CHEVROLET GRAND PRIX VICTORIES PROPEL KORPI AND FLIRI INTO TTR TOP 5

Killington, Vermont, USA – March 17th 2008: The Chevrolet Grand Prix, a 5-Star competition on the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour, finally got under way after a foggy weather delay on Saturday. Slopestyle finals kicked off in the morning and Halfpipe finals took place in the afternoon making for an action packed day. Janne Korpi (FIN) and Claudia Fliri (AUT) stood atop the Slopestyle podium whilst American snowboarders Louie Vito and Kelly Clark took the top spots in the Halfpipe. All four athletes took home 850 TTR ranking points along with a sizeable portion of the $131 000 behemoth prize purse.

The men hit the Slopestyle course first. Each athlete had two runs to prove their skills to the judges. Finnish snowboarder Janne Korpi had a good day taking the number one spot on the podium moving him into TTR World No. 5, making him the third Finnish athlete of the current TTR Top 5. Peetu Piiroinen was also a standout to once again take third place. Piiroinen’s unfathomable consistency keeps him in TTR World No. 3 going into the Burton US Open.

For the women, Claudia Fliri (AUT), Mary Sallah (USA) and Jamie Anderson (USA) filled the podium spots. Jamie Anderson finished third keeping her TTR World No. 2 position. Sallah claimed second but the top Slopestyle rider of the day was Claudia Fliri who grabbed her first TTR 5-Star Title. Her solid efforts bump her up into the women’s Top 5 – an important place to rest as only the Top 5 Women in the TTR rankings receive part of the $250 000 end-of-season prize purse.

After the Slopestyle awards, attention shifted over to the Halfpipe for the finals that were originally postponed due to incredibly foggy conditions the previous night. The women dropped first, and once again Kelly Clark dominated the pipe with insane airs and fluid spins that even challenged some of the men taking the first place spot and hold her place as TTR World No. 3. Ellery Hollingsworth (USA) went off as well to grab second place and move into TTR World No. 7. Claire Bidez (USA) had a smooth run to round out the women’s podium.

Kelly was stoked with her result but knew there was some work ahead: “Here in Killington, Vermont finishing up a 5-star TTR event. I’m heading next to the US Open then to the Chicken Jam - the final stop on the women’s Tour. Jamie Anderson, Torah Bright and myself will be battling it out and it will be a good last two events for sure.”

The men dropped next and the riding level was though the roof. Louie Vito had a couple of near flawless runs earning him the number one spot. Vito now rests just outside the TTR Top 15 at World No. 16. Greg Bretz (USA) came out swinging for second place. Peetu Piiroinen was once again seeing nothing but ‘threes’ to round out the men’s Halfpipe podium in third place.

The Chevrolet Grand Prix was a great competition to end the 5-Star calendar on the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour. Next up is the Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships, a 6-Star event and the definitive stop for the men on the Tour. It is in Stratton, Vermont USA where the men’s champion will be crowned and a large portion of the $250 000 TTR Prize Purse will be handed out. After the US Open, the women will charge on to the 6-Star Roxy Chicken Jam in Mammoth, California, USA where the women’s Swatch TTR Tour Champion will be crowned. Stay tuned to www.ttrworldtour.com for all the mind-blowing action as tour comes to a dramatic close.

Top Ten Results for Chevrolet Grand Prix

Slopestyle:

Men

1. Janne Korpi FIN
2. Brandon Reis USA
3. Peetu Piiroinen FIN
4. Ian Thorley USA
5. Shayne Pospisil USA
6. Brett Esser USA
7. Ville Uotila FIN
8. Bobby Witty USA
9. Jake Black USA
10. Sage Kotsenburg USA

Women

1. Claudia Fliri AUT
2. Mary Sallah USA
3. Jamie Anderson USA
4. Faye Gulini USA
5. Alexandra Duckworth CAN
6. Jordan Karlinski USA
7. Kyla Sobieralski USA
8. Taylor Owen USA
9. Nirvana Ortanez USA
10. Molly Wilson USA

Halfpipe:

Men

1. Louie Vito USA
2. Gregory Bretz USA
3. Peetu Piiroinen FIN
4. Janne Korpi FIN
5. Steve Fisher USA
6. Nathan Johnstone AUS
7. Chris Waker USA
8. Markus Malin FIN
9. Brett Esser USA
10. Drew Brighton USA

Women

1. Kelly Clark USA
2. Ellery Hollingsworth USA
3. Clair Bidez USA
4. Kaitlyn Farrington USA
5. Kendall Brown NZE
6. Kelly Marren USA
7. Sarah Conrad CAN
8. Elizabeth Beerman USA
9. Mercedes Nicoll CAN
10. Tricia Byrns USA

Verena Bossmann
PR & Media
Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour

Operating Office:
TTR Pro Snowboarding
58a Valiergasse
6020, Innsbruck
Austria

verena@ttrworldtour.com
ph: +43 (0)676 7575111

ABOUT TTR:
Founded by Terje Haakonsen and industry innovators in 2002, the SWATCH Ticket To Ride (TTR) World Snowboard Tour is a non-profit, rider-driven organization representing the progression of snowboarding. The SWATCH TTR World Snowboard Tour is based on global grass root and key independent freestyle snowboarding events over a ten-month period from Southern to Northern Hemisphere locations. Events are rated via a 1-through-6STAR system, with points allocated accordingly, a SIX(6) STAR event holds the highest. Any athlete participating in these events, from up-and-coming to professional talent, earns ranking points and a position on the SWATCH TTR World Ranking List. The top male and female athlete based on an average of their best six results of the season is crowned SWATCH TTR World Snowboard Tour Champion.

This release was published on openPR.