TTR FIVE(5)STAR OAKLEY ARCTIC CHALLENGE

Innsbruck, Austria. Suspense hangs in the crisp Arctic air as Norway prepares to host the world’s supreme transition riders at one of the most important happenings on the Ticket To Ride (TTR) World Snowboard Tour, the infamous TTR FIVE(5)STAR event, The Oakley Arctic Challenge, in Midtstuen, Oslo, 26th February- 03rd March, 2007.

Located 200m from the legendary Holmenkollen Arena just outside Oslo, The Oakley Arctic Challenge 07 lies at the pinnacle of snowboard progression. Taking shape under the auspices of event owner and TTR patron Terje Haakonsen (NOR), The Oakley Arctic Challenge has taken quarterpipe construction to a higher technical dimension. As part of the safety-bred TTR Quarterpipe Project led by Haakonsen (NOR), the 10m high structure is designed using groundbreaking computer planning software to help eliminate G-force exposure and make the ride is as smooth as possible. Added to this, a huge drop-in ramp at the top of the in-run has been built on top of the natural slope profile - to provide riders with enough speed to showcase their creative streaks, and attempt to quell Heikki Sorsa’s (FIN) still unbeaten 2001 World Record, 9.3m air off the coping. With a $50,000USD prize purse, a gold Oakley watch, the event title and up to 850 TTR Ranking Points up for the taking, The Oakley Arctic Challenge promises to be one of the highlight events of the season.

Riders qualified into The Oakley Arctic Challenge based on the current & 05/06 TTR Top Ten, a handful of wildcards, and the Top 3 podium winners of this season’s TTR FIVE(5)STAR Chevrolet Grand Prix held in Breckenridge, USA; TTR SIX(6)STAR O’Neill Evolution from Davos, Switzerland; and local contest, Transition Mission, recently run in Varingskollen, Norway. Amongst the 24-man line-up of global present day heroes and stars of the future is reigning event title-holder and TTR World Nr 5, Henning Marthinsen (NOR) fresh from his 2nd place result at recent TTR FIVE(5)STAR event Crans Montana Champs Open; TTR Top Ten American challengers Steve Fisher (USA) & Danny Davis (USA) compete alongside Japan’s best including Fumyuki Murakami (JAP), Scandanavian snowboard souls, Miikka Hast (FIN), Kim Rune Hansen (NOR) and, of course, Terje Haakonsen (NOR). Wildcards include Arthur Longo (FRA), winner of TTR FIVE(5)STAR event O’Neill Pro Freestyle in Avoriaz, and the rookie line-up is headed up by12-year-old ripper Dimi De Jong (NED). Each rider will take part in daily warm-up sessions starting Monday through to the climax of Saturday’s jam format Finals.

‘We’ve got perfect pre-event conditions for construction,’ states Henning Anderson, The Oakley Arctic Challenge CEO, ‘With cold, stable temperatures, the snow is already in the arena, all the scaffolding is up and Claes Hoegstrom has started shaping. Our in-run will possibly be the largest in competitive snowboarding history - 150m long and 64m in height. We’ve got a hell of a rider line-up with a great combination of really strong up-coming transition talent like Arthur Longo and highly experienced riders like Terje. We are really proud to have such fantastic riders competing in The Oakley Arctic Challenge this year.’

Watch LIVE broadcasting on TacTV available on www.thearcticchallenge.com Monday through Friday, the daily scheduled warm-up sessions from noon until 15.00 C.E.T.

The Oakley Arctic Challenge 07 Confirmed Rider List
Terje HAAKONSEN (NOR) BURTONOAKLEY
Henning MARTHINSEN (NOR) NIKEACG
Steve FISHER (USA) HEADSMITH
Kevin PEARCE (USA) BURTONSCOTT
Danny DAVIS (USA) BURTONDRAGON
Mason AGUIRRE (USA) BURTON
Pat MOORE (USA) FORUMFOURSQUARE
Janne KORPI (FIN) ONEILLKISSMARK

Arthur LONGO (FRA) NITROVANSOAKLEY
Gian SIMMEN (SUI) ONEILLSANTACRUZ
Fumyuki MURAKAMI (JAP) FORUM
Takato TANIGUCHI (JAP)
Manuel PIETROPOLI (ITA) BURTONREDBULL
Dimi DE JONG (NED) ONEILLNITRO
Jake BLAUVELT (USA) FORUM
Daniel EK (NOR)
Miikka HAST (FIN) FTWO
Kim Rune HANSEN (NOR) BURTONANON
Dustin CRAVEN (CAN) 32CAPITAOAKLEY

Founded by Terje Haakonsen and industry innovators in 2002, the Ticket To Ride (TTR) World Snowboard Tour is a non-profit, rider-driven organisation that aims to represent the progression of snowboarding. To create a clear rookie-to-pro structure, the TTR World Snowboard Tour is based on global grass root and key independent freestyle snowboarding events. Events are rated via a 1-through-6 Star system, with points allocated accordingly, a 6 Star event holding the highest. Any rider participating in these events, from up-and-coming to professional, will earn TTR Ranking Points and a position on the TTR Ranking List presented by Swatch. The top male and female rider is crowned Ticket To Ride (TTR) World Snowboard Tour Champion.

For further information on TTR, Ranking List, Rider Profiles and Event please contact/click:
TTR: Wendy Woo - press@ttrworldtour.com / www.ttrworldtour.com
Event: John Harald Knutsson - john@thearcticchallenge.com / www.thearcticchallenge.com

This release was published on openPR.