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Riders
from all over the world took on the inclement weather during day three
of the Burton Australian Open to earn a place in Friday’s slopestyle
finals, alongside some of the world’s best snowboarders including
Mikkel Bang, Chas Guldemond, Torstein Horgmo, Mason Aguirre, Kimmy
Fasani and Jamie Anderson.
The slopestyle course challenged
riders with a variety of features including a down rail, battleship
rail, three kickers and a wall ride. Top men’s qualifier, Eric Willett
(USA) landed a solid run that started off a front lipslide 270 out on
the down rail, followed by a 50/50 gap to front 180, 50/50 out on the
battleship, into a switch backside 540 mute, followed by backside 720
melon, finishing with a frontside 900 tailgrab.
“Practice was
nice yesterday, but the new snow today made the course really slow. It
was definitely a challenge, but it was super fun, the course is really
nice and the jumps were well built, said Eric Willett. “Speed was kind
of an issue but hopefully it won’t be too bad for Friday’s finals.”
Joining
Willett in Friday’s slopestyle finals are Jaako Ruha (FIN), Halldor
Helgason (ICE), Andreas Monsberger (AUT) and Markus Malin (FIN), in
addition to fellow American, Sage Kotsenburg, who placed first in
yesterday’s halfpipe qualifications.
1 Eric Willett USA VANS 69.33
2 Jaakko Ruha FIN KISSMARK 66.00
3 Halldor Helgason ICE DC 64.83
4 Markus Malin FIN BONFIRE 64.00
5 Sage Kotsenburg USA QUIKSILVER 62.83
6 Andreas Monsberger AUT K2 61.83
Although
the snow continued to fall, the ladies braved the elements and took to
the course. Kara Rennie out of Canada earned the top spot for the women
in slopestyle quals this afternoon with a run that started off with a
50/50 to backside lipslide on the down rail, followed by a huge
straight air on the first kicker, followed by a tailgrab, finishing
with another straight air. Laurie Currier and Ashley Wendorf, both out
of the US will be competing in Friday’s finals against back-to-back
slopestyle X-Games gold medalist and New Zealand Open slopestyle
winner, Jamie Anderson.
1 Kara Rennie CAN NIKITA 50.67
2 Laurie Currier USA OAKLEY 46.67
3 Ashley Wendorf USA --- 45.83
The Burton Australian Open continues tomorrow with the men’s and women’s halfpipe semis and finals.
(burton.com)
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