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Locals take the 5* Canadian 09 Open Halfpipe

Sun 08 February 09

The Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta welcomed a sick field of talented snowboarders today with local Canadian shredders Jed Anderson and Palmer Taylor claiming the men's and women’s Halfpipe title at the inaugural Swatch TTR 5Star Burton Canadian Open. WATCH HIGHLIGHTS.

Locals take the 5* Canadian 09 Open Halfpipe © Photo: Nick Foy

The Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta welcomed a sick field of talented snowboarders today with local Canadian shredders Jed Anderson and Palmer Taylor claiming the men’s and women’s Halfpipe title at the inaugural Swatch TTR 5Star Burton Canadian Open. Each rider took home $7,500 USD and 850 TTR ranking points.

Following a progressive Halfpipe session that favored clean style over big spin combos, the Canadians swept the Men’s podium with Anderson taking 1st, Justin Lamoureux in 2nd and Jeff Batchelor rounding out the Top 3. Chas Guldemond (USA), who entered today’s competition in TTR World No. 2, remains in 2nd after falling just short of the podium in 4th. However, one of the strongest Canadian shredders on the Swatch TTR Tour, Charles Reid, managed to improve his place in the Top 10, moving up to World No. 9 with a 5th place result in Calgary after sticking an epic final run. Both Reid and Guldemond will no doubt be looking to improve their TTR scores and ascend the TTR Top 10 with tomorrow’s Slopestyle event. “It was a cool day and everybody rode well,” said Charles Reid. “And I like to see myself in the TTR Top 10.”

The women’s session was equally as impressive with local champ Palmer Taylor taking the top spot followed closely by favorites Sarah Conrad of Canada in 2nd, and Lisa Wiik of Norway in 3rd. Wiik’s podium finish bumps her up to TTR World No. 6, just a few points behind now TTR World No. 5 Czech rider Sarka Pancochova who did not qualify for the finals and only placed 13th in the Canadian Open Halfpipe.

“I am happy to finish in third and I am stoked to move up in the TTR Top 10,” said Lisa Wiik after her celebration. “I really like riding TTR events because they always have a good setup.” Wiik and Pancochova are also favored to do well tomorrow, with Wiik coming off a recent Slopestyle win at the 6Star Burton European Open. Potential for a new women’s TTR Top 5 is huge.

The Halfpipe contest today was indeed a breathe of fresh air with exemplary riding from the northern nation’s best. Jed Anderson has long been talked about as one of the world’s best riders and he proved today that big, blurry, back-to-back spin combos are not always in the winning equation. Anderson made it look far too easy taking the number one spot on his final run with a huge frontside 7, a backside 7, a super slick and stalled out frontside 3 crail, a Cab 7 and a Switch 7. Lamoureux and Batchelor stuck their 5s and 9s but couldn’t match the effortless style of Anderson.

While Sarah Conrad seemed to dominate throughout, Palmer Taylor pushed just a little bit harder on her final run and was the only female in the pipe to stomp a 900, a trick that arguably won her 1st place, complimented by textbook airs. Conrad, however, still came out with sick 540 combos as Wiik dominated the inverts, laying down McTwists and Haakon flips with ease.

The 5Star Canadian competition continues tomorrow in what is sure to be a sick Slopestyle session with a robust group of local Canadian shreds ready to prove their skilles against some talented internationals

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