR 4-Star Snickers Classic & Popcorn Wallride wraps up an incredibly successful 07/08 season for the TTR World Snowboard Tour. To catch up on all the shizzle and bizzle during the past 10 months of off-the-wall competition, visit www.ttrworldtour.com for news, rankings, blogs and in your face videos.

Top Ten Results for 4-Star Snickers Classic & Popcorn Wallride
1. Shaun White USA
2. Juuso Laivisto FIN
3. Fredi Kalbermatten SUI
4. Seppe Smits BEL
5. Alessandro Boyens GER
6. Tonton Holland FRA
7. Gian-Luca Cavigelli SUI
8. Victor De Le Rue FRA
9. Rafael Coray SUI
10. Fred Evequoz SUI

Whistler’s thirteenth TELUS World Ski and Snowboard Festival launched with an auspicious start this weekend with two hugely successful competitions, the Orage Masters, and the Big Air.

The Big Air saw $44,000 in cash prizes awarded to the top skiers and snowboarders, who truly lit up the night sky, before a record-sized crowd that packed Whistler’s Skiers Plaza, launching and spinning over a massive 65 foot step over gap jump with fireworks and flames blasting off the side of the takeoff.

The competition format for qualification was run with the best trick of two counting and the top 3 results going to the super final. They ran the skiers and the boarders at the same time so there was plenty of action to check out. The final for was a 540, 720, 900 and then your own choice of trick event. Thing went pretty smooth for most of the finals competitors except last years winner Matt Belzile over rotated his 720 into a 9 which took him out of the running. The last hit of the night was a backside 1080 affair with both Sabastien Toutant and Matt stomping their tricks solidly.
The mens snowboard competition was won by fifteen year old rising star Sebastien Toutant of L’Assomption, Quebec, ahead of Norway’s Kim Andre Eliassen in second, and last year’s Big Air Champion, Matt Belzile in third.

The women’s snowboard competition was won by Megan Whiteside of Boulder, Colorado.

The Superpipe competition will start today and the finals are on Saturday the 19th, bringing the total prize money for athletes at this year’s TELUS World Ski and Snowboard Festival to almost $150,000 for all the events.

There had been plenty of partying going on off the slopes too. The Pro Ride camp crew have been checking out the likes of John Butler Trio, Daniel Wesley and Swollen Members. The Trews play today on the main stage and Blackalicious tomorrow. A blast from the past De La Soul plays Saturday night for free as part of the outdoor concert series.

It has been a awesome winter of riding out here in Whistler and if you would like to check our some pictures of the riding you can take a look at www.pro-ride.com/diary.cfm

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SCUK members can get a 5% discount on Pro Ride camps. See SCUK Camp Discounts for more information.

What a season it’s been. The action began all the way back in July of 2007 and the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour has finally reached it’s final stop of the 07/08 season with the 4-Star Snickers Classic and Popcorn Wallride. Riders have been shreddin’ hard all season long but it’s not over yet with Saas-Fee, Switzerland in store for some tasty treats from April 17th to 20th 2008. Up for the taking is a $25 000 USD prize purse and 700 TTR Ranking points for the victor.

The Snickers Classic boasts a sick Slopestyle course and an 8 m high wall ride, all put together by Fredi Kalbermatten and Marco Schwab and the competition already has a well rounded line up of riders set to rip it up. Morgan Le Faucher (FRA), Allessandro Boyens (GER), Rudi Kroell (AUT), Martic Cernik (CZE) and TTR No. 17 Iouri Podladtchikov (SUI) are just a few of the invited riders expected to toss and mix it up in Saas Fee. Last year’s champ and TTR No. 19 Nicolas Mueller along with fellow Swiss rider Gian Simmen are also hoping to make it out.

Big news for the final 4-Star event of the Swatch TTR Tour is that Shaun White (USA) could be making an appearance. After posting five exceptional results from top-level competitions on the Tour, Shaun will be looking to improve his end-of-season ranking by earning his 6th and final result in Saas-Fee. Nevertheless, Kevin Pearce (USA) will remain the TTR Tour Champion following an incredible season that lead up to the Tour defining, and Champion crowning event, the 6-Star Burton US Open.

While the Swatch TTR 4-Star Snickers Classic and Popcorn Wallride guarantees electrifying riding and shredding on all fronts, the revved up madness will continue with legendary parties in the Popcorn and Living Room Bar with titillating beats and sounds from DJ Stylewarz, Igor Podladtchikov and Scott Sullivan and the Kin.

Check out www.ttrworldtour.com for loads of news, ranking and video content from all of this season’s major events as the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour wraps up its 07/08 season.

Following the success of the Westbeach Annual Chinese Downhill at Whistler earlier this year, the Brits at Laax played host to a repeat of the disorganised carnage on Sunday 30th March (not to be confused with the Red Bull Home Run that was an official part of the Brits and happened on Friday 2nd March).

The UK team and friends then spread rumours and bandanas through the shredding revellers rounding up a crew with one mission... get to the bottom first. Waiting for them was a 500 euro comedy cheque. No rules, elbows out.

The Downhill was a huge success with David Graham aka Scotty of Les Duex Alpes taking first place whilst the rest of the contingent were spread across the mountain in tree wells and falling into streams.

David is quoted as saying "it were a good crack and I'm stoked everyone else went the wrong way."

Keep your ears to the ground for Chinese whispers and check out www.westbeach.com for future fun and frolics plus the footage from the Canadian Westbeach Chinese Downhill earlier this year.


[Photo © Kim Cook]

The ladies were greeted with bright blue skies for the Slopestyle competition of the Swatch TTR 6-Star Roxy Chicken Jam, the final women’s event of the Tour. Focus, however, was placed on the Tour Title in the tightest battle of the season that hosted the best female riders in the business. American snowboarder Jamie Anderson charged past the rest of the pack for the first place finish, pushing her past top competitors Kelly Clark (USA) and Torah Bright (AUS) in the TTR rankings to claim the Women’s Swatch TTR World Tour Champion Title and a cool $50,000. Chanelle Sladics (USA) had a great day to take the second place spot as Swiss rider, Sina Candrian rounded out the top three.

The Slopestyle course was in excellent condition and it was a perfect day under the sun at Mammoth Mountain. The course consisted of two jibs at the top and three kickers at the bottom granting riders a vast array of possibilities to get funky, Chicken Jam style. Jamie Anderson put together the smoothest run of the day laying down like butter a smooth backside boardslide right into a Cab 3, following with Cab 540 and ending with a sick FS 540. Chanelle Sladics was pushing the progression throwing a boardslide to 270 out, a Cab 5 and a FS 5. Finally, Sina Candrian completed the podium with her third place, stomping a clean BS 3 and finishing up with a nice FS 7.

Torah Bright, Kelly Clark and Kjersti Oestgaard Buaas, were all favoured to do well in the final women’s event of the Tour as each rider, alongside Jamie Anderson, had the potential to take not only the final 6-Star Slopestyle Title, but also the TTR Tour Championship. But the ladies were unable to step up and connect their tricks resulting in finishes outside the Top 5.

As Anderson Claimed her Tour trophy, The Women’s TTR Prize Purse worth $110,000 USD was also distributed following the day’s climactic conclusion. Following Tour Champion Jamie Anderson was Torah Bright finishing in TTR World No. 2 and receiving $25,000. Kelly Clark took TTR World No. 3 and $15,000 as Kjersti Buaas ended up in TTR World No. 4 with $11,000 and Cheryl Maas rounding out the top five at World No. 5 claming $9,000.

It’s been a roller coaster ride of a season on the 07/08 Women’s Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour and the riders couldn’t have asked for a greater finale than the 6-Star Roxy Chicken Jam at Mammoth Mountain. For a complete breakdown of Jamie’s successful season alongside a bountiful collection of blogs, ranking bios, profiles and many fresh and exciting videos from around the Tour, head to www.ttrworldtour.com.

