Norway’s Alexander Ostreng takes victory on the last day of Burn River Jump
The last stage of the Burn River Jump 2011 wrapped up on 25 February, 2011 at Livigno, Italy. As expected, a high level of riding was witnessed by the fans of freestyle snowboarding. The last contest of the Burn event was a big air contest, in which 16 extremely
talented riders battled with each other to get to the title and the winning prize, which included a heavy share of the prize purse as well as coveted Swatch Ticket to Ride points. The weather was not very kind to the contest, but the show still went on after
a few modifications, which unfortunately brought the 5Star rated contest to a 4Star one. By the end, Norway’s Alexander Ostreng stood victorious with his elite performance.
During the night screaming fans gathered together at the Spoel River in Livigno, Italy, to witness the highly anticipated Burn River Jump. The weather conditions turned out to be a real buzz killer, as the strong winds caused the organizers to make the difficult
decision of cancelling the top huge kicker as a safety measure. Instead, the main focus shifted to the second Burn River Jump feature and bottom rail sections. This reduced the contest’s Swatch TTR Rating from 5Start to 4Star. This failed to have a diminishing
effect on the crowd’s enthusiasm, who continued to cheer their lungs out for their favourite athletes.
The first round of River Jump featured 16 top-class snowboarders who battled it out on difficult features in a challenging environment. These elite snowboarders included the likes of Eric Willet from the USA, France’s Arthur Longo, Werni Stock from Australia,
Norwegian Ulrik Badertscher and the British snowboarder, Jamie Nicholls. The stage was set for an extremely thrilling final.
All the riders pulled off some really impressive tricks in the air, and showcased their skills on the rail section, to grab one of the 4 slots for the super finals. In the end, Nicholls, Willet, Badertscher and Ostreng turned out to be the most impressive
in the first round and made their way to the next stage.
The super final had a two-run ‘knock out’ format. Ostreng was going head-to-head against Badertscher, whereas Nicholls and Willet found themselves facing each other.
Ostreng’s sensational run earned him the lead in the battle. This winning run was comprised of a backside 900 over the river and a switch front lip side 270 out in the jib section. The run earned him this year’s Burn River Jump title. He has also climbed
to the 25th place in the Swatch TTR Ranking.
An elated winner Ostreng said, "I am stoked! I was not expecting to win tonight. The set up was great and the snowpark too. I am so happy and I will be back next year!"
Willet landed himself in the second position, as his best run was made up of a switch backside 900 to front board. He currently ranks 9th in the Swatch TTR Ranking. Badertscher, winner of the Burn River Jump Slope-style, failed to find the top
position in the big air event, and had to settle for the third position. His best run consisted of a backside rodeo and a front board pretzel out. He has moved up to the 14th position in the Swatch TTR Ranking.
Nicholls may not have shined the brightest on the night, but he definitely sparkled with a lot of intensity. He exhibited a really fine performance throughout the contest and even though he landed himself in the fourth position, he still received the Burn
Jib Master title. His performance in the event raised him from the 57th place in the Swatch TTR Ranking to the 28th place.
With the end of the Burn River Jump, the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour gets even more close to the 6Star Burton US Open, the event where the 2010-11 season would come to an end.
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