Where: Oslo, Norway

The Arctic Challenge 2010. Photo: Andy/TTR

As already announced, this Friday the 6Star Oakley Arctic Challenge (TAC) saw 32 of the snowboarding’s best slopestyle riders battling for one of twenty spots in the semi finals that will be held on Saturday. Norwegian wonder-shred Torstein Horgmo qualified first on his Norwegian home turf.

After a difficult start into the day with icy conditions and speed problems on the second jump, the decision was made to only take the first jump into account during qualifications. When the skies had cleared around noon, qualifications started off full swing. Torstein Horgmo outshone his competitors with a backside 180 switch 180 into fifty-fifty to cab 360 out on top rail, a backside 540 off the cannon rail, a huge switch backside 900 on the kicker and a backside 720 transfer on the hip. With his killer second run in the qualifications, another famous Norwegian, Mikkel Bang, came into second closely followed by Canadian rookie Mark McMorris who recently tool third in the 5Star Burn River Jump in Livigno.

With most TTR Top 20 riders present in Oslo, qualifications for the semi finals were no walk in the park. Peetu Piiroinen (FIN), who can secure his second Swatch TTR World Champion Title this weekend, made the cut into semis and qualified in ninth place. Other riders who battle for a spot in the TTR Top 5 this weekend are World No. 3 Gjermund Braaten (NOR), World No. 4 and winner of the 6Star Billabong Air & Style Marko Grilc, winner of the 5Star Burn River Jump slopestyle format and current World No. 9 Eric Willett (USA), and the young Norwegian in World No. 10, Stale Sandbech. Korpi (FIN), Autti (FIN), Malin (FIN), and Haller (SUI) were not successful today and did not make the cut to the semis. In two weeks time at the last 6Star event of the Tour, the le-gen-dary Burton US Open, the best five riders of the TTR World Ranking list will receive a piece of the end of season Swatch TTR prize purse of $200,000 USD as well as the guaranteed invites to next season’s 6Star events.

Mark McMorris at the Arctic Challenge 2010. Photo: Andy/TTR

Results

1 Torstein Horgmo
2 Mikkel Bang
3 Mark McMorris
4 Seppe Smits
5 Chas Guldemond
6 Ulrik Badertscher
7 Eric Willett
8 Gjermund Braaten
9 Peetu Piiroinen
10 Sam Hulbert
11 Mads Hoffgaard
12 Sage Kotsenburg
13 Roope Tonteri
14 Ville Outila
15 Tore Holvik
16 Brandon Reis
17 Arthur Longo
18 Stale Sandbech
19 Matti Kinnunen
20 Marco Grilc