Roxy Chicken Jam Slopestyle Final Top 10 Results:

1. Jamie Anderson
2. Chanelle Sladics
3. Sina Candrian
4. Spencer O’Brien
5. Meri Peltonen
6. Cheryl Maas
7. Torah Bright
8. Izumi Amaike
9. Kjersti Buaas
10. Claudia Fliri

The sky turned blue and the pipe softened up for high-profile competitive contingent at the 2008 Swatch TTR Roxy Chicken Jam Halfpipe competition at Mammoth Mountain California, USA. The Chicken Jam is the last 6-Star event on the Women’s Tour and things are really heating up with Kelly Clark (USA) winning the Halfpipe on Saturday, moving her into TTR World No. 2. Torah Bright (AUS) took second place, maintaining her lead at TTR World No. 1 as Kjersti Oestgaard Buaas (NOR) took third to take over TTR World No. 4.

It’s going to be a close and exciting showdown in Sunday’s Slopestyle competition with Jamie Anderson (USA) moving into TTR World No. 3 after her 9th place in the Halfpipe competition and Jenny Jones (GBR) getting pushed down to TTR World No. 5 by not competing in the Halfpipe. The Women’s Swatch TTR Tour Title is still up for grabs and the ladies will be charging for their chance to take it all home including the $50,000 top prize.

After a weather day due to high wind and snowfall yesterday, the women were greeted with sunny skies for the Halfpipe event. The pipe was a little difficult for the riders to work with, but the ladies charged through and put some good runs together. The 25 women riding in the finals session had two hours to throw down their best run in a jam style format. Kelly Clark was ripping with the largest airs of the day and some clean 720s. Her amplitude and smooth spins put her at the top of the pack. Torah Bright was throwing some nice straight airs, back-to-back 5’s and stylish air-to-fakies while Kjersti was pushing the limits with some inverted spins and fluid airs.

Sunday’s Slopestyle will be a nail-biter as the ladies duke it out for the Swatch TTR Women’s World Tour Title. There are still some moves that can be made in the Top 5 as well creating even more drama that will continue in full force at tomorrow’s finale. Torah Bright, Kelly Clark, Jamie Anderson and Kjersti Oestgaard Buaas all still have a shot to win the title. However Jenny Jones, Claudia Fliri (AUT), Sina Candrian (SUI), Manuela Pesko (SUI) and Cheryl Maas (NED) will all be fighting for a finish in the TTR Top 5 and a piece of the $110,000 Women’s TTR Prize Purse.

Stay tuned to www.ttrworldtour.com for the exciting results from Mammoth as well as sick videos of all the action from the 6-Star Roxy Chicken Jam. Also be sure to check out the blogs and fresh news coming from 3 and 4-Star events going down all over Europe this weekend.

2008 Roxy Chicken Jam Final Halfpipe Results:

1. Kelly Clark USA
2. Torah Bright AUS
3. Kjersti Oestgaard Buaas NOR
4. Laura Manuela Pesko SUI
5. Sarah Conrad CAN
6. Mercedes Nicoll USA
7. Dominique Vallee CAN
8. Tania Detomas ITA
9. Jamie Anderson USA
10. Lisa Wiik NOR

Not long to go until the Nikita Chickita, Europe 2008! We’re all excited about the impending contest, so here’s a few more updates.

As sponsors of this year’s event, Cooler and Onboard will be supplying copies of their latest magazines for goodie bags and winners can also expect a Cooler t-shirt and magazine subscription in their prize package, among Nikita and Skull Candy booty.

Les Ettes non-alocoholic perfumes will be supporting the Nikita Chickita this year, providing samples of their feminine fragrances in event goodie bags whilst also keeping the ladies fresh at the after party, so look out for spritzer opportunities!

The course at Serfaus is coming along nicely. Shaper Marcus Falch dropped an update over the weekend saying they had the Flight Control Slopestyle Contest there on 22nd March – click on the PARK tab to check out some pics at www.2high.at

Marcus has informed us that the course will include first a roller kicker with 12m table and near a 7m table and the second roller kicker a 14m table and near a 8-9m table. After the kicker you can switch from a tree, a stair setup and from the buttertable go off a 6m picnic table with the last obstacle being a wall.

The event is open to anyone and will no doubt showcase some new faces pushing the level of girls’ riding. Last year’s winner Steffi Hamman won a one-year contract on the Nikita Team and this year the same opportunity is up for grabs, plus a prize cash purse. There’s two categories including womens and juniors who will take part in one to three heats of 15-20 competitors. Registration will take place the day of the event at the Serfaus ticket office.

...and let’s just say that the after party and award ceremony will take place at the famous Bam Bam bar. Austrian mix master Chris Fader, hip hop DJ and six times IFT Austrian scratch Champion will be coming straight from Vienna to bust out the mood for the evening - myspace.com/ghostbusterscrew

Check out some of the action from last year’s event at MySpace.com.

www.nikitaclothing.com

With the Burton US Open spectacle ending last weekend, it is now time for the women to shine at the decisive 6-Star Roxy Chicken Jam. The best and most progressive female snowboarders in the world are gathering at Mammoth Mountain, California, USA on March 28-30th 2008 for the final competition of the Women’s TTR World Tour. In a Slopestyle and Superpipe grand finale, the Roxy Chicken Jam offers a 25% point bonus, giving a staggering 1250 points to each winner, ultimately crowning the women’s TTR Tour Champion and dispersing $110 000 USD to the Women’s TTR Top 5.

The championship battle will feature four exceptional snowboarders all going for number one in the Halfpipe, in an extremely close race with end results impossible to foresee. 06/07 Tour Champion Torah Bright (AUS) will attempt to hold her Tour Lead and claim her second successive TTR Tour Title, as she fends off her relentless adversaries, TTR World No. 2 Jamie Anderson (USA), TTR World No. 3 Kelly Clark (USA) and TTR World No. 4 Jenny Jones (GBR). All four riders have been shuffling in the TTR Top 5 since the last Roxy Chicken Jam in Kaprun, Austria, each proving their worth, claiming numerous Title wins and never backing down. But their season long efforts all boil down to the final women’s competition, as there are currently only 30 TTR ranking points between TTR No. 1 and No. 4, making this final bout incredibly tight.

In addition, with the TTR Top 5 Women earning portions of the TTR $110 000 USD prize purse, a handful of other strong riders will be clashing, looking for a highly coveted place within the TTR Top 5. Kjersti Oestgaard Buaas (NOR) will try and hold her TTR No. 5 position in the Halfpipe, as Sina Candrian (SUI), Ellery Hollingsworth (USA) and Cheryl Maas (NED) put forth their best to knock Kjersti from the Top 5. Alongside the invited riders, the event also holds thirty open spots in both Slopestyle and Halfpipe for riders looking to qualify their way to the top and challenge the champs. Of course things could change dramatically following the Halfpipe event, setting things up for an edge-of-your seat Slopestyle finale.

The 6-Star Roxy Chicken Jam offers up a $40 000 USD total prize purse for the Slopestyle and Superpipe competitions. To keep things fun, the all-women’s event features a unique mascot contest, where riders must arrive fully decked out in a mascot costume and compete against ‘the chicken’ in a Mascot Superpipe Contest. The winner takes home $4000 USD with another $1000 USD going to the best mascot costume of the day.

Stay on top o the action by tuning to www.ttrworldtour.com for fresh updates from Mammoth, USA on the Swatch TTR 6-Star Roxy Chicken Jam. Brush up on your 07/08 Tour knowledge by reading the news studying the rankings, commenting on the blogs, and watching the exclusive videos and rider interviews. Get ready as the Women’s tour comes to a close and the crowning of the women’s 07/08 Swatch TTR Tour Champion becomes a reality.

