WINTER X-GAMES: DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS
By Andrew Sachs
Snowmobile Freestyle
Levi LaVallee snatched the first gold medal of the Winter
X-Games 2013 by winning the Snowmobile Freestyle event. LaVellee avoided the brutal crashes that took
out some of his toughest rivals to grab gold.
His score of 89 beat out Joe Parsons, who scored 88.66, and Justin
Hoyer, who managed an 84.
The finals started out with a bang when Caleb Moore, last
year’s bronze medalist, under rotated an indy air backflip and as a result, his
snowmobile landed on top of him. Moore
was motionless for a few minutes before he came to.
LaVallee seized the opening in the finals created by the
crashes and mechanical failures to launch solid combinations, including a huge
kiss-of-death flip, and grab winter-X gold.
He will also compete this weekend in GoPro Best Trick Freestyle,
SnoCross, and Speed & Style.
Snowboard SuperPipe
Shaun White faces an uphill battle to claim his 9th
X games superpipe gold medal after qualifying for the finals second behind
swiss boarder Iouri Podladtchikov, or I-Pod.
I-Pod’s first place qualification on Thursday means that he gets to ride
last in the finals, a coveted spot that sets up an opportunity to dethrone the
Flying Tomato.
White qualified second despite a huge run that included a
19-plus foot backside air that was almost 3 feet higher than any other boarders’
tricks. He also stomped out frontside
and cab double cork 1080s, but didn’t fire up any of his best tricks that
landed him gold last year, choosing to save them for the finals instead of engaging in a battle for first place of the prelims.
I-Pod also has tricks up his sleeve. He plans to unveil a mystery trick in the
finals Sunday night that he says no one has ever tried on snow before. If I-Pod does manage to dethrone White, it
will be the first time anyone has beaten him in a three-year period spanning 12
contests.
In 1978, Burton started creating models with aluminum fins
so riders can ride in any snow condition, whether it is fresh powder, slush, or
packing snow. The following year Burton started a trend by putting graphics on
their boards with labels such as “Burton Boards.” With the “snow surfing”
industry rapidly increasing in popularity, Burton and his company made a name
for themselves when they competed in the first National Snowboarding
Championship—the U.S. Open—and won by
riding a Burton snowboard in 1982. Not only were they winning competitions,
Burton’s production expanded to Japan that same year. Then, Burton created a board that got rid of the rope attachment and added bindings with a heel strap for riders to wear the Burton
Competition Shoes, the company’s first boot, which helped riders to trek up the mountain. 1985 was a big year for the company as well when Burton
crafted snowboards with a foam middle enclosed in bi-directional fiberglass and
fully wrapped edges. With Europe recognizing the quality of a Burton snowboard,
Burton opened a site in Innsbruck, Austria.
Travis Rice –
Considered snowboarding’s best overall rider in the world by numerous
sportswriters, Rice is a triple threat to his competitors. Born October 9, 1982, Rice went pro at the
age of 18 when he entered Snowboarder
Magazine’s “Superpark” without a sponsor.
He shocked the audience and fellow snowboarders with his backside rodeo
off a 110 ft gap jump. Not only winning
titles in big air at competitions, Rice is known for his tricks and slopestyle. Rice not only competes, but also has a huge
influence and stars in movies such as Redbull and Quicksilver’s That’s It, That’s All and The Art of Flight.
John Jackson –
Born October 13, 1983, John Jackson is one of the best backcountry snowboarders
out there. He has won multiple Rider of
the Year awards from Transworld and has recently joined the Burton Snowboards team. Jackson is known mainly for his many video
parts that catch him shredding down mountaintops and dangerous terrain most
people avoid. Like Rice, Jackson is also
part of the films That’s It, That’s All
and The Art of Flight.
Gretchen Bleiler –
Born April 10, 1981, Gretchen Bleiler grew up in Aspen, Colorado where she
fueled her love of snowboarding which eventually got her to the 2006 Olympics
in Italy where she placed second, as well as the 2010 Olympics in Canada. She also took first place in the 2010 Winter
X Games. An activist for the Women’s
Sports Foundation, Bleiler created, along with Aspen/Snowmass, “Snow Angels
Invitational,” an all-girl’s halfpipe competition and photo shoot. 
Kelly Clark – Making
a name for herself in women’s snowboarding, Kelly Clark, born July 26, 1983,
was the youngest member of the U.S. Olympic team when she won the gold medal
for her Halfpipe run at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Paving the way for women snowboard riders,
Clark’s perseverance helped her place again in the 2010 Winter Olympics with
the bronze. Continuing her ride, in 2011
Clark was the first woman to land a 1080 on the halfpipe. Her efforts continued
in 2012 with winning gold in the women’s halfpipe at both the Winter X Games in
Aspen, Colorado and the European X Games.
The final round did not disappoint. The riders were going huge trying to capture the top spot in the vert finals. Everyone landed some monster tricks and watching it live, you couldn't tell who was going to pull out the win. In the end, Pierre-Luc Gagnon took first, followed by Bucky Lasek and Sandro Dias.
