Nic Sauve shines at the first ever Snowboard Street event at Winter X 15
The evening of 29th January saw Canada prevail on the American soil. The French Canadian, Nic Sauve, won the inaugural Snowboard Street event at Winter X Games 15 (WX 15) in Aspen, Colorado. Another Canadian, Louis-Felix Paradis won silver. Simon Chamberlain,
Canadian ofcourse, took home the bronze.
The set-up of this event was both familiar and yet intimidating at the same time. It was made up of a concrete ledge, a huge yellow pipe, a stair set, set up with two kinked rail and an unnerving gap to down rail.
The Snowboard event started on a very light footing. The competitors seemed to be at real ease, as if they were only surrounded by their friends and camera man. However, it was Sauve who took the initiative of raising the intensity of the contest and revealing
his determination to win the contest. The other followed suit and picked up their game, pulling off some incredible tricks to impress the judges.
It was the French Canadian who triumphed in the end with a total score of 85.00, a 17 point lead over his runner-up. He ended his jam with a massive Cab 270 to regs on the gap to down rail by the scaffolding, leaving the fans and judges stunned.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” said Sauve of his victory. “I was pretty gripped about the setup when I saw it for the first time yesterday. My tricks went well and I landed, so I am stoked.”
Sauve, a 23-year-old French Canadian, could not have a hoped for a better debut in the X Games. Not only did he secure the Snowboard Street gold, he reached home by prevailing over the two competitors that he had grown up idolizing.
“It was awesome,” added Sauve. “I was really glad to be a part of it and have a chance to compete against my idols like Jeremy Jones and JP Walker.”
Another Canadian snowboarder, Louis-Felix Paradis, also known as Louif, won the silver medal after ending up with a total score of 68.00. Paradis laid down a barrage of reg and Cab hardways to blunts, and other tech tricks on the ledge.
The bronze was also clinched by a Canadian, Simon Chamberlain, with the final score of 64.00 sufficient to take him home. The high point of his jam came when he pulled out a gap to nosepress on the double kink, leaving the crowd breathless, and definitely
impressing the judges.
“I don’t really know what got me on the podium, but it’s cool to medal. I didn’t expect it,” said a beaming Chamberlain.
Jeremy Jones, called a "mad man" by Transworld Snowboarding.com, was unable to make his way to the podium. He boldly spun into the double cork again and again, but failed to pull it off successfully even once. He ended up fourth with a total score of 55.
Seth Huot from Utah and the young Minnesotan, Joe Sexton, finished at fifth and sixth respectively. Utah’s legendary JP Walker, nicknamed “the don”, found himself at the last position with a disappointing score of 34.00.
Snowboard Street was a live component to the video-only contest, Snowboard Real Snow. Paying a tribute to the Snowboard videos that have been a popular part of the snowboard culture, this contest was introduced in the WX. athletes were given the opportunity
to team with an editor to partner on the production of the video and present their vision, their way. Seven competitors of the Real Snow event were selected for the Snowboard Street event.
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