Invited Riders List for 6-Star Roxy Chicken Jam:

Slopestyle:

Jamie Anderson USA
Hanna Beaman USA
Torah Bright AUS
Kjersti Buaas NOR
Sina Candrian SUI
Erin Comstock USA
Tara Dakides USA
Tania Detomas ITA
Kimmy Fasani USA
Lisa Filzmoser AUT
Claudia Fliri AUT
Laura Hadar USA
Ursina Haller SUI
Elena Hight USA
Jenny Jones GBR
Isabell Lalive USA
Cheryl Maas NED
Anne-Flore Marxer FRA
Vicci Miller GBR
Silvia Mittermueller GER
Spencer O’Brien CAN
Heidi Paumola FIN
Leanne Pelosi CAN
Meri Peltonen FIN
Chanelle Sladics USA
Amber Stackhouse USA
Alexis Waite USA
Lisa Wiik NOR

Halfpipe:

Molly Aguirre USA
Elizabeth Beerman USA
Gretchen Bleiler USA
Juliane Bray NZE
Torah Bright AUS
Kjersti Oestgaard Buaas NOR
Sina Candrian USA
Kelly Clark USA
Sarah Conrad CAN
Tania Detomas ITA
Yuki Furihata JPN
Ursina Haller SUI
Elena Hight USA
Ellery Hollingsworth USA
Jordan Karlinski USA
Paulina Ligocka POL
Cheryl Maas NED
Mercedes Nicoll CAN
Katie Ormerod GBR
Heidi Paumola FIN
Meri Peltonen FIN
Manuela Pesko SUI
Hannah Teter USA
Lisa Wiik NOR

It was a perfect bluebird day for the Halfpipe finals at the Swatch TTR 6-Star Burton US Open, and the temperatures stayed cold making for a nice fast pipe. It was a heated competition with so many transition specialists in attendance, and with his third place finish, Kevin Pearce (USA) has become the new 07/08 Swatch TTR Tour Champion. Shaun White (USA) once again destroyed the competition, claiming both the Slopestyle and Halfpipe US Open Titles and moving into TTR World No. 4 as Torah Bright (AUS) also left everyone in her dust, taking home the Women’s Title and moving back into Swatch TTR World No. 1.

Mason Aguirre (USA) set the bar early in a no-limit final show down, as Kevin quickly pursued. Shaun, though, reminded every competitor of his flawless skill and pipe dominance, stomping the most perfect pipe run since the 6-Star Burton European Open. But every rider was charging the pipe with the utmost precision. 9s, 10s, Mctwists and double-overhead airs; it was an onslaught of insane technical amplitude.

The chase for the Swatch TTR Tour Lead came down to the bitter end. With Risto Mattila (FIN) out of the finals, the race narrowed down to just Kevin Pearce and Peetu Piiroinen (FIN). Peetu, who finished the season at TTR World No. 2, never backed down, but didn’t seem to have what it took to catch up to Pearce, who was fighting with White for the US Open Halfpipe Title. In the end it was White who would walk away with the Title, his flawless winning run consisting of an insane FS 10 stale off the first hit, a cab 10 into his signature FS inverted 5 stale, a huge McTwist, and a FS 9 with a BS 9 ender.

Mason Aguirre held on to this 2nd place throughout the entire finals after stomping a sick corked BS 5 indy, riding right into a FS 10 tail, a corked cab 10, a FS 9, and ending with an alley-oop to FS 7 Kevin Pearce however, rounded out the Top 3 with a solid first run and riding huge all day, with a styled out BS crail, followed by a FS 10 tail, a cab 10, a FS 9 stale, finishing with a monster McTwist. His run awarded him with the 07/08 TTR Tour Title and $50 000 USD.


Torah Bright set the bar early in the finals, breaking away from the pack with a near flawless run that consisted of a BS 3 indy, a switch BS 7 mute, a BS 5, a melon to fakie and ending with a cab 7 nose grab. Gretchen Bleiler (USA) however, didn’t back down with a huge FS 9 on her first hit. Kelly Clark (USA) brought out the big guns on her second run though, making the battle for Women’s Tour lead extremely close for the third and final run.

After washing out on her last attempt, Torah was left riding on her first run. Kelly Clark was unable to top her second run’s score, a run that included a mega FS air to BS 5 mute, FS 5, a huge method, to FS 9, ending with a big backside air. It was up to Gretchen Bleiler. But a strong effort from the US rider including a first-hit FS 9, to lofty BS air, a crippler, an indy into a FS 7 and into a cab 3, was not enough to give her the lead, placing Bleiler in Third, Clark in second and handing over to Bright the US Open Halfpipe Title and Tour lead.

The Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour continues with the exciting, final women’s event in Mammoth, California, the 6-Star Roxy Chicken Jam, where the women’s Swatch TTR Tour Champion will be declared. Check out www.ttrworldtour.com for updated rankings, news, blogs and fresh videos from the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour and the 6-Star Burton US Open.

Final Results for the Burton US Open Halfpipe

Men

Shaun White USA
Mason Aguirre USA
Kevin Pearce USA
Peetu Piiroinen FIN
Markus Malin FIN
Ross Baker USA
Scotty Lago USA
Kazuhiro Kokubo JPN
Broc Waring USA
Kim Rune Hansen NOR

Women

Torah Bright AUS
Kelly Clark USA
Gretchen Bleiler USA
Soko Yamaoka JPN
Manuela Pesko SUI
Ellery Hollingsworth USA
Clair Bidez USA
Mercedes Nicoll CAN
Lindsey Jacobellis USA
Elizabeth Beerman USA

[Photos © Rick Levinson]

After a full-out season of close calls and flawless victories, US snowboarder Kevin Pearce charged through the opposition, defeating his challengers and rising to the occasion to become the new 07/08 Men’s Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour Champion.

Kevin Pearce, a Vermont native, was crowned at 04.30 pm U.S. EST at the base of Stratton Mountain in front of a mass of spectators applauding and cheering his achievement. Reto Lamm, President of the Swatch TTR World Tour, presented the Swatch TTR award – a 20-kilo metal and wood, custom made trophy for Pearce.

Kevin had one of the best season records in TTR history; his pursuits for the Swatch TTR Title beginning all the way back in August. A string of victories and podium finishes throughout the season brought him all the way to the top and he entered the 6-Star Burton US Open highly favoured.

His efforts began with a second place in the Halfpipe at the 5-Star Abominable Snow Jam in Mt. Hood, Oregon. Although he struggled in New Zealand, Pearce entered the Northern Hemisphere portion of the Tour in full force, dropping a huge Cab 1260 to win the 6-Star Nokia Air & Style in Munich/Germany. His success continued on the other side of the world in Japan, where Pearce finished fourth at the 6Star Nissan X-Trail Jam amidst a field of riders that had certainly stepped up their game since Munich.

Pearce’s streak of title victories was then unleashed in Laax / Switzerland at the 6-Star Burton European Open in a Halfpipe final that blew away every rider and spectator. Legendary Halfpipe rider Shaun White had laid down what was thought to be an unbeatable run and with the final run of the entire competition, Kevin Pearce proved to the world that he is right up there beside the best snowboarders in the world. Jaw’s dropped and voices were left speechless as Pearce began with a 10 right out of the gate straight into a second 10, followed by back-to-back 9s into a gargantuan Mctwist and ending with a stylish straight air. His run earned him the HP Title as he set his eyes on to Innsbruck /Austria.

At the 5-Star Billabong Air & Style Quarterpipe, Kevin once again dominated, claiming his second straight title. But he wouldn’t stop there. After winning last year’s Arctic Challenge in Oslo / Norway, Pearce went on to win his second consecutive 6-Star Oakley Arctic Challenge, stomping huge BS Airs, his epic McTwists and a newly honed BS Rodeo 5. After his victory in Oslo, Pearce overtook Risto Mattila from Finland for the Tour lead.

