It was a week full of sun, fun and action at the Roxy Chicken Jam in Mammoth. Kelly Clark took home the Swatch TTR World Champion title and a happy and overwhelmed Lisa Wiik Almost missed the prize giving because she did not expect neither her third place at the event nor being World No. 2 of the TTR Tour. Just like Jenny Jones who was with Lisa at the bar at that time not knowing how good she had done at the event’s slopestyle format. Girls, next time believe in your skills.

Unfortunately, I missed Chanelles’s dance party the last night but maybe some photo footage from that night will be posted by someone else…you never know. Enjoy.

The Swatch TTR 4Star Total Fight Masters of Freestyle is about to take off in Grandvalira, Andorra.  Ulur, The God of Snow, has been kind to the event organisers and it looks like we are going to be blessed with blue skies.  Riders have trekked in from as far as Argentina and everyone is amped to step it up in Andorra.  Last years winner Ville Uotila has also arrived to see if he can repeat the show of last year. Stay tuned as the Total Fight gets under way and Riders chase end of season ranking points.Above Left – Local Merlin Balfour (AND) calling upon his Wizard powers to bust some airtime (C) Alex GosteliBelow – The Park Setup – Just waiting to be shredded…(c) Alex GosteliAbove – Rudi Kroell (AUT), Seppe Smits (BEL) and event organiser, Claudia Almonderos (Snowplanet)  on route to Total Fight 09.Above – Jaakko Ruha (FIN) and Alessandro Boyens (GER) discuss the ’spin to win’ debateAbove - The masked avenger of Total Fight looking scary with a butter knife. If you are Spanish check aut Claudias blog http://asiplanchaba.wordpress.com/

The Men’s Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour title just went to Finland’s Peetu Piiroinen at the US Open in Stratton last weekend. But the TTR Tour is far from over for the girls as the 6Star Roxy Chicken Jam will rock Mammoth next weekend. Jamie Anderson, the women’s Tour Leader for the longest time in competitive snowboarding’s history, injured herself badly and will unfortunately not be able to compete anymore and defend her 07/08 TTR World title this year. (Props to an amazing season to Jamie – Get better very soon!!).Jamie’s no show has serious consequences on the title race. As you can see below there are only 5 (!) more girls that are able to get more points than Jamie at the RCJ, with 2 x 1000 points available for HP and SS. Therefore the riders in contention for the title are:

• Lisa Wiik
• Silvia Mittermueller
• Kjersti Buaas
• Cheryl Maas (05/06 TTR Champion)
• Kelly Clark

For further more detailed information please contact: andy@ttrworldtour.com Read the rest of this entry »

History went down today on Stratton Mtn., Vermont as Danny Kass won the 5th USO Halfpipe title of his career. But the man of the day was without a doubt… no, not Shaun White – he was forced to watch from the sidelines with an ankle problem – …Peetu Piirionen. The calm pal from Finland managed to land on the podium once again this season and thus took home the Swatch TTR World Title and $50.000 a day earlier than expected. The official crowning ceremony will still be held tomorrow though. http://www.vimeo.com/3796291 Read the rest of this entry »

The 6Star US Open has been the final stop on the TTR Tour for 4 years now for the men and it’s never been this exciting.2006 – Tour Champion Mathieu Crepel (FRA): It all came down to Risto and Mathieu battling it out in the HP final in Stratton – Mathieu finished 5th and Risto 6th in the pipe after both messed up in the slopestyle. The Frenchman had only 5 points more and won the first ever Tour title!2007 – Tour Champion  Shaun White (USA): After Travis won the snowy slopestyle and Shaun only managed to come 3rd it came down to the pipe! Shaun won, while Travis got injured breaking his collarbone bailing on the last hit after a sick run and Mr. White became the first ever American TTR Champ. Antti Autti finished just outside the podium in both formats and held on to World Nr. 2 while Kevin Pearce finished in World Nr. 4 and earned his entry ticket to ride in 07/08 TTR events!2008 -  Tour Champion Kevin Pearce (USA): After an incredible season winning 2 Air&Style rings of glory, the BEO HP, TAC – it was one simple gust of wind that almost cost Pearce the title against Shaun. Even though Shaun won both USO formats, Pearce could hold it together and came 3rd in the pipe. Due to 1 result missing on Shaun’s list of results he couldn’t capitalize and the title went to Kevin. Peetu Piiroinen also had his first appearance on the international TTR contest scene and consistent TOP5 finishes and several podiums at the big quarterpipe events paid out and let him jump to World Nr. 2 in the end.Now in 2009 it’s between Shaun and Peetu Piiroinen from Finland for the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour Title and it all comes down to the final standings in both halfpipe and slopestyle on Saturday and Sunday. What can happen and who can go where in the rankings – find out all about this nailbiting season finish-up here. Read the rest of this entry »

