Seeing as Norway is arguably pipping Finland to the ‘Most Frickin’ Ridiculouly Talented Riders Per Capita’ title right now, it’s unsurprising that the Norwegian stop of the Nike Chosen Series went off the richter. Check the words and gallery…

This was the 9th and final of the Europe-snapping Nike Chosen Series and will certainly go down as one of the standout legs, with the Norwegians displaying an almost freakishly high level of riding in this AM contest.

The perfectly shaped 15m kicker had been constructed on the same slope as last month’s World Snowboard Championship, and the 37 riders ample set about showing how badass Scandinavian riders can be. Double corks, double flips, double Rodeos and countless Switch Backside spins were the norm as riders enjoyed the bluebird conditions.

20-year-old Kristin Stubberud took Best Female with some well-held Stalefish and Tail grabs, Even Brekke from nearby Oslo claimed Best Style with a BS Rodeo 5 Indy, Backside 5 Shifty and a Frontside Corked 7 and with a host of tricks Jonas Steen took Most Creative with a Switch Backside 7, Backside Double Cork 12 and a Cab 10.
20-year-old Jørn Simen Aabøe from Kragero took the top honors of the day with an astonishing Switch BS12 Double Cork Mute, Double Backflip late 180, Switch Backside 7 Japan, Frontflip Nosegrab and FS Rodeo 7, an arsenal of tricks that gave him the MVP

Jørn wins the final ticket to the Nike Chosen Sessions to ride with the Nike team on a purpose built ‘next level’ park where he will join the previous winners from across Europe and compete to become the overall Nike Chosen Winner.

RESULTS

Best Overall (MVP) – Jørn Simen Aabøe, Kragero
Most Creative – Jonas Steen, Oslo
Best Style – Even Brekke, Oslo
Best Female – Kristin Stubberud, Rykkinn

www.nikechosenseries.com

The happy winners.

A previous winner of Best Style from the German stop, Jonel Fricke, worked the mic to keep the riders and crowd stoked whilst retail partner Blue Tomato kept spirits up with warm snacks and drinks as the 24 riders braved the snow, cold and cross winds in a bid to take the MVP and a ticket to the Nike Chosen Sessions.

This is Peter Walchhofer, who received the Best Style Award

Ultimately the weather ruled the comp and with Finals unable to take place riders were judged on their performance in the Qualis. Peter Walchhofer took Best Style following his inverted FS7 tailgrab, Most Creative went to Markus Bernhard by laying out a powder run to knuckle line, but handling the tough conditions by sticking everything with style and composure was Stephan Wimmer from Innsbruck – BS5s, 7s and 9s – who claimed MVP and booked his spot at The Nike Chosen Sessions in April.

Jonel Fricke got the crowd going

RESULTS
Best Overall (MVP) Stephan Wimmer
Most Creative Markus Bernhard
Best Style Peter Walchhofer

BEST TRICK WILDCARD
3 competing riders from each stop will also have the opportunity to gain a wildcard entry into the finals ‘Nike Chosen Sessions’. Watch the tricks and vote for which rider you think should make the finals.

www.nikechosenseries.com

Overall winner, or should we say wimmer: Stephan Wimmer

TOUR STOPS AND WINNERS

DATE / COUNTRY / RESORT / RIDER HOST / STOP WINNER
16 DEC – UK – HEMEL HEMPSTEAD Jamie Nicholls Andy Nudds
14 JAN – SWE – FUNASDALEN Kevin Backstrom Joel Anderson
21 JAN – IT – KRONPLATZ Halldor Helgason Daniel Reichegger
28 JAN – CH – HOCH YBRIG Nicolas Muller Markus Mathis
04 FEB – GER – EHRWALD Ethan Morgan Felix Georgii
11 FEB – FRA – CHATEL Gerome Mathieu Enzo Nilo
18 FEB – ESP – VALLNORD Jan Scherrer Bernat Ripoll
26 FEB – AUS – HOCHKONIG Gigi Ruf Stephan Wimmer
03 MAR – NOR – TRYVANN Gjermund Braaten

01 ARP – 07 APR FINAL – NIKE CHOSEN SESSIONS

MC Aitor Gonzalez and Sender McSenderson

The sun beat down the whole day over the classic Andorran resort of Vallnord for the 7th Stop on the Nike Chosen Series, and when all was said and done Bermat Ripoll’s consistent class saw him nab a spot at the end-of-season Chosen Session for his efforts.