The 6-Star Burton US Open however, was Kevin Pearce’s time to shine. With a 25% point bonus in both Slopestyle and Halfpipe, Pearce didn’t back down and drove it home to become the 07/08 Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour Champion and taking home $ 50 000 USD. Kevin qualified for the Halfpipe finals right behind Shaun white. Stomping huge 9s, 10s, solid straight Airs and his massive McTwist, Pearce finished third in the US Open Halfpipe with an epic run, earning his first ever Swatch TTR Tour Title.

Kevin Pearce Swatch TTR Champion

The sun finally broke out for the Swatch TTR 6-Star Burton US Open Slopestyle finals, but the winds kicked up a notch giving riders another challenge alongside a determined field of talented professional snowboarders. Kevin Pearce (USA), who barely held on to his Tour lead, didn’t make the Slopestyle finals, giving Risto Mattila (FIN) and Peetu Piiroinen (FIN) a golden opportunity to move into the Tour Lead with a podium finish. But in the end, it was Shaun White (USA) who took home the 6-Star Burton US Open Slopestyle Title and 1250 TTR ranking points, followed by Tim Humphreys (USA) in second and Charles Reid (CAN) in third.

The fight for Tour lead certainly had judges, riders and fans running on pure adrenaline as the Slopestyle set the stage for tomorrow’s Halfpipe and Swatch TTR showdown. Ninja snow master, Shaun White, claimed the first place position with a near flawless run that included a Cab 9, BS 9, switch BS 9 and ended with a incredibly clean BS 1080. His perfect performance moves White into the TTR Top 20 with just four TTR results. Tim Humphreys claimed the second place spot stomping tricks left, right and center, moving into the TTR Top 10. Charles Reid certainly made Canadians proud proving his worth in the pre-qualifiers and charging all the way through to the podium.

Although Peetu Piiroinen only placed fifth in the Slopestyle, he managed to out perform his fellow Finnish rider Risto Mattila, who placed tenth, moving Piiroinen into TTR World No. 2. This certainly closed the gap between Piiroinen and Pearce, who remained Tour Leader with no additional points. This creates an intense situation for tomorrow’s Halfpipe competition as Kevin Pearce, Peetu Piiroinen and Risto Mattila could all walk away as the new 07/08 Swatch TTR Tour Champion. It’s going to be a very close call as all three riders have been riding transitions exceptionally well all season long.

The Women’s Swatch TTR ranking also underwent some big changes. The shake-ups began in the women’s semi-final round with Torah Bright (AUS) unable to harness her Slopestyle skills and Kelly Clark (USA) opting to not ride in slopestyle. With two of the top women out of the finals, it opened the door for other ladies like Jamie Anderson (USA), Jenny Jones (GBR) and Sina Candrian (SUI) to make some moves in the Top 5. Kjersti Buaas’ (NOR) first run of the finals held strong all the way through giving her the Slopestyle Title, but it was Jamie Anderson’s second place that pushed her into World No. 1 ahead of Torah Bright who is now World No. 3. Jenny Jones managed to hold her ground on the icy course rounding out the women’s Top 3 both in the Slopestyle and in the Swatch TTR rankings.

Anderson and Jones are putting up an incredible fight in the last two 6-Star events on the women’s Tour. However, Torah Bright and Kelly Clark have a chance to gain some ground in tomorrow’s Halfpipe competition, as they are both top-notch Halfpipe competitors making for a dramatic lead into the 6-Star Roxy Chicken Jam next week – the final women’s event of the Tour where the women’s TTR Tour Champion will be crowned.

The 6-Star Burton US Open Halfpipe showdown gets underway tomorrow with semi-finals kicking off at 9am EST. With some big moves taking place after slopestyle finals today, it is going to be interesting to see how the race for the Men’s Swatch TTR World Tour Championship Title and a piece of the $250,000 prize purse will all pan out.

2008 US Open Slopestyle Final Results

Men
1. Shaun White, USA, 88.33 - $20,000
2. Tim Humphreys, USA, 80.17
3. Charles Reid, CAN, 74.67
4. Ville Uotila, FIN, 73.50
5. Peetu Piiroinen, FIN, 71.83

Women
1. Kjersti Oestgaard Buass, NOR, 73.17
2. Jamie Anderson, USA, 67.33
3. Jenny Jones, GBR, 61.83
4. Sina Candrian, SUI, 53.33
5. Cheryl Maas, NED, 53.00

Check out www.ttrworldtour.com for all the details leading into tomorrow’s halfpipe competition. The TTR website also features videos from the week here at the US Open and some highlights from today’s action. Don’t forget to tune into www.ttrworldtour.com for the live web cast to witness the drama unfold in the Halfpipe as the Men’s TTR season comes to a close. And, if you are in the States, all the action from the US Open will be aired on NBC at 1:30 pm EST.

At the final stop of the Freeride World Tour in Verbier, all competing riders of the Freeride World Tour gathered together to look through video footage and voted for two riders, one male and one female, who they thought made the most impressive run over the five FWT contests.
Two snowboarders won the “Nissan Riders Award for Best Line”. Freeride World Champion Xavier de le Rue won the male category for his exceptional run at Le Buet during the Swatch O'Neill Big Mountain Pro and drive off proudly with a brand new Nissan Navara. Freeride World Champion Ruth Leisabach won the female award for her run this weekend in Verbier and is now the lucky owner of a Nissan Xtrail.

The very first edition of the Freeride World Tour has since mid January consisted of five contests around the world; in Mammoth USA, Sochi, Russia, mobile in the Alps, in Tignes, France and finally this weekend in Verbier, Switzerland. During the events the riders have been judged based on three criteria: choice of line, control and fluidity, which can be summed up to one criteria: General Impression.

Head organiser of the Freeride World Tour and the 13 editions of the Xtreme in Verbier, Nicolas Hale-Woods, is thrilled to have successfully completed the first edition of the Tour: “It has been a great challenge to organise the first ever Freeride World Tour with the best skiers and snowboarders in the world, in some of the most well known resorts. The feedback from the riders is great. They are happy to see the progression of their sport both from a sportive point of view and with the growing public interest internationally as well as media wise. Some of the biggest challenges have certainly been to organise events at numerous locations around the planet, and the difficult snow and weather conditions this winter. The winter is very short, we organised seven events from mid January to mid March and travelled from one venue to the other. But meeting other cultures is also very motivating. We really look forward to organising next year’s tour and go to new exciting destinations around the world.”

FREERIDE WORLD TOUR 2008 - FINAL RANKINGS

SKI MEN
1 - WINDSTEDT - Henrik - SWE - 7200 pts
2 - MICHAUD - Seb - FRA - 6900
3 – DUCROZ (NISSAN) - Aurélien - FRA – 6400

SKI FEMALE
1 - SAUGSTAD - Elyse - USA - 6000 pts
2 - MC MILLAN - Jesse - USA - 5400
3 - PERSSON (NISSAN) - Marja - SWE – 5000

SNOWBOARD MEN
1 - DE LE RUE - Xavier - FRA - 7000 pts
2 - COUDRAY - Alex - SUI - 6900
3 - ORLEY - Flo - AUT - 6700
4 - NERI (NISSAN) - Cyril - SUI – 6600
15 – STENTIFORD (NISSAN) - James - UK - 2100

SNOWBOARD FEMALE
1 - LEISIBACH - Ruth - SUI - 5600 pts
2 - MOROC - Bérengère - FRA - 5400
3 - PALH - Elizabeth - RUS – 4600
5 – FASNACHT (NISSAN) - Géraldine - SUI – 3300

Darren Cox (European Brand Promotion Manager): “Nissan are proud to be the charter sponsor of the Freeride World Tour. By integrating the tour into the Nissan Sports Adventure series we hope to add real value to the events, bringing action from great spots like Mammoth and Sochi. We are even prouder that our Nissan supported athletes Geraldine Fasnacht and Cyril Neri have been so instrumental in creating the world's first Freeride World Tour and we look forward to working with the other event partners O’Neill and Swatch”

Visit www.nissan-sportsadventure.com to see the Nissan Riders Award for Best Line and catch up on this year’s Freeride World Tour event reviews.

