Homeboy Kevin Rolland wins gold at X Games skiing superpipe

Local Tarantaise boys took one two in the Winter X Games men's skiing superpipe final last night in front of a crowd of 17,500 in Val Claret. The superpipe was positively glowing under the huge floodlights and the crowd of French, Brits and North Americans created a massive buzz, waving flags and cheering wildly.

 Going into the third and final run, Kevin Rolland from La Plagne, France was in first place, Xavier Bertoni from Tignes in second and Justin Dorey from British Columbia, Canada in third.

Stepping up to try and upset the status quo, Mike Riddle (Canada) laid down a strong run until he fell on landing his final jump. The crowd threw up big cheers anyway, he smiled ruefully, and ran back up the pipe to collect his errant ski.

Next down, Tucker Perkins, also failed to land a jump and was out, and was followed by Byron Wells, who also fell after his second jump. What is it with these guys? Anyone would think it was tough out there or something...

 Encouragingly, Wells regained momentum and threw in a couple of old school hot dogging moves, and the crowd went wild for him, blowing their air horns and ringing their cow bells in delight. He then did his good dead for the day by running back up the pipe to pick up an empty Coke bottle - surely people weren't throwing rubbish into the pipe?

Byron's brother Jossi fell after only his third jump, and took a bow while skiing down the pipe to cheers from the crowd.

Then there were just three to go - and it was La Plagne boy Kevin Rolland in the starting gate, looking hungry for glory and seriously pumped with adrenaline. He laid down a beautiful run, including a double McTwist  and the ballsy double cork 12, which he styled out by grabbing all the way through. But would it be enough to stave off Tignes homeboy Xavier Bertoni?

Bertoni was up next and while his run might have looked more stylish it wasn't enough to take the lead. He and Rolland embraced and rolled around with each other at the bottom of the pipe, and unless Dorey could do something spectacular, the gold was Rolland's.

Dorey didn't, and the crowd swarmed the pipe, mobbing Rolland and hoisting Bertoni up on their shoulders. It was gold for Rolland, and gold for Tignes.

11 March 2010 08:35
natives.co.uk

Eric Willet Takes Euro X Games Gold In Snowboard Slopestyle

The tweaks to the slopestyle course paid off - the eight riders in today's slopestyle final threw down some massive lines over the six killer jumps, consistently and continually pulling off double rodeo backflips, 10s and cab 9s.

Eric Willett (USA) was the star of the course. He threw down a huge run on his second attempt - including a backside rodeo double and double frontside - and was awarded 91 points for his efforts, despite saying after that he'd had "the worst practice session in a long time".

Despite some super-styled out runs from the rest of the field, no one could beat Eric and as soon as Chas Guldemond (USA) sketched out after dropping in switch, landing a 1080 then a huge 360, the celebrations started in the finishing area and Eric had secured the gold.

Sage Kotsenburg, also from the USA came second with 85.33 and Marko Grilc (SLO) took third with 83.66.

Some reactions after the final were that the judges had been unnecessarily harsh, but speaking to Travis Rice after the final, who finished seventh, he said, "The course was good today, really good - it beat me."

Willett was pleased with his win, and said, "With six jumps in the run, even just to stomp the run is an accomplishment in itself. He planned to celebrate tonight by logging on to Facebook and chatting with his friends.

11 March 2010 15:12
natives.co.uk

2010 European X Games Men’s Slopestyle Final Results
1. Eric Willet
2. Sage Kotsenburg
3. Marko Grilc

Kaitlyn Farrington beats Torah Bright in X Games Snowboard superpipe

It was not to be Torah Bright's day - the Olympic gold medal winner from Australian was beaten in the Winter X Games superpipe by Kaitlyn Farrington from the USA, but there were no hard feelings, the superpipe girls are possibly the sweetest competitors in snowsports.

 The gold and silver medal winners were all hugs and smiles (pictured, left) after the final, and when asked how it felt for Farrington to be at the bottom, watching Bright, knowing she was the only one who could beat her, she said, "I couldn't be happier because I knew I'd be standing next to her on the podium anyway, and it's a wonderful feeling to be sitting in the spot I am right now."

Going into the final run of three, Farrington was leading with a whopping 97 points. But in her third run, she pulled a backside 9, a backside rodeo then crashed out, scoring just 49 points. Bright needed to go big or go home if she was to take gold - would she pull out the double cork which has yet to be seen in women's competition?

 Bright went big, but not big enough and Farrington kept her gold place by just two points. Sophie Rodriguez from Grenoble, France, took bronze.

After the final, Bright said, "The double's been ridden away from but it's the scariest thing I've ever done so it takes a lot of energy to work up to it." The three podium winners complemented each other neatly when asked what they liked best about jumping in the pipe. For Rodriguez it was the approach to the lip, for Bright the feeling of floating in the air and for Farrington the landing. Nice work ladies.

11 March 2010 17:48
natives.co.uk

2010 European X Games Ladies’s Snowboard superpipe Final Results
Name Bib No. Hometown Score
1. Kaitlyn Farrington, Sun Valley, Idaho 97.00
2. Torah Bright, Cooma, Australia 95.00
3. Sophie Rodriguez, Grenoble, France 87.00
4. Mercedes Nicoll, Whistler, Canada 82.33
5. Ellery Hollingsworth, Darien, Connecticut 79.00
6. Kjersti Oestgaard Buaas, Trondheim, Norway 78.66

WINTER X GAMES EUROPE 2010

The inaugural Winter X Games Europe will feature nearly 150 men and women from across the globe competing for medals and prize money in the sports of Skiing and Snowboard. Additionally, there will be daily Snowmobile Freestyle demonstrations. The event is the first Winter X Games held outside the United States and brings together ESPN’s world class X Games franchise with Canal+ Events and Tignes Ski & Snowboard Resort.