MVP Bermat Ripoll

On a South facing slope the local ASP shaper crew worked tirelessly to get the kicker (15m to the sweet spot) riding well for all the competitors that turned up to show their skills, while MC Aitor Gonzalez and the park DJ Krapulia made sure it was the hottest place on the mountain that day.

Xavi Rodriguez

With all riders getting into the session Xavi Rodriguez took Most Creative with an old school Suitcase Air and a super inventive BS Rodeo 5 Nosegrab. Josep Falga stood out with an inverted front 5, an Indy 5 and FS 7 Melon and ultimately claimed Best Style. The Best Female award went to Beth Climont Gerie showing style with a BS 3 and a Tailgrab; but with consistency, style and a multitude of switch tricks it was Bermat Ripoll who bagged the coveted Most Valuable Player (MVP) with SW BS 7 Stalefish, BS 5 Indy, SW BS 7 and FS 5 and in so doing earned his place at the Nike Chosen Sessions in April.

Beth Climont Gerie

RESULTS

Best Overall (MVP) Bermat Rupoll
Most Creative Xavi Rodriguez
Best Style Josep Flaga
Best Female Beth Climont Gerie

Winners

www.nikechosenseries.com

NEXT STOP ON THE NIKE CHOSEN SERIES – AUSTRIA. HOCHKONIG 26.02.12

Enzo Nilo - MVP

The traditional French resort of Chatel deep in the Porte Du Soleil set the arena for the 6th Stop on the Nike Chosen Series. Enzo Nilo walked away with the MVP and a ticket to the end-of-season Chosen Session, check what went down…

Together the town and the resort helped to create one of the best atmospheres seen so far on the Series, providing much welcome coffee and croissants in registration as the icy wind took temperatures down to -15 before laying on a free BBQ for all riders and spectators as the Finals got under way.

Romu Bouche

With Nike rider Gerome Mathieu judging and the whole town of Chatel seemingly watching, the 22 entered riders had a show to deliver and that they did. Head shaper Alex Creuse and the Nike team created a safe 15m kicker measuring 19m to sweet spot guaranteeing distance and height whilst giving the amateurs the confidence to try all their tricks as they battled it out for MVP.

Mascense Tevelle took Most Creative with a BS 180 Double Tailgrab, Handdrags on the Nike bonk and Frontflips off the knuckle. Romuald Bouche took Best Style with Switch Back 1s, 5s and 9s before adding a FS9 for good measure. 19-year-old Grenoble resident Marion Haerty took best Female with BS and FS 180s.

Nilo and Coin Coin

But as the clouds rolled in only one winner could roll out and that was the 18 year old French rider Enzo Nilo from Bidant who tore the kicker apart with FS5s, corked 7s both ways, a Switch Backside 9 and a FS10.

Celebrating his own 27th birthday on the day French Nike rider Gerome Mathieu then gladly presented the winning AM Enzo, with his ticket to the Sessions Final in Austria, April 2012.

RESULTS

Best Overall (MVP) Enzo Nilo Bidant
Most Creative Macense Tevelle Val Thorens
Best Style Romuald Bouche Vars
Best Female Marion Haerty Grenoble

Winners winning.

Daniel Mösl

Global Nike rider Danny Kass personally presented Felix Georgii with his ticket to the Chosen Sessions final following the 22-year-old’s winning display at the German stop of the Nike Chosen Series.

An extremely cold Ehrwald, played host to the 5th Stop on the Nike Chosen Series. With temperatures dropping to -20C, the free-flowing Jam format came into its element as a steady succession of local and regional talent set upon the 15m table. Cash was on offer for riders making the 10 man finals meaning the 35 signed up riders had even more to play for.

Danny Kass was there.

Local girl Nadine Hartinger from Munich took Best Female with her stylish nose grabs over the Nike bonk ball. Daniel Mosl, Most Creative with a huge Switch Indy and Double Back Flip, leaving friend and nearby Innsbruck resident Jonel Fricke to take home Best Style with a beastly Backside 5 Chicken Salad and FS 7 melon.