The Swatch TTR 6-Star Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships will take place this week hosting highly competitive Slopestyle and Halfpipe formats in the defining men’s contest on the TTR World Snowboard Tour. Professional snowboarders have been traveling all over the world, competing in the biggest and best snowboarding contests earning valuable TTR ranking points, and it all boils down to the final men’s 6-Star event, the Burton US Open, where the Men’s Swatch TTR champ will be declared.

Considered by riders and the industry as the most prestigious snowboard competition in the world, the 26th Annual Burton US Open offers a 25% TTR ranking point bonus, offering a whopping 1250 points to each winner of the Slopestyle and Halfpipe. Additionally, the Men’s Tour Champion will be awarded $50 000 of the total $250 000 end-of-season prize purse. With such a heavy weight of points and a monumental prize purse, riders will no doubt unleash their technical wizardry and silky style upon unsuspecting adversaries.

Current TTR Tour leader Kevin Pearce (USA), a native Vermont rider, has been on fire all season long, bagging a 5 and 6-Star Air & Style Title, winning his second consecutive 6-Star Arctic Challenge, along with throwing down one of the most spectacular and progressive Halfpipe runs ever seen, to edge out Halfpipe machine Shaun White and take the 6-Star BEO HP Title.

With his other podium finishes giving him the most impressive competitive record on the 07/08 TTR Tour, Kevin Pearce is a favourite going into the US Open and with a Top 7 result in the Slopestyle, he will be the Tour leader and have an incredible chance of claiming the 07/08 Swatch TTR Tour Championship Title going into the Halfpipe.

But Pearce’s efforts will not go unchallenged. The US Open attracts the best riders from all over the world, and as the final Men’s 6-Star event, the list of riders who have a shot at claiming the title is extraordinarily immense. Giving Pearce a run for his money are Risto Mattila (FIN), Peetu Piiroinen (FIN), and Andy Finch (USA), who have all earned their share of prestigious Titles and podium finishes. Such a strong competitive contingent will result in the tightest race for Swatch TTR World No. 1 since the Tour’s conception.



The 6-Star Burton US Open is also important for female riders as it leads them into the Women’s Tour defining stop, the upcoming 6-Star Roxy Chicken Jam. Although the US open does not provide an extra 25% bonus for the women, it is their last opportunity to bank two batches of 1000 TTR ranking points and aim for a place in the Swatch TTR Top 5.

Reigning 06/07 TTR Tour Champion Torah Bright (AUS) will be looking to fend off her opposition, Jamie Anderson (USA) and Kelly Clark (USA). All three riders currently sit within 5 points of each other and all three could emerge as the Women’s Tour Leader with a Slopestyle win at the US Open. The UK's Jenny Jones currently sits in 4th place.

Torah Bright however, is favoured to do well with exceptional skills in both Halfpipe and Park. Anderson has shown favourable results in Slopestyle, while Clark proves to excel every time she drops into a Halfpipe. Anything can happen and with four opportunities left for the women, the chase is too close to call who will come forth victorious in the end.

Stay on top of the action by logging on www.go211.com and www.ttrworldtour.com for the live webcast of the 26th annual Swatch TTR 6-Star Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships. To also brush up on your knowledge the season long TTR Tour race, visit the TTR homepage; study the rankings, read the blogs and watch the videos, consuming everything there is to know about the all-star snowboarding battle that is the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour.

NMotivated local park crews and an ever growing number of followers help this season’s Burton AM Tour to live up to its good reputation. Europe’s biggest snowboarding amateur contest series has already stopped in eleven resorts in eleven different countries, with another six stops in four more countries to go. Throughout Europe, riders born between 1988 and 2000 have been greeted by an excellent support from the resorts. However, three stops had to be cancelled due to the warm weather in February. The tour’s main sponsor Suzuki and tour sponsors Burton, RED, and Anon are nevertheless looking forward to crowning the next overall tour winners at the last stop on 26 April 2008 in Val Senales, Italy.

Alicia Bonnaud, Les Croset @copy;Ueli Christoffel

Tim-Kevin Ravnjak, eleven year-old rider from Slovenia and last year’s overall tour winner, is again in the lead in the Kid Boys category. A duel between Alicia Bonnaud (FRA) and Enya Beutler (SUI) is taking place in the Kid Girls category. At the Junior Boys, British rider Sam Turnbull is currently ranked first, with Stefan Ackeret (SUI) hot on his trail. Laura Berry, also from the UK, is in the lead in the Junior Girls category.

All riders collect points for the Swatch TTR World Ranking as every stop is a 2-star event. The overall tour winners will get a Burton European Open 2009 Package, consisting of a reserved starting slot and ‘board and lodging’ for Europe’s biggest snowboard competition held each year in Laax, Switzerland. All riders of the junior categories also compete for a brand new quad from main sponsor Suzuki. For everyone else there are tons of prizes from tour sponsors Burton, RED, and Anon.

Current Tour Leaders

Kid Boys

1. Ravnjak Tim-Kevin / Velenje / SLO / 11 / p. 1950
2. Zilaji Kristian / Medvode / SLO / 14 / p. 1826.50
3. Zilaji Daniel Miha / Medvode / SLO / 10 / p. 1754.75

Kid Girls

1. Bonnaud Alicia / Vars les Claux / FRA / 15 / p. 1500
2. Beutler Enya / Trin / SUI / 14 / p. 1471.25
3. Rusin Katarzyna / Krakow / POL / 13 / p. 942.50

Junior Boys

1. Turnbull Sam / Leeds / GBR / 16 / p. 1601.25
2. Ackeret Stefan / Winterthur / SUI / 18 / p. 1554.50
3. Parvex Denis / Ins / SUI / 18 / p. 1462

Junior Girls

1. Berry Laura / Milton Keynes / GBR / 19 / p. 2000
2. Podgorna Anna / Innsbruck / POL / 19 / p. 1942.50
3. Giacomazzi Gaia / Manno / SUI / 17 / p. 1884

Remaining stops of the Burton AM Tour 2007/08:
22.03.2008 Zolotaya Dolina (RUS)
29.03.2008 Talma (FIN)
05.04.2008 Kläppen (SWE)
11.04.2008 Are (SWE)
26.04.2008 Val Senales (ITA)

The 13th edition of the Xtreme Verbier was the fifth and final contest of the Freeride World Tour and was held on the west face of Mont Gelé, in the heart of Verbier ski resort. Amongst the world’s best 37 snowboarders and free skiers, were the Nissan Sports Adventure team riders Aurelien Ducrox (FRA), Marja Persson (SWE) and Cyril Neri (SUI) who showed the ultimate performance of the sport with powerful, fast, fluid and spectacular lines down the challenging mountain with Marja taking 3rd and Cyril taking his third Xtreme title.

Tension was high for this last and final contest of the Freeride World Tour, which is considered the most prestigious contest of them all, with 100 000 USD prize pot at stake and the final points to crown the World Champions. So to accomplish the difficult lines, these top athletes have to have mental focus, physical ability, stay smart and have the very highest level skiing or snowboarding.

