Kelly Clark and Iouri Podladtchikov score halfpipe victories at the Burton European Open

With an overall total of five Swiss riders in the finals, a massive crowd up on Crap Sogn Gion enjoying the Burton European Open presented by MINI and its fun Hawaiian theme, this year’s event was another one for the books. Now the World Snowboard Tour heads over to the U.S. for the second Pro Series event of the season.
 
Unsettled weather conditions, an exceedingly high riding level and five Swiss riders in the Halfpipe finals of the men and women at the 16th Burton European Open presented by MINI in Laax, Switzerland, made the last day of the event a true highlight for all participants. The all-new Superpipe with a total length of 200 meters gave the riders the opportunity to step up their game, showing a larger amount and bigger variety of tricks in one run. Each rider had three runs, best one counts, deciding who will take home the victory of this year’s Halfpipe event and therefore become the leader of the brand new WST Pro Series ranking, defining this year’s Pro Series Champions later in the season.  
 
The top six ladies, defined by eliminations earlier this week, were pleasing the crowd throughout all of their runs, despite challenging weather conditions. BEO veteran Kelly Clark underlined her outstanding competition experience showing a solid first run including a Frontside Air, Backside 540 Mute, Frontside 720 Indy, Cab 720 Indy, Crippler Stalefish and a stylish Method Air, grabbing another victory in Laax on her behalf. Joining her on the podium are 14-year old Chloe Kim (USA) and Swiss local Nadja Purtschert (SUI) ranked second and third.

 Just in time for the men’s finals of the top ten, including four Swiss riders, the sun came out, turning the event site on Crap Sogn Gion into a true snowboarding arena, with the crowd going wild, while the riders stepped up their tricks each round. In his first run, the defending BEO Halfpipe champion Iouri Podladtchikov was able to pull out a nearly perfect run with a Method Air, Frontside 900 Tail Grab, Backside 900 Mute, Frontside 1080 Tail Grab, Cab Double Cork 1080 Indy and Frontside Double Cork 1080 Truckdriver, securing him a massive score of 90.25, which was not to be beaten by any of the other finalists. Switzerland’s favourite clearly enjoyed his victory run, mixing stylish Air’s with some classic crowd pleasers. 16-year-old Ayumu Hirano (JAP) came in second, Swiss young-gun David Habluetzel scored his first medal at the BEO main event on rank three.  

As the first event of the WST Pro Series, the final results of the Burton European Open presented by MINI determine the current WST Pro Series ranking, which only includes results from the WST Elite Level events and will designate the Pro Series Champions of this season. The WST Pro Series combines the best riders in the world with the three most relevant snowboarding events on the planet. After todays Halfpipe finals Kelly Clark and Iouri Podladtchikov are leading the Halfpipe ranking, just before the WST is on its way to the next two stops of the Pro Series: The Sprint U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix in Mammoth, California and the Burton US Open presented by MINI in Vail, Colorado.
 
Off to the States for the second stop of the World Snowboard Tour Pro Series
 
Immediately after the Burton European Open presented by MINI in Laax, Switzerland, the WST Pro Series will continue with its second stop at the Sprint U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix in Mammoth, California, U.S. With an exceedingly large rider field of just under 160 competitors, the Sprint U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix is one of the most important events for the top international Slopestyle and Halfpipe riders and it marks the first Pro Series event on the North American continent. For those unable to become part of this highly esteemed competition in the world-famous Unbound Park, Sprint U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix will be streamed live, presenting finals of both Slopestlye and Halfpipe on Friday and Saturday next week.
 
All upcoming events of the World Snowboard Tour 2014/15 including the WST Pro Series can be found on www.worldsnowboardtour.com.