Evgeniy Joon Ivanon

But Felix Georgii demonstrated an arsenal of tricks throughout the day and finals including BS5 Tailbones, Switch Backside 7s and Rodeos that couldn’t be ignored, eventually earning him the Most Valuable Player.

On hand to welcome him as the next Am to join the Nike Chosen Sessions, Danny Kass, fresh from a recon trip to the Session’s Final location in Austria, declared Felix the German champion and claimed that “He rode like a pro, now it’s time to ride with the pro’s”.

Winning!

RESULTS

Best Overall (MVP) – Felix Georgii, Kranzegg
Most Creative – Daniel Mosl, Telp
Best Style – Jonel Fricke, Innsbruck
Best Female – Nadine Hartinger, Munich

The fourth stop of the Nike Chosen Series were held in Hoch Ybrig in the foot hills of the Swiss Alps, and got underway despite being pushed back a day due to bad weather.

Markus Mathis on his way to the MVP award.

The riders that made the trip to the NBC Snowpark were nonetheless determined to not let the challenging conditions get in the way of the invite to the Nike Sessions that would be granted to the winner of the day’s jam.

With only occasional breaks in the cloud, visibility gave the riders an added challenge over the 15m kicker and bonk obstacle, leaving the 3 judges (DBK, Raphi Rocha and local shaper Matthias Burch) to make a call to skip qualifiers and run a straight up final with all riders.

Roger Schuler

As ‘Eleven’ pro rider Mike ‘Aemka’ Knobel threw down the music and MC Sam Messerli hyped up the crowd it was clear that the riding standard was pretty high for this AM contest as Markus Mathis laid out a back 5 and a back 7 in his the warm up run.

With a Nike Sessions ticket on the table all riders upped their game in what was a great atmosphere in the park, local Arvet Fuchs styled a Super man front flip and his first ever backside double cork and Roger Schuler held onto a switch back stale almost all the way to the ground.

Arvet Fuchs

Making the trip up from Berne, Markus Mathis took the MVP of the day with a consistent array of tricks throughout the jam including a back 10 double cork. Markus will travel to the Nike Chosen Sessions in April to session with the Nike Pros and compete against all the Series winners to find ultimate Chosen.

RESULTS

BEST OVERALL (MVP) – MARKUS MATHIS – BERN

MOST CREATIVE – ARVET FUCHS – EINSIEDELN

BEST STYLE – ROGER SCHULER – EINSIEDELN

BEST GIRL – CELIA PETRIG – EINSIEDELN

Winning!

Best Trick Wildcard

3 competing riders from each stop will also have the opportunity to gain a wildcard entry into the finals ‘Nike Chosen Sessions’. Watch the tricks and vote for which rider you think should make the finals.

www.nikechosenseries.com

NEXT STOP ON THE NIKE CHOSEN SERIES

EHRWALD, GERMANY 04.02.12

REMAINING DATES

DATE / COUNTRY / RESORT / RIDER HOST
04 FEB – GER – EHRWALD Ethan Morgan
11 FEB – FRA – CHATEL Gerome Mathieu
18 FEB – ESP – VALLNORD Jan Scherrer
26 FEB – AUS – HOCHKONIG Gigi Ruf
03 MAR – NOR – TRYVANN Gjermund Braaten

01 ARP – 07 APR FINAL – NIKE CHOSEN SESSIONS

With a foot of fresh snow falling over night, the expert F-Tech shaper crew pulled out the stops to make Kronplatz, Italy proud with an immaculate kicker for the 3rd stop of the Nike Chosen Series.

From the off, local brothers Daniel (Back 7 Melon to shifty) and Oliver Reichegger (Front Rodeo 5 Stiffy) took the event by the reins, laying down a huge variety of spins and double grabs which saw them sail into the finals. Joining them in the 10-man cut was Alex Reiner (Front 7 double tail) and David Mahlknecht (Front 10 Melon).