Swede Kaj Zackrisson was so happy and moved after his solid winning run. The strong skier, who won the Xtreme 2006, is famous for his fast riding. He perfectly landed three massive cliff drops in a slightly original choice of line. “For me this is the most important contest. Even during the autumn when I train I think of it. I put a lot of pressure on myself and was really nervous this morning. But once out of the starting gate it was all good. I chose a difficult line and stomped it. It was just such joy,” said the ever smiling Swede who has won two out of five contests of the World Tour this year. “It is really good for our sport with the start of the World Tour. It is seriously organised but still in the great spirit of freeriding. We are all here to ski and have fun but now the kids know what to aim at. To qualify to the world tour and then you can become a pro rider. It is the perfect entrance.”

Throughout the season the skiers have had an amazing level and the fight for the top has been tight. The two French skiers Seb Michaud and Aurélien Ducroz (Nissan) have been dominating the podium with three podium places each, including one win for the veteran Seb Michaud, finishing as vice World Champion and Aurélien Ducroz (Nissan) being the third best rider in the world. The top three have been closely followed by the two American former freestylers Drew Tabke and Cody Townsend.

Today, the snowboarders started after the skiers, which made their riding more difficult with the skied out snow. The Swiss snowboarder Cyril Neri (Nissan) chose a different line where there were less tracks and it paid off. All smiles for Cyril, who took his first victory of the Freeride World Tour today. “I won the Xtreme ten years ago [and 2006], and now I am back! I opted for good snow, clean jumps and fast riding. It was a good exercise to change face today. As for the other contests of the World Tour this year we had to change the originally planned contest face due to difficult conditions. It demands a lot of us riders, we progress when we have to be flexible and adapt. It pushes the level even higher.”

The female riders were first on the mountain today and impressed the spectator crowd with fast, solid riding. Alaskan skier Elyse Saugstad won and has dominated the World Tour since she qualified in Mammoth in January. “I started entering freeride contests last year to get an experience for this year. For the world tour I had to fight my way in by qualifying in Mammoth. It has been tough competition so it feels amazing! I am very happy to be part of the tour.“ said the ex junior alpine Olympic Champion. Marja Persson (Nissan) has been solid all season and started well on the top section of the course but unfortunately let it slip towards the end, but was still stoked to finish 3rd in Verbier and 3rd on the whole tour.

Swiss local snowboarder Ruth Leisibach is one of the most aggressive female riders on the planet which she proved today by winning the Xtreme for the fifth time and the World Champion title. After a back injury at the beginning of the season she’s had an amazing recovery.

Nissan O’Neill Xtreme Verbier 2008 Results

Rank - Lastname - Firstname - Country

Ski Men

1 - Zackrisson - Kaj - SWE
2 - Tabke - Drew - USA
3 - Townsend - Cody – USA
14 - Ducroz (Nissan) - Aurélien – FRA

Snowboard Men

1 – Neri (Nissan) - Cyril - SUI
2 - Coudray - Alex - SUI
3 - Magnusson - David – NOR

Ski Women

1 - Saugstad - Elyse - USA
2 - Mc Millan - Jesse - USA
3 - Persson (Nissan) - Marja – SWE

Snowboard Women

1 - Leisibach - Ruth - SUI
2 - Moroc - Bérengère - FRA
3 - Zenklusen - Nathalie – SUI

As part of their commitment to winter sports in 2008 Nissan have also created All Mode Runs in Verbier (CH), Les Menuires (FR), Boi Taull (ES), Garmish (DE) and Livigno (IT) where skiers and boarders alike can test their skills on a specially created course whilst being filmed by the Nissan All Mode crew in order to check just how naturally capable they are. Nissan Sports Adventure team riders Glen Plake and James Stentiford were in Verbier to check out the contest and gave the run a blast. James said “It was really good fun, I can’t believe it’s free for anyone to have a go. I’m gonna checkout my video online later in the week when they’ve edited it”.

Freeride snowboard legend and Nissan team rider Johan Olofsson took some time out of filming with Standard Films to check out the Nissan Xtreme Verbier and film his profile for the website. He turned quite a few heads in resort, because instead of bringing his snowboard, he turned up with a noboard which he has been riding all season in Canada. Basically it’s a swallow tail snowboard but with no bindings! Visit www.nissan-sportsadventure.com later in the week to see his profile and the noboard in action, you can also watch the verbier hotspot review and some sick action from the contest.

The Chevrolet Grand Prix, a 5-Star competition on the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour, finally got under way today after a foggy weather delay last night. Slopestyle finals kicked off in the morning and Halfpipe finals took place in the afternoon making for an action packed day. Janne Korpi (FIN) and Claudia Fliri (AUT) stood atop the Slopestyle podium whilst American riders Louie Vito and Kelly Clark took the top spots in the Halfpipe. All four riders took home 850 TTR ranking points along with a sizeable portion of the $131 000 behemoth prize purse.

The men hit the slopestyle course first which consisted of two rails up top, rolling into a line of four kickers. Each rider had two runs to prove their skills to the judges. Finnish rider Janne Korpi had a good day taking the number one spot on the podium moving him into TTR World No. 5. His winning run consisted of a FS Boardslide on the first rail into a Switch BS Boardslide to FS Boardslide on the second rail. He rose above the pack on the kicker line throwing a BS 9, Cab 9, FS 7 and ending with a sweet FS 10. Peetu Piiroinen was also a standout with a BS 7, FS 9, Cab 9 and a FS 5 to once again take third place. Piiroinen’s unfathomable consistency keeps him in TTR World No. 3 going into the US Open.

For the women, Claudia Fliri, Mary Sallah and Jamie Anderson filled the podium spots. Jamie Anderson finished third with a Cab 5, FS 3, Straight Air and closing out with an always stylish BS 180 keeping her TTR World No. 2 position. Sallah claimed second with a Cab 5 and some smooth 3s. But the top Slopestyle rider of the day was Claudia Fliri who grabbed her first TTR 5-Star Title with a Cab 5, FS 3, Straight Air and a FS 7. Her solid efforts bump her up into the women’s Top 5 – an important place to rest as only the Top 5 Women in the TTR rankings receive part of the $250 000 end-of-season prize purse.

After the Slopestyle awards, attention shifted over to the Halfpipe for the finals that were originally postponed due to incredibly foggy conditions the previous night. The women dropped first, and once again Kelly Clark dominated the pipe with insane airs and fluid spins that even challenged some of the men. Clark worked a Corked BS 5, a FS 5 and a FS 7 into the mix to take the first place spot and hold her place as TTR World No. 3. Ellery Hollingsworth (USA) killed it as well with a Cab 7 and a BS 5 in her bag of tricks to grab second place and move into TTR World No. 7. Claire Bidez (USA) had a smooth run to round out the women’s podium.

Kelly was stoked with her result but knew there was some work ahead: “Here in Killington, Vermont finishing up a 5-star TTR event. I’m heading next to the US Open then to the Chicken Jam - the final stop on the women’s Tour. Jamie Anderson, Torah Bright and myself will be battling it out and it will be a good last two events for sure.”

The men dropped next and the riding level was though the roof. Louie Vito had a couple of near flawless runs that included back-to-back 1080s, back-to-back 900s and a crippler earning him the number one spot. Vito now rests just outside the TTR Top 15 at World No. 16. Greg Bretz (USA) came out swinging with huge 9s and 10s for second place. Peetu Piiroinen was once again seeing nothing but ‘threes’ with a FS 7, Cab 10, BS 9 and a Cab 9 to round out the men’s Halfpipe podium in third place.

The Chevrolet Grand Prix was a great competition to end the 5-Star calendar on the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour. Next up is the Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships, a 6-Star event and the definitive stop for the men on the Tour. It is in Stratton, Vermont USA where the men’s champion will be crowned and a large portion of the $250 000 TTR Prize Purse will be handed out. After the US Open, the women will charge on to the 6-Star Roxy Chicken Jam in Mammoth, California, USA where the women’s Swatch TTR Tour Champion will be crowned. Stay tuned to www.ttrworldtour.com for all the mind-blowing action as tour comes to a dramatic close.

