BEO SuperPipe Qualifiers
Jan 29 2007 / Laax, Switzerland
Welcome back! If you've been following the Burton European Open you'll know from the first two contest reports that the proposed Slopestyle contest - with probably the best rider list ever assembled in Europe - was unfortunately cancelled due to bad weather. In the end that same storm hung around leaving the junior events scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday under threat, but the Superpipe contest - held on Laax's lower slopes – found enough breaks in the clouds to run, with 13 year-old US uber-ripper Ben Watts taking first place in the boys division, and the unstoppable Oli Gittler from France absolutely destroying the youth category. Unfortunately, the junior Slopestyle had to be canned, owing to the fact that the weather never let up, with high winds and heavy snowfall battering the higher slopes of this Swiss resort.
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By Wednesday evening, with heavy snowfall covering most of the Alps, hopes were low that the Superpipe qualis and finals would go ahead, but when Thursday morning came around and the clouds started breaking up, the BEO organisers rattled through the men and women's qualifications, whittling the original start list down to a more manageable 59 riders - 21 for the women and 38 for the men. When the sun broke through for today's semi-finals, it was obvious that the contest was going to be a classic, bringing smiles to riders, spectators and organisers alike. While the odd snow shower passed through, most people went home with some colour to their cheeks. Ah! There's nothing like a good pipe session in the sun.... Especially if there's a quick powder session to be had in between heats.
Not that the crowds ever thinned to less than a few hundred. With the pipe just underneath Laax's midstation, and the balcony of the No Name Cafe looking directly onto the comp, it was always going to be popular. Spectators lined both the pipe, the cafe terrace, and various obstacles on the mini-funpark next to the contest in order to get a slice of the action. Giant video screens conveyed the riding to those who couldn't get a direct view, and an enterprising group even camped out on an up-and-over rail, which gave them perhaps the best angle of the day. With a lot of hollering coming out of their group, it was pretty clear they were stoked on both their spot, and the riding that was going down.
And what riding! Talk over the last few days here has naturally been about who had left Switzerland to compete at the X Games, and whether the knock-on effect would mean the riding standard was lower than at previous BEO's. It's easy to see why - with Shaun White, Antti Autti, Danny Davis, Mathieu Crepel and Scotty Lago all having left - the suspicion that the comp might not be what it ought to was rife. But after only a few runs into today’s semi finals, it was clear that this would be no walk in the park for those who had stayed. In the women's event for example, current TTR champion Cheryl Maas could only muster 14th place, leaving her chance of a spot in tomorrow's final in tatters. In the end it was Holly Crawford from Australia who put down the best run of the day, hitting heights that saw her take the group with a score of 95 points: a solid margin over her nearest rival Meri Peltonen from Finland. US rider Ellery Hollingsworth and Sarah Conrad from Canada looked like the only other riders capable of worrying the podium placing, but most commentators here agreed that Holly should take the gold in tomorrow's competition with tricks to spare.
In the men's semis, Finland's Janne Korpi was on fire in the practice session, taking speed into the pipe and putting down a run that included some maxed-out 9's and some serious amplitude on his straight airs. US rider Luke Wynen laid a solid run including a frontside 1080 and a styled McTwist, and there was the local favourite of Christian Haller, plying his huge McTwists, backside 9's and solid straight airs. Russian transplant Iouri Podladtchikov now lives in Laax, so he had no problems dialing the pipe and qualifying in 10th place with a decent back to back 7, while the ever-stylish Markus Keller threw down a 1080, a super styled ally-oop frontside air, and a 900 for the Swiss crowd. Much was expected of Swiss legend Freddie Kalbermatten, but a slide out on a solid 12 foot ally-oop McTwist saw his hopes of a final spot dashed. The other Swiss legend in effect - Olympic Gold medalist Gian Simmen - barely scrapped into tomorrow's comp with a 12th place finish. In the end it was Finland's Markus Malin who qualified in first place, with a good mix of height and style, and landing the best backside 9 in today's comp. He'll be dropping in tomorrow with high hopes, but to say the top 16 places are still up for grabs is to flirt with understatement. The level of riding shown today is going to make for a tough time for the judges, with no one rider really standing out from the crowd. Perhaps the ingredients for the best BEO so far are coming together?
Such a situation makes for interesting statistics on the current TTR standings. As it stands, Iouri Podladtchikov and Christian Haller look likely to move into the TTR top ten, possibly the top five if either of the Laax locals make it to the podium. Christian's fellow countrymen Gian Simmen and Markus Keller could both fly up the list with a decent finish tomorrow, while Janne Korpi could scrape into the top ten only if he were to win the contest. In the women's event, the top three spots look set to remain the same since the only riders to trouble the top spots - the Netherland's Cheryl Maas and Swiss rider Sina Candrian - both failed to get through today's rounds.
