. world ski news : Clark and Houle Shine Through Difficult Riding Conditions - 23 March 2011 - 19:13 Wind and Snow in Tignes on Day Two of Winter X Games Europe
WINTER X GAMES EUROPE. Day two of Winter X Games Europe featured some of the world's best winter action sports athletes performing remarkable feats in unremarkable weather. Competitors were put to the test as wind and snow hampered the mountain all day.
Ski Slopestyle Men's Finals
The oldest competitor in the Ski Slopestyle Men's Finals, 25-year-old JF Houle scored a 94.33 on his first run and showed the rest of the competitors that a seasoned veteran could still top the podium. The competitors faced challenging conditions that caused poor visibility and a slow course, but the entire field was still able to complete two runs. Norway's Andreas Hatveit scored a 92.33 on his second run to earn his first Winter X Games Europe medal. The U.K's James Woods placed third with a score of 89.66.
Snowboard SuperPipe Women's Finals
Kelly Clark continued her season-long supremacy of the SuperPipe by stomping a gold medal run that featured a frontside 720, Cab 720, frontside 900, backside 540 and a frontside 540. Topping the podium for the tenth time this season, Clark once again put together a run that the rest of the field simply could not beat. Her winning score of 92.66 earned Clark her first Winter X Games Europe gold medal.
Kelly Clark came into the season with the intention of pushing the progression of her riding, even though it wasn't an Olympic year, and she has far exceeded expectations (Photo: Stef Cande/ESPN Images)
"I am really excited and felt really good after I landed my first run", said Clark.
Hannah Teter took the silver with a score of 91.00 and Queralt Castellet earned the bronze with a score of 89.33.
The total attendance for day two of Winter X Games Europe 2011 was 14,700. Last year at day two of Winter X Games Europe 2010, the attendance was 14,500.
ESPN Action Sports March 17, 2011
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Houle wins WXE Men's Ski Slopestyle
We'll be the first to admit when we're wrong: We were sure an American skier was going to land on top of the podium at Men's Ski Slopestyle at 2011 Winter X Europe. But, during a snowy, low-visibility finals on Thursday in Tignes, France, there were no Americans even on the podium. Instead, Canadian JF Houle took first, followed by Norway's Andreas Hatveit in second, and England's James Woods in third.
Houle, the top scorer from the Slope qualifiers and who at 25 was the oldest competitor in the men's Slopestyle field, scored a whopping 94.33 on his first run, which included a leftside double cork 1080 Japan grab. "I was super happy to land such a high score on my first run," Houle said. "It feels so good."
The stormy weather conditions definitely played a part in Thursday's contest -- visibility was poor and in-runs were slow. The Men's Snowboard Slopestyle eliminations, scheduled for earlier in the day, were canceled after the snowboarders collectively decided they didn't want to compete in the stormy conditions. But the skiers dealt with the weather the best they could.
"The conditions were definitely difficult," said 2008 Winter X Slope gold medalist Hatveit, whose second run -- which included a right 1080 mute and a left double cork 1080 mute -- got a 92.33 and earned him the silver medal. "But I'm a heavier guy so it worked for me."
In his first appearance at a Winter X event, Woods said he was having a really tough time during practice, but all that changed on his second run, which included a rightside double 1260 mute and earned a 89.66 and a bronze medal. "During practice, I was pretty much to my breaking point. I was having a really bad day," Woods said. "But then I thought there's no time like the present to shut up and get it done."
Despite the conditions, perhaps the best trick of the day came from Alex Schlopy, who landed the first double 1620 in a Slopestyle contest. Schlopy won Big Air at Winter X 15 with that same trick. "It was snowing all day and was totally whiteout," said Schlopy, who ended up sixth."I didn't land my whole run here, but I think landing a new trick like that will go a lot further."
Winter X 2010 Slopestyle and Big Air gold medalist Bobby Brown, a favorite going into this contest, didn't cleanly land one of his three runs and finished in eighth place. "Coming to Europe, I have a whole different mindset," Brown said earlier this week. "I'm getting out in the backcountry and trying to get out of the contest scene ... I'm just trying to come here with a good attitude and have a great time."
By Megan Michelson ESPN Action Sports March 17, 2011, 12:29 PM ET
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Clark wins WXE Women's SuperPipe
The Women's SuperPipe finals went down tonight amidst a storm that has been wreaking havoc on the day's events. In what competitors have described as one of the best halfpipes they've ever ridden, warm, sticky snow made riding conditions challenging at best.
"It was bumpy and kind of ruddy, so it was really easy to get bucked," said gold medal winner Kelly Clark. "You had to be ready for it."
Gretchen Bleiler went down in practice attempting a 900 and fell hard enough to break her helmet. She still sent it in the finals, but wasn't able to complete a run. In the end the competition came down to Clark, Hannah Teter and Queralt Castellet, who finished second and third, respectively.
Clark, who has been dominating pipe all season long, came into Winter X Europe hoping to throw a new trick into her already-winning 1080 combo run. "It's a frontside inverted seven," said Clark. "I wanted to link it up with the 900 and the 1080. I couldn't quite pull it tonight, but you know if you don't try then you never land it."
Instead Clark won with a frontside 720, Cab 720, frontside 900, backside 540, frontside 540. The nine-time Winter X SuperPipe medalist has won 10 out of the 12 pipe contests that she entered this year.
"The Roxy Chicken Jam is at my home in Mammoth next week," said Clark. "So normally the U.S. Open would be my last contest of the season, but I'm going to that, and I'm going to keep trying to land the run with the inverted seven. But here, I'm so happy with this win. To come out and put down a run like that first run, it puts me in a place where I can progress my riding as the night goes on, and that's what I came here to do."
By Melissa Larsen ESPN Action Sports March 17, 2011, 3:52 PM ET