Slopestyle:

Men

1. Janne Korpi FIN
2. Brandon Reis USA
3. Peetu Piiroinen FIN
4. Ian Thorley USA
5. Shayne Pospisil USA
6. Brett Esser USA
7. Ville Uotila FIN
8. Bobby Witty USA
9. Jake Black USA
10. Sage Kotsenburg USA

Women

1. Claudia Fliri AUT
2. Mary Sallah USA
3. Jamie Anderson USA
4. Faye Gulini USA
5. Alexandra Duckworth CAN
6. Jordan Karlinski USA
7. Kyla Sobieralski USA
8. Taylor Owen USA
9. Nirvana Ortanez USA
10. Molly Wilson USA

Halfpipe:

Men

1. Louie Vito USA
2. Gregory Bretz USA
3. Peetu Piiroinen FIN
4. Janne Korpi FIN
5. Steve Fisher USA
6. Nathan Johnstone AUS
7. Chris Waker USA
8. Markus Malin FIN
9. Brett Esser USA
10. Drew Brighton USA

Women

1. Kelly Clark USA
2. Ellery Hollingsworth USA
3. Clair Bidez USA
4. Kaitlyn Farrington USA
5. Kendall Brown NZE
6. Kelly Marren USA
7. Sarah Conrad CAN
8. Elizabeth Beerman USA
9. Mercedes Nicoll CAN
10. Tricia Byrns USA

Entries for the Oakley Jib-Vid 2008 are now closed and the expectation for the event of the season is reaching boiling point. It is our great pleasure to announce the wildcard teams that have qualified, details of which can be found at the official website.

The calibre of all the teams that took the time to enter this year’s Oakley Jib-Vid made selection an exceptionally hard task. The pressure is definitely on the defending champions and the other invited teams as this is the one competition on the winter calendar when an un-sponsored group of dedicated individuals can rock the boat to steal the crown.

Vans Penken Park spot check online – it’s sick!

For a taster of what to expect from Mayrhofen and the outstanding Vans Penken Park check out this year’s spot check on www.jib-vid.com, which will give you a glimpse of their amazing set up. In it, Ulrik Badertscher rips the park apart and finishes with perhaps the most stylish backside 1260 Japan we have ever seen.

Devil Gun headline the Oakley Jib-Vid 2008

To make sure the projection night and afterparty of the season storms into the history books we have Devils Gun from London, bringing their own bag of beats and revelry to Austria’s Sports Lounge. Check them out at www.myspace.com/devilsgun and let us know what you think through our interactive Oakley Jib-Vid Bebo site.

Fresh new music to the Jib-Vid jukebox

We have uploaded the second installment of fresh new music to the Jib-Vid jukebox which can be found on the website for everyone to check out, www.jib-vid.com/index.php?url=/music. This will give you a preview of the music the teams will get to choose from for their films.

Thanks to our sponsors Oakley, Vans Penken Park, Mayrhofner-Bergbahnen and media partners Onboard, MPORA, Whitelines, Shralp, Tacky.nl and Hot-Zone.

Two weeks to go and its looking good, see you there.

www.jib-vid.com
www.bebo.com/jib-vid

Sponsor links

Oakley
Vans Penken Park
Mayrhofner-Bergbahnen
XBOX

The 26th Annual US Open Shall Amount to the Most Righteous Snowboarding Battle of the Ages

Secure thine abacus. The sum of the numerals below amount to the most supreme event of the snowboarding season.

One snowboarding competition has been run by snowboarders, for snowboarders for 26 consecutive years: the US Open Snowboarding Championships.

Two new Volvo C30 R-Designs will be awarded to the male and female Most Valuable Riders after the big air competition at the US Open.

Three is the number of US Open halfpipe finals Kelly Clark has won – the most of any female competitor.

Four disciplines take place at the US Open: slopestyle, halfpipe, big air and junior jam.

Five jousting matches per day will take place at the Burton tent in the US Open sponsor village.

Six Burton Global Open Series events take place around the globe: one in Canada, Europe, Japan, United States, New Zealand and Australia.

10 professional gaming gear kits from SteelSeries can be won at the US Open.

13th century England was when jousting reached its height as a medieval spectator sport, where thousands would crowd the stands.

17-20 years of age was the average life expectancy of people in medieval England.

25 is the number of years since Stratton teamed up with Burton to open the world's first snowboard school.

26 is the number of Chill kids who have been selected to attend the US Open out of the 2,000 youth that learned to snowboard for free through Chill, Burton’s non-profit that takes at-risk youth snowboarding, skateboarding and surfing to help teach them valuable life lessons.

111 feet is the wingspan of one Virgin America airplane, which is about one-fifth the length of the US Open halfpipe.

150 is the number of countries that import Corona Extra from Mexico.

250 GORE-TEX® gloves and 100 GORE-TEX jackets are made exclusively for the Open.

30,000 Emergen-C samples will be given away at the US Open.

35,405 is the number of points that current Burton Global Open Series men’s standings leader Kazuhiro Kokubo (JPN) has going into the US Open.

37,316 is the number of points that current Burton Global Open Series women’s standings leader Jenny Jones (GBR) has going into the US Open.

50,000 is the number of trees that have been planted as a result of the partnership between Paul Mitchell's Tea Tree products & the American Forest Global Re-Leaf campaign.

$50,000 is the amount of money the Men’s Swatch TTR World Tour Champion will receive at the US Open.

$100,000 is the amount of money the male and female 2008 Burton Global Open Series Champions will take home after the US Open – currently the largest single payout in competitive snowboarding.

276,480 ounces of SoBe will be given out at the US Open.

3,968,342 is the number of monthly unique visitors on Go211.com that will have the chance to watch the US Open slopestyle, halfpipe and big air webcasts.

286 million people over the age of two can get NBC, which is broadcasting the US Open for the fifth consecutive year on Sunday, March 23 from 1:30-3:00 p.m. EST

Burton would like to thank Stratton Mountain Resort, Volvo, SoBe, Go211.com, Paul Mitchell, Virgin America, GORE-TEX®, Corona, Emergen-C, Shiseido, R.E.D., ANON, Analog and Gravis for their support of the US Open.

For more information on the US Open, head to www.opensnowboarding.com

Team UK, consisting of James Bryant (photographer – assistant editor Document Snowboard) and Vans riders Stuart Horsham and Mark Ruparelia, has scooped 1st place in the Vans Photo Invitation Award that took place at the Wangle Tangle event in Mayrhofen. Winning a cash prize of 2,500 euros, plus 500 euros worth of Vans product.

Photo - James Bryant

As already reported, the UK was represented in the finals of the snow comp with Vans Euro rider Tyler Chorlton taking 6th place in the overall competition and winning Best Trick of the Day with a double front flip off the Vans kicker. Andreas Gidlund bought home the bacon for Sweden taking overall 1st place (and winning 2,000 and a new Suzuki Moto-X bike) with Elias Elhardt of Germany taking 2nd and Vans Euro rider Wolfgang Nyvelt taking 3rd.

World Snowboard Tour promises to shake things up in the TTR World Rankings as many world-class riders head to Killington Vermont, USA for the Chevrolet Grand Prix. The two-day competition, taking place March 15th and 16th 2008, offers up two opportunities for riders to bank 850 TTR ranking points in both Halfpipe and Slopestyle formats, while also competing for a portion of the monster $131 000 USD prize purse.