With 4000 more Swatch TTR ranking points on the table till the end of the season the women’s tour is far from decided. Some girls still have a shot at stopping current Tour Champion Jamie Anderson who has been leading the tour since the Southern Hemisphere and would win the first ever consecutive TTR titles in history. Kjersti Buaas, Sina Candrian and Cheryl Maas – all with excellent skill in all terrains and thus most likely to finish well in the upcoming SS and HP comps – are most likely in contention for the 08/09 Women’s TTR trophy! But current World Nr. 2 Silvia Mittermueller will try her best to stay up in the mix as well.Also invited and competing is Trycia Byrnes – GO211’s Nr. 1 on-the-spot commentator and we were wondering why her age on the startlist says 34 and on her Go211 profile 29 (EIM didn’t pay attention at the Accreditation and made her older accidentally? When does the “legends” age class start again?). Will she be able step into Nicola Thost’s footsteps who also dominated the Burton European Open in Laax’s superpipe as the oldest competitor? (Germany’s Nicola Thost won a gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics. She also pushed women’s pipe-riding like Kelly and Torah in the 90ies with the first back to back 7’s in women’s snowboarding)But let’s cut the crap and look into some more serious stuff below (or check out the men’s predictions here): Read the rest of this entry »

Follow this blog for the latest predictions on the Swatch TTR Ranking List and stay on top of developments during the 6Star Burton US Open! You will get exclusive insight on the Tour Championship contenders and the TTR TOP 5 (from the geeky statistical standpoint) or how Risto would say: “You guys are looking for battles everywhere!” - Why are only Shaun and Peetu in contention for the title this season?- How come 07/08 Champion KP is in front of Shaun but does not even have a shot to win the trophy besides the other killer riders in the TOP10?- How is the game changing after the halfpipe finals on Saturday? Read the rest of this entry »

 http://www.vimeo.com/3483193Check out all the snowboarding action from the early season in the Southern Hemisphere and catch up with all the current Swatch TTR title contenders as they discuss their plans for the season. The show also examines a different side of snowboarding with footage from Nicolas Mueller filming in Alaska with Absinthe Films, and by looking into Quarterpipe riding with with world’s best transition riders discussing the science, consequences and rush of the evolving contest format. Read the rest of this entry »

The Intelligent design is kicking off tomorrow at Park City Mountain Resort with a sick field of riders ready to throw down on the unique course.  The most up-to-date riders list includes the likes of Shaun White, Charles Reid, Scotty Arnold, Seb Toots and many more.  Jim Mangan and the Park City Mountain Resort park crew put together a one-of-a-kind set up consisting of a 60-foot kicker, hip jump, jib section, a 350-foot long 22-foot pipe with jibs on the decks and a beefy quarterpipe to finish it all off.

A 5Star event on Tour, the Intelligent Design takes elements of slopestyle, halfpipe and quarterpipe and combines them all into one run. It’s going to be interesting to see what the riders will do on the course with so many options and potential combos, paving the way for some serious creativity. Add to the equation the fact that you’ll have halfpipe masters, slopestyle specialists and jib slayers going head-to-head and you have one intense contest on your hands.

Judges are going to have a tough job tomorrow and will be looking for overall impression, variation and original lines on the course.  Tune into www.ttrworldtour.com for all the practice and competition highlights from the Intelligent Design.

Going to Japan is always an experience – even when the resort is small and bars, restaurants and entertainment options are limited….but then, who can afford to be entertained when there is not even a single ATM machine in town?? Nevertheless, riders and visitors at the Asian Open last week still had a blast and came in masses to this 5Star event on the Swatch TTR Tour. Check out some photos and videos to get a picture of what has been going on.

Jack Mitrani and Jeremy Thompson playing the Taiko drums.

Karaoke at the hotel simply wasn’t enough for riders at Asian Open. And who needs the lyrics on a screen anyway if you know if you know the text by heart ?!