WINTER X GAMES EUROPE. The second annual Winter X Games Europe kicked off in Tignes, France today with record-breaking performances and historic attendance. Only the second time the Winter X Games have been held outside of the United States, athletes and fans celebrated the day by making history.
 
Ski Slopestyle Women's Final

Kaya Turski won her fourth Winter X Games Slopestyle event and second Winter X Games Europe Slopestyle gold, once again beating out her rival Keri Herman. Now regular fixtures on the podium, Turski and Herman challenged each other throughout the competition. However, Turski stomped a switch 720 on her second run that made it next to impossible for anyone to best her score.

Kaya Turski, unstoppable in any language (Photo: Stéphane Candé/ESPN Images)

Herman's final run was her finest of the day, but it was not enough to top Turksi's score of 92.00. Herman ended the day with a second place score of 89.00 which allowed her to podium just above Kim Lamarre, who took home the bronze.
 
Ski SuperPipe Men's Final

Native Frenchman Kevin Rolland continued to show his fellow countrymen and action sports fans across the globe why he is considered one of the best freeskiers in the world. After throwing a Double Cork 1260 and an Ally-Oop Flatspin 360 in his first run, his score of 93.00 was the mark to beat for the rest of the competition.

Kevin Rolland makes it four X event golds in a row (Photo: Stéphane Candé/ESPN Images)
 
"I was under a lot of pressure this year, so that is why it was important for me to stick my first two runs", said Rolland.
 
Justin Dorey's massive airs wowed the crowd and the judges, but were not enough to top Rolland's mastery of the pipe. Taking the silver with a score of 90.00, Dorey was narrowly able to beat out 15 year old Torin Yater-Wallace who took home silver at Winter X Games 15 a few weeks earlier.
 
The total attendance for day one of Winter X Games Europe 2011 was 27,500. Last year's day one attendance was 17,500, a year-to-year increase of 10,000 people.

ESPN Action Sports
March 16, 2011

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Kaya Turski makes it four in a row
Women's slopestyle dominator defends Winter X and WXE gold

Canadian Kaya Turski earned her fourth Winter X gold medal -- two Winter X golds and now two Winter X Europe golds -- in the Women's Slopestyle finals Wednesday in Tignes, France. Keri Herman took second place, and Kim Lamarre was third.

After a botched first run, Turski took the lead on her second run, which included a tight rail section and a switch 720 mute grab off the last jump, earning a score of 89.66. Nobody earned a higher score than that, so Turski's third run was a victory lap, one that earned an even higher score, a 92.00. "I was really glad my second run came together after that first run," Turski said. "I'm stoked."

This is the fourth time Herman, who's from Breckenridge, Colo., has taken second to Turski at a Winter X event. "I'm starting to learn that second is my place," Herman said. "I'm still really happy to be in second." Herman's highest-scoring run, which included a rightside switch 720, earned an 89.00.

For bronze medalist Lamarre, from Quebec, this is her first time on a Winter X podium. Lamarre was leading after the first run, and on her third run she increased her score to an 88.3 for a run that included a backside switch up over the rail gap and a 540. "I was under a bit of pressure after that first run," Lamarre said. "I knew for sure Kaya was going to land a run, so I just tried to keep focused and try to improve my score on my other runs."

All 10 athletes skipped the final jump on the six-feature Slopestyle course. "You can't get enough speed to hit the last jump, so they're just not counting it," said Devin Logan, who placed fifth. "The course has been changing everyday."

Some skiers admitted that the changing course made it difficult to nail their runs. "They had a few issues with the Slopestyle course," fourth place's Anna Segal said. "It's definitely frustrating when they expect us to perform our best and the course isn't ready. But apart from that, it's good to be here in Tignes."

By Megan Michelson
ESPN Action Sports
March 16, 2011, 8:15 PM ET

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Rolland wins second WXE Ski SuperPipe

Of the 22,500 people in attendance at Wednesday night's Men's Ski SuperPipe finals in Tignes, France, a majority of them (including the 120 friends and family he bussed in) seemed to be cheering for local boy Kevin Rolland, who's from nearby La Plagne. Rolland was a natural crowd favorite, of course, seeing as he won SuperPipe last year at Winter X Europe, as well as at the 2010 and 2011 Winter X Games in Aspen, Colo.

And sure enough, Rolland pleased his thousands of fans, who were toting "Kevin" flags and honking horns, by winning his fourth gold at a Winter X event. "All of my friends and family are here," Rolland said. "I landed the run I wanted to on my first run. My last run wasn't my best, but it's still crazy."

Rolland's first run -- which included a double cork 12 and an alley-oop flatspin 360 into two switch tricks -- scored a whopping 93.00, a full three points ahead of second place's Justin Dorey, from Canada. Aspen native Torin Yater-Wallace, who at 15 years old is the youngest skier at WXE, took third with an 88.00. American favorite and seven-time Winter X SuperPipe medalist Simon Dumont ended up in fourth place with a score of 87.00.

Dorey's highest-scoring first run included a double cork 12 and, on his last hit, a switch double cork 10, the first time that trick has been landed cleanly in competition. "I love Winter X Europe. I have two podiums here now," said Dorey, who got bronze at 2010 Winter X Europe. "I tend to have good luck here."

Yater-Wallace became the youngest Winter X medalist ever when he took silver at WX15. In Tignes, he proved his podium finish in Aspen wasn't a one-off. "I couldn't have put down a run I'm happier with," Yater-Wallace said about his third run, which included a double alley-oop flatspin 900 Japan, a rightside 1080 and a switch alley-oop 720 mute.

In fifth place was Frenchman Thomas Krief, who was given a last-minute entry to the finals after Mike Riddle suffered a concussion during training earlier in the evening. "I fell and hit my head, so they wouldn't allow me to compete," Riddle said from the spectator area during the finals. "My head feels a little funny, but I am OK."

By Megan Michelson
ESPN Action Sports
March 17, 2011, 7:29 AM ET

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