All attention will be directed towards Australian snowboarder Torah Bright and US rider Kelly Clark as they continue their season long bout in the Killington Halfpipe. Bright will need to finish on the podium at the Chevrolet Grand Prix in order to increase her current Tour lead. Kelly Clark who is currently TTR World No. 3 will also be after the top podium position as she looks to shorten the gap between her and Bright and move into TTR World No. 2 ahead of Jamie Anderson (USA). Clark and Bright are well-known Halfpipe specialists and the Grand Prix will no doubt bring out the best in both riders.

The Chevrolet Grand Prix begins with Halfpipe on the 15th and ends with Slopestyle on the 16th. For Bright, the Slopestyle event means a chance to charge forward with her lead as neither Kelly Clark nor Jamie Anderson, both season-long contenders for the Tour Title, are present for the Slopestyle challenge in Killington. The men’s field will have riders such as current TTR World No. 8 Janne Korpi from Finland attempting to increase their rankings with a good Halfpipe result in hopes of securing a piece of the Swatch TTR $250 000 end-of-season prize purse with a TTR Top Ten finish. US riders Tim Humphreys and Scotty Lago currently rest in the TTR Top 15 and the 5-Star Chevrolet Grand Prix is the perfect opportunity for both to earn more Ranking Points and make the Top Ten. Current TTR World No. 3 Peetu Piiroinen (FIN) will also be present, attempting to increase his place in the TTR Top 3.

As the final 5-Star event on the Tour, the Chevrolet Grand Prix leads riders straight into the Swatch TTR 6-Star Burton US Open in Stratton VT. It is there where the men will be able to earn an extra 25% point bonus in both the Slopestyle and Halfpipe with 1250 points available to the winner in each event. The US Open is the men’s Tour defining stop and will crown the 07/08 TTR Tour Champion.

The women however continue their fight at the US Open and move straight on through to the 6-Star Roxy Chicken Jam in Mammoth Mountain California, USA. The Roxy Chicken Jam offers the same 25% point bonus to the women and is where the Women’s Swatch TTR Champ will be crowned and the Top 5 female riders earning their share of the $250 000 TTR prize purse.

Stay tuned to www.ttrworldtour.com to follow the climactic end of the 07/08 Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour through news, rankings, blogs and videos, as riders throw down everything the have in the few final stages.

Martin Cernik by Snowjam

More video goodness from Freecaster.

The Nissan Freeride de Tignes 2008, France and the fourth leg of the Freeride World Tour which saw the action move from the Swatch Big Mountain Pro around the Alps, to the north face of Pramecou in the resort of Tignes, deep in the heart of the Espace Killy.

The UK's James Stentiford

With two pretty intimidating starting options, the riders first had to rappel into the face before starting their run down the 400m long, 45-degree face. The crowds witnessed super-fast riding in the compact snow and riders stomped some spectacular cliff drops in precarious situations.

Early in the contest Alex Coudray released an avalanche, which eliminating one of the cliffs as an option because it took away the landing area. Nissan Sports Adventure (NSA) skier Marja Persson (SWE) took a tricky line and fell, tumbling down the face. It looked like she wasn’t going to stop until the bottom, proving that the face was steep and unforgiving. Something Kaj Zackrisson also found out in his run, when he too somersaulted more times than I could keep count.

Former Snowboardcross World Champion Xavier de le Rue is well known for ripping down the mountain at great speed, which he proved today, but this time with a technical run which included a double drop in the second part of the slope narrowly missing some rocks on the exit point. “It was really cool today, a good face with very fast riding. I chose to execute a technical run and go for it and it worked out!” said the stoked Frenchman, who is now leading the ranking of the Freeride World Tour with only one contest to go. NSA snowboarder Cyril Neri (SUI) went all out at the start of his run with a massive backflip off a cliff but unfortunately missed the podium by one spot. This result still leaves him with a chance of the overall title on the Freeride World Tour which will be decided this weekend in Verbier, where Cyril has previously won the contest twice.

The compact conditions were more favourable for the skiers who have greater control at the high speeds reached on a 45 degree pitch and Argentinean Estanislao Vasiuk showed this when he pulled off a perfect front flip flying almost 20 metres at the intimidating start of the run, before weaving through the rock lines and finishing just ninth, showing the high level in the men’s skiing on the day. Swede Henrik Windstedt, Seb Michaud (FRA) and NSA team rider Aurelien Ducrox (FRA) have been battling it out for the entire season of the Freeride World Tour. Again they proved to be the most impressive riders in Tignes. Henrik took first place, Seb second and Aurelien third - mirroring their current world ranking positions. They all skied fast and without an ounce of hesitation in difficult lines and landed some big drops. “I cannot believe I did it again!” said the happy Swede, who had still not totally recovered from a week of the flu.

RESULTS (Tignes)

Result - Name, First Name - Nationality – Current FWT Ranking
Skiers Men (19):
1 – Windstedt, Henrik - SWE - 1
2 – Michaud, Seb - FRA - 2
3 – Ducroz, Aurélien (Nissan) - FRA - 3
4 – Post, Griffin - USA - 14
5 – Townsend, Cody - USA - 5

Snowboard Men (15):
1 - De Le Rue, Xavier - FRA - 1
2 – Coudray, Alex - SUI - 3
3 – Falco, Julien - SUI - 5
4 – Neri, Cyril (Nissan) - SUI - 4
5 – Sommer, André - SUI - 8
12 – Stentiford, James (Nissan) - UK - 14

Skiers Women (5):
1 – Saugstad, Elyse - USA - 1
2 – Monego, Giulia - ITA - 5
3 – Meynet, Caroline - FRA - 4
4 – Persson, Marja (Nissan) - SWE - 3
4 - Mc Millan, Jesse - USA - 2

Snowboard Women (4):
1 – Moroc, Bérengère - FRA - 3
2 – Leisibach, Ruth - SUI - 3
3 – Zenklusen, Nathalie - SUI - 2
4 – Pahl, Elisabeth - RUS - 1
DNS (injured) – PEKAREK, Bibi - AUT

Last stop, the Grand Finale: Nissan O’Neill Xtreme de Verbier, 15 March

The Freeride World Champions will be crowned after the final contest, the prestigious Nissan O’Neill Xtreme Verbier on the mythical North Face of Bec des Rosses, Verbier, Switzerland. 37 riders will compete in Verbier: 10 of the best ranked male skiers and snowboarders of the Freeride World Tour, five wild card skiers and two wild cards snowboard, and two of the best ranked female skiers and snowboarders, three wild cards skiers and two wild cards snowboard. Prize money is set at 100 000 USD.

Three of the Nissan Sports Adventure team riders are all in the running for podium finishes on the inaugural World Freeride Tour ranking list for the 07/08 season and have it all to win or lose this weekend in Verbier. Skier Aurelien Ducrox currently lies in 3rd position, Snowboard Cyril Neri in 4th and Skier Marja Persson in 3rd. It’s not just contests that the Nissan Sports Adventure have been covering, we’ve been busy filming resort reviews, profiles, how tos with all the team and so much more, visit www.nissan-sportsadventure.com for the latest additions.

Freecaster

Freeski: Freeride de Tignes Highlights



Freeski: Freeride de Tignes 1st Henrik Windstedt



Freeski: Freeride de Tignes 2nd Seb Michaud



Freeski: Freeride de Tignes 3rd Aurelien Ducroz



Freeski: Freeride de Tignes 1st Elyse Saugstad



Freeski: Freeride de Tignes 2nd Giulia Monego



Freeski: Freeride de Tignes 3rd Caroline Meynet



Snowboard: Freeride de Tignes 08 Highlights



Snowboard: Freeride de Tignes 1st Xavier de le Rue



Snowboard: Freeride de Tignes 2nd Alex Coudray



Snowboard: Freeride de Tignes 3rd Nath Zenklusen



Snowboard: Freeride de Tignes 1st Berangere Moroc



Snowboard: Freeride de Tignes 2nd Ruth Leisibach



Snowboard: Freeride de Tignes 3rd Julien Falco

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