O'Neill Pro Freestyle 2007 kicks off

Thu 01 February 07

It was opening day and the men's and women's Quarterpipe qualification heats

Wednesday saw the first competition day at the ONeill Pro Freestyle 2007, an established TTR 5(FIVE)STAR contest on the Ticket To Ride (TTR) World Snowboard Tour. With the mens and womens Quarterpipe qualification heats all unfolding during the course of the day, it was time for the non-seeded riders to step up their game in an effort to make the cut for Fridays semi-finals. And thats exactly what they did.

Split into two evening heats of 60 minutes each, the 47 men threw everything but the kitchen sink at the huge transition, hoping it would be enough to make it into the top 16. With an intimidating flood-lit in-run to point their boards down, the riders kept the crowds on their toes with insane amplitude as well as the occasional slam.

The first mens heat of the night saw Frances Brynild Vulin setting the pace from an early point with lofted backside airs a good 5.5 meters out. Local hero Stephane Lochon, meanwhile, broke the BS air frenzy with a super-styled out backside 360. The stand-out rider of the heat was undoubtedly 20-year-old Norwegian Mats Hofgaard, who threw two oversized chuck flips more than 5 meters out to earn himself an impressive 248 points and 2nd place in the overall standings. Reflecting on his performance, the young Norwegian said: The Quarterpipe is riding really nice, and I know I can go a lot bigger in the semis on Friday, so thats exactly what Im gonna do!

The 2nd mens heat moved things up another gear from the get-go. Highlights included Swedens Mikael Sandys smooth-as-butter backside 720s and ONeill team rider Julien Bogolis huge tweaked frontside air, moving him into 4th overall. With only his final run to go, Norways Fredrik Evensen charged at the Quarterpipe and threw a tweaked out backside 720 Japan, stamping his authority on the heat and earning himself an unassailable 263 points in the process. Stoked to make it through in 1st place overall, the 21-year-old ONeill team rider added: This is my first real Quarterpipe contest, so Im really pumped to come out on top. I knew I would have to stomp something good to make the cut, and luckily thats what happened.

Taking place early on Wednesday morning, the womens qualification heat saw an impressive display of riding that underlines the depth of the talent pool among the girls. Austrias Conny Bleicher was in the zone throughout the heat, throwing down clean backside airs to claim 3rd spot. Italys Rita Comi was also on point with impressive amplitude, scoring 271 points to qualify in 2nd. Determined to qualify in 1st place, 21-year-old Finn Meri Peltonen raised the bar even higher by stomping a clean McTwist and pocketing 280 points. The only blemish on what was an otherwise progressive qualification heat was the injury sustained by Mariapia Ghedina  we all wish her a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing her on the mountain soon.

With Quarterpipe qualification now done and dusted, its time to look forward to the semis and finals. Come Friday, the top 16 male riders and top 8 women from tonights heats will have the perfect opportunity to make a name for themselves on the international scene, competing against the likes of Gian Simmen, Fredrik Austbo, Cheryl Maas and Lisa Filzmoser. In the meantime, stay tuned to find out who killed it on the rails during Thursdays two City Sessions.

For a full run-down of Quarterpipe qualification results: www.oneilleurope.com/profreestyle

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