With a judging format that looks for a variety or tricks and spins each way in favour of single bangers, the finals saw the biggest variation of double grabs so far on the 9-stop tour. Daniel Reichegger was consistent throughout using the kicker and the bonk feature in equal measure giving the judges a stoke with a floated miller flip, classic stylish Cab 5s, a maverick back 5 double nose grab and a backside 9 nose grab – the award for MVP (most valuable player) was never in doubt.

Daniel Reichegger high fives his way to first place.

Krontplatz in the Italian Dolomites was host to the latest stop of the Nike Chosen Series, where local boy Daniel Reichegger took the overall win. Check the words and photos…

With a foot of fresh snow falling over night, the expert F-Tech shaper crew pulled out the stops to make Kronplatz, Italy, proud with an immaculate kicker for the 3rd stop of the Nike Chosen Series.

Olivier Reichegger bagging Best Style.

Low clouds and wind looked to make the day a tough ride for the crowd and competitors, but half way through practice the skies cleared to reveal the dramatic Dolomite backdrop framing the bonk and kicker line in the Nike park. From the off, local brothers Daniel (Back 7 Melon to shifty) and Oliver Reichegger (Front Rodeo 5 Stiffy) took the event by the reins, laying down a huge variety of spins and double grabs which saw them sail into the finals. Joining them in the 10 man cut was Alex Reiner (Front 7 double tail) and David Mahlknecht (Front 10 Melon).

Max Vieder popping a back rodeo.

With a judging format that looks for a variety or tricks and spins each way in favour of single bangers, Daniel Reichegger cleaned up. Bringing out classic stylish Cab 5s, a maverick back 5 double nose grab, a frontside miller flip over the bonk and a backside 9 nose grab, the award for MVP (most valuable player) was never in doubt.

Prizegiving

Daniel wins a ticket to Nike Chosen Sessions to ride with the Nike team on a purpose built park where he will compete to become the overall Nike Chosen Series Winner.

Overall Winner - Daniel Reichegger

RESULTS

Best Overall (MVP) – Daniel Reichegger, Brunico
Most Creative – Max Vieider, Bolzano
Best Style – Oliver Reichegger, Brunico
Best Female – Martina Jole Moro, Bolzano

With a 15m table and 17m to the sweet spot, the kicker and lollipop jib feature had a seeing to by 35 riders in the qualis which was cut down to a 10 man final by a 3 judge panel including Swedish legends Hampus Mosesson and Jakob Wilhelmson.

With Sweden suffering from a lack of snow in the early season, for many of the riders competing this was the first time over a kicker this winter, though under a floodlit park and a light snowfall you would have hardly have guessed it. The crowd were treated to a demonstration of style and tech in the finals that would have put an end of season AM comp in its place.

The lollipop got a working with Joel Anderson sticking a BS 360 Nosebonk and Simon Ahlvu showing his experience by pulling a crazy BS Rodeo Handplant.

Karl-Anton Svensson showed the best style.

Over on the kicker Philip Landmark stamped his technical prowess with a series of spins including a front 10, Karl-Anton Svensson bent his way around a super rare FS 720 Double Tailgrab and Joel Anderson stalled out a floaty back 5 no-grab before stomping a Double Backside Rodeo late in the jam.

The winner of the MVP was judged to be Anderson who threw it down all day with confidence and will be given an invite the Nike Chosen Sessions in April to session with the Nike Pros on a purpose built park, and the chance to be the overall “Chosen Rider”.

RESULTS
BEST OVERALL (MVP) – JOEL ANDERSON – LINKOPING
MOST CREATIVE – SIMON AHLUV – FALUN
BEST STYLE – KARL-ANTON SVENSSON – GOTEBORG
BEST GIRL – SARA KOSTAINEN – MARSTA

3 competing riders from each stop will also have the opportunity to gain a wildcard entry into the finals ‘Nike Chosen Sessions’. Watch the tricks and vote for which rider you think should make the finals.

More information and all upcoming stops on www.nikechosenseries.com

We received word from our man on the ground that some of the Nike Chosen Series dates had been shifted to ensure conditions were as primo as possible. So here they are.

Get your asses to your local stop, huck your carcass hard enough to impress the judges and you could find yourself winging your way to a secret alpine location where Nike will construct a megaladon snowpark for you, the other Chosen Series winners, and the Nike pro team to throw down at the end of the season.