STRATTON, VT – France’s Mathieu Crepel is the 2005/2006 TTR World Tour Champion and therefore will carry the first ever World Nr#1 title onwards and into the next seasons Tour.
“As TTR is pretty much the future of snowboarding I am really stoked of being the first ever Tour Champion. It feels good making history, especially at an event like the US Open, knowing I would have to ride perfectly and make top five in the Slopestyle to beat Risto. He has been so consistent all year and that made it so much more difficult.”
Crepel arrived at the Burton US Open, the last 6(six) Star event of the 2005-2006 TTR season in second place behind tour leader Risto Mattila(FIN). With the event being double format scoring Championships event neither Crepel’s, Mattila’s or Mueller’s(lying in third) chances for a crown was secure until the very end.
Saturday’s Halfpipe results drove substantial movement for Antti Autti(FIN) who finished 10th and moved rapidly to third on the World Rankings only 64.88 points behind Tour leader Risto Mattila(FIN). Crepel, already in second held his position although finishing a dissapointing 16th in the halfpipe finals. With Sunday’s slopestyle being the last option to gather higher points than already logged by the riders the Championships race has come down to a three man battle. All in exceptional form and all holding exceptional records the format, all eyes were on France, Finland and again, Finland.
If Mattila won or came second the game would have been over. If not, Autti would have needed a win to take the crown, Crepel a result 5th or higher.
And as the show went down, with further focus on wonder boy White who’s TTR results to-date have been a flawless 5(five) Star 1st, a 6(six) Star 1st and now in the 6(six) Star slopestyle yet another win the red haired lady killer would miss on podium simply due to the fact that he was missing one vital fourth result to complete his overall TTR Tour Champion chances.
“ I focused strongly on the Olympics so I really didn’t get the full four required scores on the Tour. I really want to be back next year to support the TTR and do well on the tour,” stated White
The ground zero year continues in the men’s competition with 3 and 4 Star events until the start of April that can effect riders overall final positions, however, Crepel has now posted an unassailable World Snowboard Tour lead. With the women’s results and Women’s TTR World Tour Champion being crowned at the end of their tour season a new era in competitive freestyle snowboarding will have been launched.
The ability to compete in such independently run, creative, open formatted and rider friendly events and yet still fulfill film, photo and sponsor obligations has made the TTR World Tour a fresh and rewarding way to get back on Tour! TTR has finally given our industry a consistent and transparent platform to measure riders performances throughout the season, enabling brand inclusion within this rider driven initiative and ensuring events are respected for all the independence they ooze. It wasn’t easy, but the tour has proven that there exists a Tour formula that is human, rider friendly and sensitive to all the goodness its content provides.
Jake Burton, the US Open patron, stated “The best thing about the TTR World Snowboard Tour is that it ties together the major independent events in the world and recognizes the riders who perform best over the entire season.”
Congratulations Mathieu.
Full event results on usopen-snowboarding.com
Full TTR World Tour results on ttrworldtour.com
Men’s TTR World Snowboard Tour Ranking as of: 19th March 2006
Name Nationality Sponsor **Points TTRWorld Ranking 1. Mattila, Risto FIN Flow, Billabong 853.31 1st
2. Crepel, Mathieu FRA Rossignol, Quiksilver 814.06 2nd
3. Autti, Antti FIN Flow, Billabong 788.43 3rd
4. Mueller, Nicolas SUI Burton 776.57 4th
5. Finch, Andy USA Palmer, Rip Curl 761.60 5th
6. Korpi, Janne FIN K2 709.88 6th
7. Horgmo, Torstein FIN Rome 708.83 7th
8. Simmen, Gian SUI Oneill, Santa Cruz 700.51 8th
9. Benedek, David GER Salomon 686.01 9th
10. Ruha, Jaakko FIN Nitro 664.84 10th
**Tour Points reflect summary of riders 4 (four) best TTR event results divided by 4.
Riders 4 best season results will count towards end of season TTR Tour Championships Title and TTR World Ranking.
Women’s TTR World Snowboard Tour Ranking as of: 19th March 2006
Name Nationality Sponsor **Points TTR World Ranking
1. Zurek, Natasza CAN Burton 373.84 1st
2. Maas, Cheryl HOL Forum 369.05 2nd
3. Fliri, Claudia AUT Voelkl 245.01 3rd
4. Ligocka, Paulina POL Burton, Smith 237.60 4th
5. Jones, Jenny GBR Billabong 227.47 5th
6. Ramholt, Tina SUI F2, Roxy 212.26 6th
7. Bleichner, Conny GER Elan, Jeevice,686 206.74 7th
8. Filzmozer, Lisa AUT Burton, Smith, Nikita 205.73 8th
9. Miller, Vicci GBR Oakley 189.27 9th
10. Mittermueller, Silvia GER Santa Cruz 179.52 10th
**Tour Points reflect summary of riders 3 (three) best TTR event results divided by 3.
Riders 4 best season results will count towards end of season TTR Tour Nr#1 Title and TTR World Ranking.
More info on event and qualification results at opensnowboarding.com