Burton US Open 2011 days away
The legendary Burton US Open is the final 6Star event on the Swatch TTR Tour and is getting ready to host the crowning of both the male and female 2010/11 Swatch TTR World Tour Champions. Riders will compete for a stake in the $250,000 USD prize purse and a maximum of 1000 TTR World Ranking points
The legendary Burton US Open is the final 6Star event on the Swatch TTR Tour and is getting ready to host the crowning of both the male and female 2010/11 Swatch TTR World Tour Champions.
Taking place March 7th to 13th, 2011 at Stratton Mountain in Vermont, USA, the Burton US Open is one of the most anticipated events on any snowboarder’s competition calendar and will feature seven days of slopestyle and halfpipe action. Riders will compete for a stake in the $250,000 USD prize purse and a maximum of 1000 TTR World Ranking points.
Peetu Piiroinen (FIN) has already locked up the men’s TTR title for the season, but the remaining Top 5 ‘in the money’ spots are still up for grabs. For the women, the title race will all come down to how Jamie Anderson (USA) and Kelly Clark (USA) place at the Burton US Open.
Now in its 27th year, the Burton US Open is the longest running snowboard competition in the world and will once again showcase the best riders from around the globe in halfpipe and slopestyle formats. This year, the rider list is packed full of talent with a new generation of riders who are pushing the limits of the sport and have become commonplace on TTR 6Star event podiums.
Belgian rider, Seppe Smits, has been having an amazing season and will be fighting to hold on to his World No. 2 spot in the TTR World Rankings. Seppe will need to look out for Canadian slopestyle specialists, Sebastien Toutant and Mark McMorris, who are currently in World No. 3 and World No. 4, respectively. Also in the mix, are Swiss rippers Christian Haller and Iouri Podladtchikov who will be sure to bring their A-game in the halfpipe and are both looking to improve on their place in the TTR Top 10.
In the women’s field, Jamie Anderson has proven her solid riding skills throughout the season and now sits in the TTR tour lead going into the Burton US Open. Fellow American, Kelly Clark, who currently is in World No. 11, has claimed first place finishes from all the TTR halfpipe events she has attended this year. She will only have secured five out of the seven required TTR results after the US Snowboarding Grand Prix, and still has the opportunity to overtake Jamie if she finishes well in both halfpipe and slopestyle at the US Open.
Current World No. 2 from Slovenia, Cilka Sadar, will need to watch out for Kelly, as well as, other talented women such as Sina Candrian (SUI), Kjersti Buaas-Ostgaard (NOR) and Enni Rukajärvi (FIN) who all sit in the Swatch TTR Top 10 and have the opportunity to vastly improve on their ranking scores.
The 2010/11 TTR Tour season has seen some inspiring moments over the past 10-months and the hard work of the top athletes will be awarded at the close of the 6Star Burton US Open. The men’s Top 5 and women’s Top 3 riders will all walk away with a slice of the $200 000 USD end of season TTR Tour prize purse and the men’s and women’s champions will be awarded the coveted TTR World Tour Champion trophy. In addition, all riders who finish in the TTR Top 10 will receive automatic invites to all 5Star and 6Star events for the 2011/12 season.
The 6Star Burton US Open is one event not to miss, so make sure to tune into the live webcast at ttrworldtour.com or metacafe.com from March 9th to 12th for all the action from semi-finals and finals.