Charles Reid and Jamie Anderson won the 2010 Burton US Open Rail Jam in Vermont on Friday, March 19. In the Slopestyle competition, Mikkel Bang and Sina Candrian took home $20,000 and top honors. On Saturday, March 20, Kasuhiro Kokubo and Kelly Clark won the Halfpipe finals. Clark is now the only woman in US Open history to win four halfpipe titles. Find the complete contest details and results below:
the women’s award podium at Burton US Open.
Rail Jam: Stratton Mountain, VT (March 19, 2010) After the unusually hot Vermont sun set at Stratton, the Black & Night Jam was on. 25 men and 10 women had 90 minutes to get in as many runs as possible in the US Open’s fourth ever rail jam.
The setup called for creativity, with multiple riders dropping at once into what looked like a skatepark on snow. A variety of rails, boxes, mini-quarterpipes, gaps and a lift tower feature were part of the setup, providing riders with the opportunity to get multiple hits in on one run.
Judges looked at difficulty, execution, variety and progression to decide who got to go home with first place and $10,000 cash.
Slopestyle: Europeans Mikkel Bang (NOR) and Sina Candrian (SUI) each took home $20,000 and top slopestyle honors. Both riders are new to the top spot of the US Open slopestyle podium, adding a coveted title to their career highlights.
“It’s my seventh year coming here to the US Open and the first time I’ve made it to the slopestyle podium,” says Mikkel Bang. “All of the top riders are here, which makes it even more special to win. This really is the perfect ending of the season for me.”
Mikkel Bang won his first US Open slopestyle title with authority when he took the lead in his first run, then topped it with a nearly perfect 98.00 on his second run, which included a Cab 1080, switch backside 1260 indy and a frontside 1080 on the jumps. The battle for second and third place podium spots went down to the final run of the competition when Ulrik Badertscher (NOR) upset the podium line-up with a strong run that included a backside 900, Cab 900 nosegrab and a backside 1080 late cork finishing with a 50/50 to a double front flip off the canon feature, which also scored him the AMP Energy Best Trick award. After sitting in second for a few runs, Sebastien Toutant (CAN) got bumped to third place by a few fractions of a point following Ulrik’s final run.
In the women’s competition, Sina Candrian grabbed the lead with her first run and held onto it, topping her own score in the third run of the finals. Sina’s best scoring run included a Cab 540, frontside 720 and a backside 360 on the jumps. Coming in second was New Zealander Shelly Gotlieb, who earned a spot on the podium with her last run that featured a Cab 540, backflip and a backside 720. Former US Open slopestyle champion Jamie Anderson earned third place and Lisa Wiik (NOR) took home the AMP Energy Best Trick for her backside 720 indy.
Halfpipe: Kazuhiro Kokubo (JPN) and Kelly Clark (USA) won today’s US Open halfpipe finals, where thousands of fans enjoyed some of the most progressive riding in halfpipe history. Today’s win marked a historic moment for Kelly Clark, who is now the only woman in US Open history to win four halfpipe titles. Kazu’s win was also a landmark as it was his first time winning a US Open title.
“It was so great to win here, especially because my good friends Mikkel Bang and Charles Reid also won titles, which made my win feel even better,” said Kazuhiro Kokubo.
In addition to the coveted US Open halfpipe crowns, three major titles were also awarded today, including a new Volvo to top US Open male and female overall riders Ulrik Badertscher (NOR) and Jamie Anderson (USA). Peetu Piiroinen (FIN) was on the podium for three different awards, taking home a total of $103,250 in winnings today alone. He won the $3000 Kodak Best Trick award for his Cab 1080 double cork, the $50,000 men’s Burton Global Open Series (BGOS) title, the $50,000 men’s Swatch TTR World Tour Championship title, plus $250 for his 12th place halfpipe finish. Fellow Finnish rider Enni Rukaj?rvi (FIN) won the women’s 2010 BGOS championship title and a $50,000 check. And for the first time, second and third place BGOS ranked riders took home $30,000 and $20,000 respectively.
Men’s Rail Jam Final Results
1. Charles Reid (CAN): $10,000
2. Tim Humphreys (USA): $5,000
3. Shaun Murphy (USA): $2,500
AMP Energy Best Trick: Luke Haddock – Fast plant on the quarterpipe
Women’s Rail Jam Final Results
1. Jamie Anderson (USA): $10,000
2. Sarka Pancochova (CZE): $5,000
3. Chanelle Sladics (USA): $2,500
AMP Energy Best Trick: Sarka Pancochova – Backside 540 over the lift tower feature
Men’s Slopestyle Final Results
1. Mikkel Bang (NOR) 98.00
2. Ulrik Badertscher (NOR) 93.67
3. Sebastien Toutant (CAN) 93.33
AMP Energy Best Trick: Ulrik Badertscher – Double front flip off the canon feature
Women’s Slopestyle Final Results
1. Sina Candrian (SUI) 95.50
2. Shelly Gotlieb (NZL) 89.33
3. Jamie Anderson (USA) 88.00
AMP Energy Best Trick: Lisa Wiik – Backside 720 indy